St. Petersburg, Russia
Church of the Spilled Blood Tower
Overview:
Church of Our Savior on the Spilled
Blood
Ahhhh, St. Petersburg. I
don't think that any other city is as engaging as St.
Petersburg. Formerally Leningrad, St. Petersburg is a
city of over 5 million residents and some of the most
impressive sights anywhere. Your stay in St. Petersburg
will be the highlight of your cruise and it is worth
some time planning what you want to do and see while
there.
St. Petersburg is made up
of hundreds of islands and over 40 rivers with 200+
bridges. Canals criss-cross the city leaving one with
the feeling that they are in Venice, Italy or Amsterdam.
The Neva River runs right through the center of St.
Petersburg and is a major commercial waterway. Each
night at midnight the bridges that cross the Neva River
open to allow boats to pass. This separates the city
into two sections and if one is caught on the wrong side
of the river, they remain there until daylight. Hence,
St. Petersburg's legendary nightlife is created.
The currency in St. Petersburg is the ruble and the ship
will not have any on board. However, there are ATM
machines located in the cruise terminal where you dock,
should you want to obtain some rubles for shopping.
Russian is the official language of St. Petersburg,
however many Russians love to try their English if given
the chance.
Cruise Port Location and Information:
Sea Facade Terminal
In May, 2011 work was completed on the new Sea Facade
Terminal in St. Petersburg. Built on Vasilyevsky Island
at the mouth of the Neva River, cruise passengers no
longer have to make the long trek into town from the
industrial port. As one of the largest cruise ship
terminals in the world, there are 3 cruise terminals
which can accommodate 7 mega-ships at one time. Each
terminal has between 28-36 border control check points,
vending machines, souvenir shops, ATMs, a tourist
information center, café, duty-free shop, wi-fi service
and a taxi desk. The taxi desk is manned by English
speaking dispatchers. Taxis charge a fixed rate of 600
rubles for the trip to the city center. Depending on
traffic, the ride to city center takes about 15 minutes.
Make sure to ask the taxi dispatcher to write the name
of the cruise terminal in Russian for your return trip
and negotiate the price before getting into the cab.
Inside Cruise Terminal
Exploring on Your Own:
Downtown St. Petersburg is easy to explore on your own.
One of the best ways to get an overview of the city and
to visit its legendary attractions is to take one of the
double-decker, hop-on/hop-off buses. Presently a day
pass, with unlimited “on and off “ privileges, costs 450
rubles (approximately $15 US). However, you have to
completely understand the immigration laws as they
affect cruise passengers. I have written a detailed
explanation of your options HERE so
that you can easily understand the laws and make an
informed decision on how to make the most of your visit.
Based on your comfort level and the cost factors, you
may prefer to book your excursions in advance with a
local licensed and authorized tour operator based in St.
Petersburg
Downtown St. Petersburg
Shopping Tips:
One of the Larger
Shopping Areas by the Church of the Spilled Blood
Shopping in St. Petersburg is incredible. While most
street vendors will accept dollars or euro, you best bet
is to convert some currency into rubles. Bargaining is
normal and you are expected to negotiate a price for
whatever you are considering buying and while the prices
have crept up over the last few years, there are still
some substantial bargains to be had. You will find flea
markets (like shown above) by St. Isaacs Cathedral and
also by the Church of the Spilled Blood. There are also
some street vendors at just about every stop a motor
coach makes. Peterof also has an excellent open air
market place for some souvenirs.
If
shopping is one of your major reasons for visiting St.
Petersburg, you best bet is to book a shopping tour with
one of the licensed and authorized tour operators. On
one trip Joanie and I shared a limo with another couple
and had the time of our lives hitting every conceivable
king of store.
Nevsky Prospekt, St.
Petersburg's Main Shopping Street
Many
department and specialty stores can be found on and
around St. Petersburg's main shopping street Nevsky
Prospekt. You will find currency exchange businesses on
Nevsky Prospekt and be sure to bring your original
passport with you, as they will not exchange currency
without it.
Russian Nesting Dolls
There
are numerous collectible items to purchase including
Russian Nesting Dolls. These run the gamut from
inexpensive 3 or 4 doll sets to very expensive multiple
doll sets of extremely high quality,
Nesting Dolls, Lacquer
Boxes and More
Matrioshka dolls, lacquer boxes, wood carvings,
paintings, ceramic dolls and much more are available at
great prices.
Paintings
Be sure to shop, as prices can vary widely
from vendor to vendor. The vendors will do everything
that they can do to close the sale before you shop, so
be aware that the harder they try to close you, the
better the deal will get if you shop around.
Ceramic Collectibles
There
is a wealth of ceramic items to choose from as well.
Don't forget the Russian hats, dolls and caviar to take
home and enjoy. There is also a last minute shopping
opportunity right by the pier that has a wide selection
of items to purchase just in case you missed something.
Port
Highlights:
The State Hermitage
Museum
The Hermitage Museum is
one of (if not the) largest museums in the world. It
houses over 3,000,000 pieces of art. It is St.
Petersburg's number one tourist attraction and even if
you are mot a museum person you should make it a point
to visit this museum.
The Hermitage Stairway
The Hermitage is huge and
is made up of several structures. But, more impressive
is the quality of construction. As you enter the
Hermitage you climb this stairway. Note that the pillars
are made from precious stones and the ceiling is gold.
The Hermitage Inlaid
Wooden Floor
Everywhere that you look
one is dazzled by the richness of the museum. Once the
winter palace of Czars visiting the staterooms leaves
one in awe at the lavish lifestyles they enjoyed while
millions of Russians starved and froze to death. A visit
to the Hermitage will be the highlight of your cruise
without question.
The Hermitage and Tour
Boats
If you take one of the
ship's shore excursions to the Hermitage you will be
required to stay with the group at all times. The tour
guide will walk you through the main part of the museum
discussing its most famous pieces. You will not be
allowed to go on your own to see what you are interested
in. The best way to see the Hermitage is to book a visit
with one of the local licensed tour companies like
Denrus. In this way, you can see what you are interested
in and take your time doing it. It is said that if you
spent just one minute viewing each piece of art in the
museum that it would take eleven years to see
everything. This museum is amazing and I am not a museum
kind of guy.
St. Isaacs Cathedral
From a River Cruise
One could easily spend a
month in St. Petersburg and not even scratch the surface
seeing its museums, cathedrals and churches, monuments,
parks, palaces and historic sights. Since you will
probably only have two days in St. Petersburg, here are
the major sights that you will want to visit.
St Isaacs Cathedral
From the Square in Front of it
The first stop on just
about any tour is St. Isaacs Cathedral. While it is the
largest cathedral in St. Petersburg, it is also the most
impressive. Built to hold 14,000 parishioners, it was
the largest church in Russia until recently. Yes, that
is gold that you see on the domes. This place is unreal.
Church of Our Savior on
the Spilled Blood
Wow! This church was built
in the late 1800s and was built on the place where
Alexander II was assonated (hence the name). It is
incredibly ornate and well worth a visit. And yes, that
is more gold on the domes.
Church of Our Savior on
the Spilled Blood
It is easily viewed by
walking from Nevsky Prospekt or your tour guide can
bring you right to it. Don't miss the flea market that
adjoins it as this is one of the best shopping
opportunities for souvenirs in St. Petersburg. There are
also several excellent restaurants close by.
The Cathedral of SS
Peter and Paul
The Cathedral is the
tallest building in St. Petersburg and is well worth
visiting. The graves of Peter the Great, Catherine and
all of the rulers since are found here and are very
interesting to see, as they are ornate and speak to the
heights that the population of St. Petersburg hold their
elite rulers. On the day that I visited people had put
flowers on the grave of Peter the Great.
Cathedral of Our Lady
of Kazan
The Kazan Cathedral was
built in the early 1800s and resemble St. Peters
Basilica at the Vatican. Located on Nevsky Prospekt
right in the heart of the downtown area, the Kazan
Cathedral is certainly worth a visit.
Just One of the More
Than 200 Bridges in St. Petersburg
Scenes From a Tour Boat
One of the best ways to
become oriented with St. Petersburg is to take one of
the tour boats that operate from the Hermitage. They
will take you past most of the important sights in St.
Petersburg and also give you an idea of the depth of the
city. The tours are inexpensive, but only accept rubles.
Canals are Everywhere
One can't help but be
impressed by the planning that went into the city
hundreds of years ago. Parts of it are simply
breathtaking.
The Bronze Horseman
The Bronze Horseman is a
monument dedicated to Peter the Great, Founder of St.
Petersburg. It is located in the square between the Neva
River and St. Isaacs Cathedral and is surrounded by
government buildings. While just one of many monuments
located throughout St. Petersburg, it is well worth a
visit.
You can easily see how you
could spend your entire time just exploring St.
Petersburg's numerous museums, cathedrals, churches,
shopping, monuments, palaces and so on, but there is
much more.
Off the
Beaten Path:
Peterhof
No
visit to St. Petersburg would be complete without
visiting Perterhof, the palace of Peter the Great. It is
almost unbelievable to me that this place exists. It is
so lavish that it would humble anyone by its size,
richness and overall design. Peterhof resides
approximately one hour south of St. Petersburg and the
best way to see it is to arrange a tour with a local
licensed and authorized tour company in St. Petersburg.
The tour companies have access to advance reservations
so that you can whiz right by the lines waiting to enter
the palace (which can be hours long during the summer
months.)
The Entrance to the
Grand Palace
The use
of gold in the Grand Palace is overwhelming to say the
least. Remember that this was built when thousands of
Russians were starving and freezing to death. It amazes
me how the population of St. Petersburg worship this guy
even today.
The Lavish Rooms in the
Grand Palace
Exploring the Grand Palce leaves one with their mouth
hanging open to say the least. There is so much wealth
exhibited that it is overwhelming.
The Grand Palace Seen
From the Ocean Canal
All of
the fountains at Peterhof are gravity fed and run 24
hours a day. The engineering that went into them is
awesome. There are fountains everywhere and Peterhof is
connected to the Baltic Sea by this canal. The Peterhof
Park and Gardens encompasses a huge area and is adorned
with other smaller palaces and mansions. One could
easily spend the entire day at Peterhof and would
remember it forever.
Catherine Summer Palace
While
Peterhof is the "must see" choice if you have not been
to St. Petersburg before, Catherine Palace is the second
choice. Located an equal distance north of St.
Petersburg as Peterhof is south, Catherine Palace is
also overwhelming. Catherine, who ruled Russia for two
years after Peter the Great's demise, chose this palace
as her summer home. Her daughter, Empress Elizabeth
completed the palace in the lat 1700s.
One Room in Catherine
Palace
The
rooms in Catherine Palace are breathtaking. Inlaid wood
floors, painted ceilings and the use of gold are used
throughout the entire palace. Again, the elaborate
wealth that it took to build the structure is
overwhelming.
The
best way to see Catherine Palace and the other sights in
Pushkin is to book a tour with a local licensed and
authorized tour company in St. Petersburg. You will see
a ton more than if you take a ship's shore excursion.
Dining
and Drinking Suggestions:
Yes, if
you like to go to night clubs, St. Petersburg's are
legendary. We used Denrus on one occasion and our tour
guide took us out for the evening. After enjoying the
opening of the White Nights Ceremony we started club
hopping. We ended up at a club located on Nevsky
Prospekt named Zagreb and it was fantastic. We dined on
caviar and drank vodka and enjoyed people watching well
into the wee hours before returning to the ship.
On my
last visit to St. Petersburg a group of us had visas and
went out for the evening. We started at Zagreb, but one
of our group became somewhat ill and had to return to
the ship. We all went back, but left the gal in a taxi
at the entrance to the port so she could go back to the
ship. We had heard that there was a "seaman's bar" just
outside the port so jumped into a taxi and had him drop
us there. Again, great fun. We stayed until quite late
(the clubs are open all night) and then walked back to
the port entrance where we grabbed a taxi to take us to
the ship. If you like to party, don't miss the night
life in St. Petersburg.
Must Do
List:
The Hermitage
Do not
miss visiting the Hermitage Museum while in St.
Petersburg and do not miss Peterhof. If you only have
two days in St. Petersburg do one one day and the other
the next. You will remember the experience for the rest
of your life.
Reader
Port Reviews
(Please Click the Review you'd like to read)
Nancy Norris; St. Petersburg, City
of the Tsars
Tom Ogg - Cruising and Russian
Immigration Laws
