There are many ways to get to Russia’s former waterfront capital.
But however you get there make your way to St. Petersburg.
The famous Nevsky Prospect or boulevard is the place for a couple of overnight stays. Several hotel chains such as Rinaldi operate rooms on individual floors of ordinary turn-of-the-century houses that shouldn’t break the bank. The countless beautiful facades on the avenue and its side streets remind visitors of the former glory of the 300-year-old city built by Czar Peter the Great, on the banks of the mighty Neva River.
Start a new day by taking a pick of the many inviting cafes, such as the Boulangerie Francaise at Nevsky No. 103, advertising the pastry heaven in French and Russian letters. This is good preparation for a long day at the world’s most famous art museum, the Hermitage.
At every step, one is reminded of the role Russia played in the world and its influence on art just a hundred years ago. Treasures of many nations are stacked there; an implication that Ekaterina the Great loved shopping for art. Only 10 percent of the works of the Hermitage are on display in the 400-room museum. Spending just two minutes at each painting, one would need eight years to see them all. It’s a museum of superlatives. One doesn’t know where to direct the camera first at the paintings or the intricate floor or the splendid ceiling or the heavy chandelier. Much of the world’s beauty and riches seem to be concentrated there in one building, the Winter Palace. It holds everything from the masters of the Middle Ages to the Impressionists, wine coolers and sleighs to watches and incredible furniture and Czar Nicholas II’s library, to the throne room and the golden reception hall.
Once the feet start hurting, it’s time for some Russian bliny, pelmeny and borshch at perhaps the Korchma at No. 40, Nekrasova St.
Getting back to the hotel any time expect winter, the traveler may feel pulled back onto the streets by the late night sunshine for another walk along the Neva River, past some reminders of Soviet times and many testaments to world-renowned architects before that time, past palaces, gardens and countless world famous stores.
For day two it is recommended to pull out a pocket guide and follow one of the side-street city walks. For instance starting back at the Hermitage square — easily reachable by the city’s very affordable trolley bus line — drift along the canal to the Neva River banks, along another canal through the diplomats’ quarter, past the czar’s stables, make another turn and straight ahead is the Cathedral of the Spilled Blood. It was built on the square where Czar Alexander II, who abolished serfdom in the empire in 1861, was attacked and killed in 1881. It’s a church like a castle from a Russian fairytale. To get to the cathedral, one passes countless matroushkas, Russian fur hats, T-shirts, St. Petersburg cups and more.
All around the church, one finds commemoration plaques describing every major event the next czar chose to commemorate. Walking past the first Mutual Credit Bank in Art Nouveau style, one eventually arrives at the Singer cafe.
To be understood by locals, ask for the Zzzzinger — apparently the Russian pronunciation of the famous sewing machine manufacturer, who opened a branch in St. Petersburg in 1905 and built an Art-Nouveau representational building for the company on Nevsky Prospekt. It is just around the corner from the Hermitage. The building today hosts an extremely tempting bookstore with a large selection of high-quality print products and a cafe with an impressive view of the Kazan Cathedral across Nevsky Prospekt, blackened by the centuries.
The list of unique things to do in St. Petersburg goes on and on: Watch Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake at the Marinsky Theater, climb St. Isaac’s Cathedral for a breathtaking city view, take a boat tour. And before you go back, eat another genuine Borshch, just to remember the taste of Russia.