St. Petersburg

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Peter’s City

A May 2000 trip to St. Petersburg by barbara Best of IgoUgo

Saint Petersburg RestaurantMore Photos

Peter the Great wanted a modern Russia, so he built a glorious capital to be held up as a beacon of light for his people. Therefore to visit St. Petersburg is not just to visit another place, but to experience a tsar's vision for the future of an entire country.

  • 16 reviews
  • 1 story/tip
  • 19 photos

Peter’s CityBest of IgoUgo

Overview

The neatest thing about Russia for me was the incredible interest in Russian History that was sparked in my mind by our trip. I have never been somewhere before and immediately visited the bookstore upon my return.

Quick Tips:

A guide who speaks Russian is EXTREMELY helpful. We normally do not travel in a group, but I feel the city was easier to see for the first time in this manner. Our tour group leader also arranged for a guide to go out with us on a one-on-one basis at certain points in the tour to suit individual interests. Since many Russians do not speak English, this was wonderfully helpful and a good security blanket for us in the beginning. Later, when we had a better clue about what we were doing, we did venture out completely on our own.

Best Way To Get Around:

Bus if you are with a group. Private cars will pick you up as well if the driver is going in your direction. They are much less expensive than commercial taxis. I would advise hitching a ride with a Russian guide before you try flagging down a private car by yourself though. A lot of Russians do NOT speak English. Also, while very common in Russia, hitchhiking has the same risks that it does in the United States. BE VERY CAREFUL!!! I felt safe in Russia, but do not get a false sense of security. The economy there is bad, and you need to be street smart about the things you do. No matter what sites you see, you’ll be walking a lot, too.

Deeson LadogaBest of IgoUgo

Hotel | "Deson-Ladoga"

The hotel was very comfortable though it had some quirks with its moody water pipes (more a city problem than a hotel problem) that made showering an interesting experience. Nonetheless, the hotel was clean and safe with a very friendly staff that, for the most part, spoke fluent English. There was a nice sauna and salon available to guests and a bar that was open late. The Russian cuisine in the restaurant was good. Excellent Chinese food---a very uncommon cuisine in Russia---could be ordered as well. Some Western Hotel comforts were not available such as an in-room blow dryer, so bring your own. You'll also need a transformer to use any American appliances ANYWHERE in Russia. The Deson-Ladoga is very conveniently located next to a grocery store. This was wonderful because you should only drink bottled water in St. Petersburg, and this was easy to go buy when needed. It was also fun comparing Russian grocery store prices (and goods) to the US. I bought all the kids in our neighborhood packs of M&Ms because of the neat Russian writing they could see when we returned home. A place to exchange money was also by the grocery store.
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by barbara on June 6, 2000

Deeson Ladoga
26, Shaumianna Prospect St. Petersburg
+7 (812) 528-5393

St. Petersburg RestaurantBest of IgoUgo

Restaurant

Saint Petersburg Restaurant
The restaurant is wonderfully decorated with tall Tiffany-style lamps in the lobby. Our tour guide got our group tables right in front of the stage for a floor show one evening for dinner. As we ate caviar and drank vodka (Russian delicacies both), Peter the Great led a 'Russia meets Las Vegas'type floor show that was actually raucously entertaining. Women in traditional Russian dress danced while the most famous of Tsars sang in Russian. After the Chicken Kiev and desserts were eaten, the dance floor was available to guests. After leaving the St. Petersburg dinner, three of us left the group with which we were touring and met one of our young Russian guides in a bar next door to the restaurant (See Night life section of journal). This made for a very memorable evening not soon forgotten!
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by barbara on June 6, 2000

St. Petersburg Restaurant
5 Canal Griboedova St. Petersburg, Russia
314-4947

Senat-BarBest of IgoUgo

Restaurant

One of our Russian guides told us that only very rich Russian people eat at this restaurant. It predominantly caters to foreigners, and the prices are exorbitantly high by St. Petersburg standards. Our very charismatic group leader who happens to be a staunch Republican in the U.S., jokingly apologized for the signed picture of President Bill Clinton we saw hanging in a place of honor near the entrance to the restaurant. With that said, the food at the Senat Bar was very good. Only one meal had been scheduled there on our tour, but the group liked it so much that the group leader arranged a second meal for us to eat there as well.
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by barbara on June 6, 2000

Senat-Bar
St. Petersburg, Russia
271-39-43

Yusupov PalaceBest of IgoUgo

Attraction | "The Yusupov Palace"

Yusopov Palace
This amazing palace was the home of the aristocratic Yusupov family, a family that spared no expense on its lavish residence. Not only was the guided tour we had through the home extremely interesting from the standpoint of architecture and beauty, the place had significant historical significance as well. It was where Prince Felix Yusupov first poisoned and shot Rasputin in the early 20th century. Going down into the dimly lit wine cellar of Prince Felix’s private rooms, I got an eerie feeling of discomfort---especially knowing the story of the death of the famous holy man, Rasputin, who was said to have bewitched Empress Alexandria thus contributing to the fall of the Romanov dynasty before the Communist Revolution. This was definitely in the top three of my favorite things seen in Russia.
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by barbara on June 6, 2000

Yusupov Palace
Naberezhnaya Reki Moyki 94 St. Petersburg, Russia

The Hermitage (Winter Palace)Best of IgoUgo

Attraction | "The Hermitage"

The Hermitage
The Hermitage used to be Catherine the Great’s Winter Palace. It is a huge and expansive building housing literally millions of pieces of great art. My husband and I went by ourselves to the Hermitage a second time after having already visited once with our tour group. We wanted to take more time wandering through the spectacular hallways, looking at the incredible, original paintings hanging all around us. We saw originals by Renoir, Degas, Monet, Van Gogh. Every style of work you could think of from every time period and art movement imaginable was available for viewing. Wanting to see an exhibit by Matisse even though we were running short on time, we practically sprinted from one floor to another---guides with broken English gesturing patiently to direct us---until we found ourselves in the middle of a room full of nothing but Picassos! I’ve never been to the Louvre in Paris, but I know its art can’t possibly be of any higher quality than the Hermitage!
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by barbara on June 6, 2000

The Hermitage (Winter Palace)
Palace Embankment, on the Neva St. Petersburg, Russia

MariinskyBest of IgoUgo

Attraction | "Mariinskiy Theater"

The Mariinskiy theater is beautiful with its gold gilded balconies and lush hallways. It was wonderful fun to get dressed up (evening dress; suit) for a night at the Opera. Unfortunately for me, however, I discovered I don’t like the Opera! We saw a four hour long presentation of Rimsky Korsakov’s Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maide Fevronia. I was most grateful for the champagne and ice cream that was available during intermission! And I know I wasn’t the only one because at one particularly quiet moment, I distinctly heard a gentleman on our row of seats let out the not-so-quiet grumble of a snore! On the other hand, there were several people in our group, classical music and opera aficionados, who were completely entranced. And I would admit that the music was absolutely beautiful---just not my thing. It’s too bad, too, because St. Petersburg was home to many great composers, Tchaikovsky included, whose work is often performed in the theaters. I actually found that a young boy about six years old in the red-velveted balcony above me the most interesting thing to watch. Obviously exposed to a great deal of culture and proper theater etiquette, he was completely focused on the show, his family silent around him, until the third act when he put his head on his mother’s shoulder, and promptly fell asleep. Unlike the man in our row, however, the boy was a quiet dreamer, and didn’t add to the noise of the singers at all.
  • Member Rating 2 out of 5 by barbara on June 6, 2000

Mariinsky
1 Theatre Square St. Petersburg, Russia
+7 326 4141

The Metro ClubBest of IgoUgo

Attraction

The Metro Club was suggested to us by a girl at our hotel. Flagging down a private car was part of the adventure! We had been shown how to do this by a Russian guide a few days before. The three of us got a car to take us to the Metro for 60 Rubles which is a little less that $2 US. As was our experience with all Russian drivers, this one drove like a NYC cabbie. He did not speak more than two words of English, but the Back Street Boys were blaring out of his tape deck! Once at the Metro Club, we had to wait in line until it opened at 10 PM. The crowd was a little young---early twenties---and there was a doorman checking ID’s. The drinking age in Russia is also 21. When we got to the door, we were immediately flagged in. It was obvious from the first words out of our mouths that we were Americans even though we did not have our passports with us (it is very unwise to carry your passport around in the city!), and the doormen didn’t seem to care about checking our ages (of course, we were late twenties-thirties, so maybe we just looked of-age!). Inside the Metro Club there are three floors. Each floor has a different type of music playing. We started out on the crowded bottom floor, dancing and drinking peeva (beer). We moved to the top floor after a little while because there was more room to move, and the DJ occassionally played some songs in English. Most of the music was Industrial/Techno Rock. After a long day touring the city, we decided to leave the club a little early. We also did not want to try to flag down a car in the dark. It is daylight in May in St. Petersburg until Midnight, so it was a wild feeling to step out of a crowded and smoky club into what appeared to be the middle of the afternoon when we were ready to leave! The sun had only just disappeared behind the St. Petersburg skyline as we were getting back to our hotel. Overall the Metro Club had a Western feel to it, and we found out the next day from our Tour Guide that one of the reasons for that is Coca Cola is a sponsor of the club. The American Corporate Giant has a plant in St. Petersburg and is involved in several ventures such as the Metro Club.
  • Member Rating 3 out of 5 by barbara on June 6, 2000

The Metro Club
Ligovskiy pr., 174 St. Petersburg, Russia

Konyusheny DvorBest of IgoUgo

Attraction

The Konyusheny Dvor is next door to the St. Petersburg restaurant. We met one of our Russian Guides and her French boyfriend there for a drink. Philip was in Russia studying as an artist at the Russian Academy Arts, a school known to have produced an almost infinite list of talented artists, and he spoke English well. Oleysia, our Russian guide, was also a student at the Academy, but she was studying Art History. It was great fun talking about the US and Russia with these two fun, intelligent people, and we had a great time just sitting around indulging in Georgian wine (a definite must try if you are a wine drinker!) and dark beer. As the night wore on, however, the music pumped up louder, and my husband noticed some interesting entertainment dancing on the top of the bars one floor below where we were sitting. The thing that amazed me about the adult dancers that had just garnered the attention of every man in the bar, however, had nothing to do with the fact that I had never been in any club where women were systematically taking their clothes off; the thing that I found interesting (other than the look on my husband’s face!) was that the strippers were both great dancers! Our Russian guide who had not known that the Konyusheny Dvor was a strip club (it had been chosen as a meeting spot because it was next door to where we had eaten dinner) told me that Russian women often study dance from the time they are young girls. When the “show” ended, we all went downstairs to a tiny dance floor by the bar and moved to the music ourselves (with our clothes on, thank you very much!). It was quite late when we left the bar---the moon was twinkling off the onion domes on the Church on the Spilled Blood. We talked and laughed on the sidewalk for awhile, amazed at how quiet the street seemed after such loud music, before it was decided that we should get a commercial taxi back to the hotel rather than flag down a private car. The first such cab we tried wanted us to pay $12 for the trip. Our Russian friend told us to walk away and got us another cab for less than $6. A private car to that area would have cost around $3, but it seemed safer to take a regular cab when the world was dark, and we were sleepy. The drinks at the bar were VERY reasonable, and the strippers made for an interesting memory, but the company of our Russian guide and her boyfriend were what made this evening so much fun.
  • Member Rating 3 out of 5 by barbara on June 6, 2000

Konyusheny Dvor
Griboedova kan.na. 5 St. Petersburg, Russia

Gastiny DivorBest of IgoUgo

Attraction | "Gostinyy dvor"

The department stores in Russia are interesting. My Russian guide had to point out to me that when we walked through an archway and the walls changed color, we were not walking into another room of a store, but into another store entirely! I needed another pair of pants to wear because the first days we spent in Russia were colder than I had anticipated. I was able to find a very nice pair of Olga pants and black high heels for a little over $50 US total. The prices reminded me of those you find at a good US sale. One great thing I also noticed, however, was there was no sales tax added to purchases. For other types of shopping there are many, many street vendors from whom you can buy both souvenirs and street art. There are also antique stores and art stores for more high end purchases. Talk with your guide, however, about difficulties you might have in customs with such acquisitions. One of the grocery stores we went into in Nevsky Prospect had chandeliers and all the food and alcohol under glass cases like those found at jewelry counters in the US! You simply pointed to what you wanted, and the lady behind the counter would get you however many of that item you would need. Tip: The gift store at the Peter and Paul Fortress was really reasonably priced with some wonderful things. I bought beautifully hand-painted wooden soldiers to take home to my young son. A friend of ours in our group bought a Faberge egg from there as well (of course her purchase was a lot more expensive than ours). It was the best gift shop within a large attraction that I remember visiting.
  • Member Rating 3 out of 5 by barbara on June 6, 2000

Gastiny Divor
Nevesky Prospeck St. Petersburg, Russia

Running Past Tolstoy's GraveBest of IgoUgo

Attraction

Fyodor Dostoevsky's Grave
I was told by the hotel staff that most Russians run either in the country or in various parks throughout the city. They do not normally run on the sidewalks by the streets. To get to the country or the parks was not an easy thing for me to do when the purpose was to just get in a run, so the hotel staff advised me to exercise either late at night (before sun down---11 PM) or early morning (7 AM). Supposedly the traffic is lighter at these times. The pollution is not as thick either. I was fortunate in that another lady who was in my Tour Group was a runner, too. It was wonderful having a running partner in this strange city. In fact, I am not sure I would've wanted to run alone. Bravery is found in numbers, right? One morning my friend and I mapped out a course that took us across the Bolshoi Neva to the courtyard of a church and graveyard. We entered the graveyard later (requires an admittance fee and is surrounded by walls)with our entire travel group and found many famous Russians such as Leo Tolstoy, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, and Fyodor Dostoevsky were buried there. It was very pleasant exploring this area after having already run there. Throughout the vacation my running partner and I also learned how to avoid some of the wild traffic by going under roads instead of across them. There are many Metro stations throughout the city that you can use as “running tunnels” to cross the road. If you get a chance also go on a tour of the Metro stations. We did with our group, and many are very beautiful.
  • Member Rating 3 out of 5 by barbara on June 6, 2000

Running Past Tolstoy's Grave
St. Petersburg St. Petersburg, Russia

Peterhof Palace and GardensBest of IgoUgo

Attraction | "Peterhof"

Peterhof
The Peterhof Palace was Peter the Great’s and Catherine the Great’s summer palace respectively. It was my favorite large palace owned by the Imperial Family because the grounds were so beautiful. It is situated on the Finish Gulf, and the back gardens are wild and natural looking. Peter the Great had a great sense of humor, too, and there are trick fountains that turn on when you hit certain triggers, such as the bench that squirts water when you sit down. I saw several people running on the grounds---entrance for Russians is very cheap---and would say that I would have loved to have run there, too. To see all of the Palace and to explore all of the grounds in just one day, you could use the speed generated by a nice jog! The place is HUGE. And the front grounds are styled completely differently from the back - more formal and controlled. Less like the Tsar that originally built the place. Peter preferred the sea and untamed trees in the back of the palace.
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by barbara on June 6, 2000

Peterhof Palace and Gardens
Petrodvorets St. Petersburg, Russia

Novgorod KremlinBest of IgoUgo

Attraction

Inside the Kremlin Walls
Novgorod is a much older city than St. Petersburg having been established centuries ago. It is a very popular tourist destination. More interesting to me than Novgorod itself, however,was the Russian countryside we saw driving from St. Petersburg to Novgorod on the Russian Super-Highway. We were able to see many Russian summer houses along the way, people working in their gardens. Some of the fields left untended were so covered in dandelions that they looked like rectangles of blurred yellow as we drove by. At points we seemed to pass as many WWII Memorials as fields of flowers, which spoke volumes about the great sacrifices made by the Russian people during that terrible chapter in all of our countries’ histories. Once in Novgorod, we were given a short walking tour of the city with a Russian guide before eating a long and extravagant lunch at a local restaurant inside a wall of the city. Then we wandered around on our own, stopping in the Cathedral of St. Sophia (built 1045-1050) so that I could light a candle for my grandmother who was in a hospital back home. Later, crossing the bridge spanning the Volkhov River, we had a spectacular view of the city Kremlin and surrounding countryside.
  • Member Rating 3 out of 5 by barbara on June 6, 2000

Novgorod Kremlin
Novgorod St. Petersburg, Russia

Nicholas and Alexandria’s Primary ResidenceBest of IgoUgo

Attraction

Nicholas' and Alexandria's Church
The palace that Nicholas and Alexandria chose to make their primary residence for the second half of their marriage was a very sad place to visit. Unlike Catherine the Great’s grandiose Winter Palace nearby, the home of Nicholas and Alexandria felt very personal to me and was the only palace we visited that truly felt like it had once been a home. I really enjoyed the tour through the palace’s ground floor given by a Russian who worked there. She pointed out many small things of historical interest such as the old-timey phone that allowed Alexandria to speak to Tsar Nicholas when he was away in Moscow. The palace is also where the last Romanov ruler and his family were initially held under house arrest by the Bolsheviks before being moved to Yekaterinburg where they were all eventually murdered. The church behind the house where deeply religious Nicholas and Alexandria attended regular services is a working chapel again. Still, I felt overwhelmingly sad when I first entered this holy place knowing the terrible fate that awaited those who once prayed there.
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by barbara on June 6, 2000

Nicholas and Alexandria’s Primary Residence
St. Petersburg St. Petersburg, Russia

M&M Art Travel ToursBest of IgoUgo

Attraction | "M&M Art’s St. Petersburg"

Arts Tour
M&M Art is a small art company run by a retired military officer who has traveled to and from Russia countless times over the last decade. He began to take groups of curious Americans over just a few years ago to enjoy some of the sites in a city he calls a second home.

Because of Dr. Donnelly’s incredible interest in Russian art, the tour focuses on the great contributions Russians have made to the art world. The group leader was at his best when he took us through the Russian State Museum of Art. He narrated that tour with great knowledge and animation thus making each painting interesting.

Of course we also saw many of the things that any other tour would focus on such as St. Issacc’s Cathedral and The Peter and Paul Fortress. The itinerary for the trip was very ambitious, and I doubt any other commercial tour could cover any more of the city (if as much) in the same period of time (ten days).

It has to be said, too, that Dr. Donnelly is a completely colorful character with a sharp wit and light-hearted propensity to tease. When our Atlanta, Georgia travel group arrived at the airport, Dr. Donnelly made sure a small Russian band was there loudly playing Dixie! This music followed us throughout the tour as our group leader paid many, many sidewalk musicians to strike up this same tune.

I know for a fact that many of the individuals involved in the tour group that I went to Russia with chose St. Petersburg as a destination spot because of Dr. Donnelly. Not to say the tour was perfect (does such a creature exist?), but great pains were taken to meet certain individual’s needs. For instance, we liked going to night clubs, and we were given the option of taking a Russian guide with us if we needed one.

Most people going on one of Dr. Donnelly’s tours are retirees with a great interest in culture and time to travel whenever they want to. My husband and I are in our late twenties, however, which gave way to an experience in-and-of itself. We found that many of our travel companions were very young at heart, and we were astounded by how much they knew about, well, everything. It was like having bonus guides along for the ride!

The tour was great fun and well worth the money. The price included lodging, airfare, meals and tickets. Tourists pay for alcohol. (Bottled water is provided with each meal to guard against dehydration. There is a lot of walking involved!!!)

A one night lay-over in Zurich was also included (see my Switzerland Travel Journal!)

A Travel Package can be customized for small groups or couples who do not want to travel in a large company but would like to have a "personal tour guide" who speaks Russian to help them better enjoy their vacation.

  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by barbara on June 6, 2000

M&M Art Travel Tours
Timurovskaya 30-1-155 St. Petersburg, Russia
+7 (812) 532-7504

Peter the Great's CabinBest of IgoUgo

Attraction

The cabin of Peter the Great, built in 1703, was the first building ever constructed in St. Petersburg. It was a very small and humble structure, and I thought it revealed a lot about the giant man who once resided there. Peter was never affected by glitter or pretension. He was a practical leader, and the cabin was a place from which he could direct the building of his city. The rooms are furnished with some of Peter the Great's things, but there is also an exhibit describing naval victories in the center of the museum. Peter made great strides to enhance Russia's navy because he recognized the strategic import of the sea. He was always fascinated with the ocean.

Unfortunately, there is limited English to read in the cabin, so our guide was particulary useful. It will not take you long to walk through here, but it is worth the effort of getting there.

  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by barbara on June 21, 2002

Peter the Great's Cabin
6 Petrovskaya St. Petersburg, Russia
232-4576

Free adviceBest of IgoUgo

Story/Tip

The weather in May can be quite warm, but it was quite cold on several mornings, too. Pack clothes that can suit 40-75 degree F weather. The second half of our stay was mostly warm---shorts weather--- but I was still grateful to have a windbreaker along. Saint Petersburg has so many things to see that you will not possibly be able to see them all on one visit. A tour can help you hit the most important things in the least amount of time by taking away the hassle of your worrying about the details. A guide of some sort would be extremely helpful if you don’t want to do a group because there is a language barrier. (The Tour Company that we went through provides an individual guide service, too, which we will use on our next trip to that area of the world.) Be advised that you will see some beggars on the streets. I was told it is fine to give Rubles to the old people at the churches. The old are not very well taken care of in Russia. There are gypsies in the city, too, however, and these are not to be given to under any circumstances. They are known to be pick-pockets and professional beggars even though their barefoot children will make your heart ache. I also found that I became extremely interested in Russian history after our tour. You might want to read a book on Peter the Great or Catherine the Great or Nicholas and Alexandria before visiting St. Petersburg. All of these rulers lived in or near this city at some point in their reigns, and all of them have fascinating stories behind their names. And for Gosh Sakes! Pack some of your own Toilet Paper! Russians use what feels like cardboard (at the beginning of your trip) or sandpaper (nearing the end of your stay!). You will miss this not-much-thought-of Western comfort if you forget to pack the Charmin!

About the Writer

barbara
barbara
Atlanta, Georgia

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