Visa-free travel - St Petersburg's top attractions
St Petersburg was born of Tsar Peter the Great's crazy idea of building a city on marshland and bringing Russia closer to the West. Today the city is Russia's cultural capital and a mecca for artists. Life here moves more slowly than in Moscow, and you get the impression that the locals dress and behave differently. With its many historic sights and its established position as a centre of education and culture, the city is a great place to spend a few days. St Petersburg has many faces: sometimes monumental, but often cosy and surprising.
E-visa, getting there and public transport
Formalities. To travel to St Petersburg and the Leningrad Oblast (yes, the region is still "Leningrad") all you need to do is fill in a simple online application, in Russian or English. The only problem I had was with the photo: the system kept rejecting my simple "selfie", but after a few attempts the form was accepted, and 2 days later I had a free electronic visa in my inbox. The form is filled in on the website https://evisa.kdmid.ru
Getting there. LOT flies to St Petersburg, but the low-cost airlines have also sniffed out the business opportunity in the growth of visa-free travel and are rapidly adding routes. In summer 2020 Wizz Air will link Russia's former imperial capital with Vilnius, Sofia, Bucharest, London, Budapest and Bratislava. And that is probably not the last word.... I flew veeeery cheaply, with a change at London Luton, for 160 PLN return. Ryanair lags a little behind, with a direct flight to St Petersburg only from Malta.
Transport. Getting around the city is not difficult. You can reach many places on foot. The canals, and the fact that some districts are on islands, get in the way of moving around freely a little. You have to look for the nearest bridge, but that only enriches your wanderings. You can also choose between 5 metro lines, buses and trolleybuses. In summer there is also water transport. The cheapest way from Pulkovo airport to the centre is bus 39 (50RUB) to "Moskovskaya" metro station, then on to wherever you need (55RUB). The first bus from the airport leaves at around 5.00 am. A taxi from the airport will charge 1000RUB. If you opt for this form of transport, it is best to book through the little desk just past the baggage reclaim area, because outside it is hard to fend off the touts. Public transport is well signposted, with signs in English too. On the buses, conductresses are a relic of a bygone era: they sell tickets and make sure nobody rides without paying. In the metro you are also under the watchful eye of numerous staff. The uniformed women who watch the escalators from their glass booths squeezed between the moving stairways are a surprising sight. Tokens for single journeys, including transfers, are bought from machines or ticket offices.
Where to eat: Teremok, stolovayas and pyshki
Food. You will have no trouble finding somewhere for a meal, a coffee or a cake in St Petersburg. The Teremok restaurant chain offers a choice of typically Russian dishes. The blini, pierogi and borscht served there have won recognition, and CNN named it one of the 8 best regional food chains in the world (a small borscht costs 250RUB). You can eat for next to nothing in self-service canteens marked "stolovaya" (goulash, buckwheat, salad and kompot for 250RUB). The city has many cafés, some in a modern style, such as Tucano Coffee, others in a traditional French style, like Lindfors. Near Nevsky Prospekt, be sure to go for "pyshki" (Bolshaya Konyushennaya). In an austere interior, ladies behind the counter in non-iron aprons and little pillbox caps will serve you the obligatory set: a doughnut with heavily sweetened coffee (50RUB). You will meet doughnut addicts there, some of whom take several each.
Nevsky Prospekt, the Hermitage and the tsars' palaces
Nevsky Prospekt is the main street of St Petersburg and one of its longest (4.5 km). It links many attractions, and a stroll along it is a must. Be sure to visit the Eliseyev Emporium for its architecture, decor and range of goods. An ambitious peasant founded a family dynasty famous for its delicatessens, inns and chocolate factory. The Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood and St Isaac's Cathedral are two churches in the city centre that you should see. The first is more delicate thanks to its fanciful colours and the variety of finishing materials, while the second is huge and monumental. The buildings were used as warehouses in communist times: it took restorers 20 years to recreate their richly coloured interiors. Admission to each is 350RUB (closed on Wednesdays).
The Hermitage is one of the largest art museums in the world, occupying several palaces around Palace Square, which you cannot possibly see in one day. The largest collections are in the Winter Palace, but the most interesting are in the General Staff Building. In this complex, while keeping the historic façades, a modern exhibition interior of concrete and glass has been created, housing among other things Impressionist paintings and an exhibition devoted to the jewellery craftsmanship of Fabergé. A ticket giving access to all the exhibitions costs 700RUB, and to the General Staff Building alone 300RUB. Plan your visit to the Hermitage museums carefully, bearing in mind that in winter they are empty, but in summer the queues for tickets last 2-3 hours.
Petrogradsky Island means historic sights and curiosities. A must on the sightseeing list is the Peter and Paul Fortress, with the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, the tombs of the tsars and the tsarist prison. A little further on, the Aurora is moored at the embankment "as an eternal memorial": a symbolic ship, a monument and a museum. The October Revolution of 1917, which changed the fate of Europe for decades, began with a shot from her bow gun (admission as much as 700RUB).
In summer you absolutely must head out of the city to Tsarskoye Selo or Peterhof. In winter such a trip to the tsars' suburban residences makes less sense, as you cannot enjoy the gardens and fountains. The interesting hydrofoil trip to Peterhof is also off the table then, as it only runs from June to October.
Lakhta Center - Europe's tallest skyscraper
One of St Petersburg's more unusual attractions is the Lakhta Center skyscraper. The business centre, still under construction in winter 2020, will be occupied by the Gazprom group. The main element of the complex is a futuristic skyscraper with an observation deck at the top. At 462 m it will be the tallest in the whole of Europe. There are also plans for an artificial river that will tumble into the bay in a great cascade ("Begovaya" metro station, then a walk).
The St Petersburg metro - stations like a museum
When travelling on the metro beneath St Petersburg, it is worth looking up or around you now and then. The stations are spacious, well kept and painstakingly made, often in the spirit of socialist realism. The decor matches the name of each stop, so, for example, at "Pushkinskaya" you will find a statue of the poet underground. Interestingly, many emblems still carry references to the bygone era, such as engraved hammer and sickle symbols.
Intimate St Petersburg - the Griboyedov Canal and Pestelya Street
St Petersburg is often monumental and a little overwhelming. But in the centre you can find places on a human scale, ideal for a leisurely wander. I recommend two locations. One is the Griboyedov Canal near St Nicholas Cathedral. There is plenty of greenery there, beautiful vistas and romantic little bridges. The other is Pestelya Street. Although it is busy, its pastel palaces, restored townhouses and churches come together into a pleasing whole.
The Russian banya and kvass
On one of the streets leading off Nevsky Prospekt (Degtyarnyye 1) is the best banya in St Petersburg. I had to see for myself whether a Russian banya is the same as a sauna. In the building, separate floors are reserved for women and men. At the entrance everyone is given a large sheet to wrap around themselves. Birch, oak and conifer twigs soak in tubs of water. They are used for gentle whipping; it is best to leave this procedure to a "banya master". The relaxation area is spacious and luxurious, and the large room where you sweat looks just like an old village hut. The logs and planks, steps, platforms and benches are deeply blackened. A brick wall with an old-fashioned cast-iron door hides a pile of heated stones, doused with water from time to time. Order kvass to drink; I would put its taste somewhere between beer and Coca-Cola.
St Petersburg curiosities
A surprising building on Petrogradsky Island is a mosque whose size makes it one of the largest in Europe (Kronverkskiy Prospekt 7). Another spot, at Polozova Street 6, is a courtyard filled with an eclectic art installation. If you come to St Petersburg in winter, you will hear a constant "rattling" on the streets. Most cars have studded tyres, and their metallic clatter on the tarmac is everywhere. Unfortunately, these tyres grind away the top layer of the road surface, and the resulting black slush covers both the streets and the cars. It does not look good.
Russia is extending its simplified visa regime to the Far East. Not just Kaliningrad or St Petersburg: further vast areas can now be visited thanks to the modified procedures. The visa is free and valid for 30 days from the date of issue. You can stay in Russia for up to 8 days at a time. It is a great idea for a short holiday break. But start with St Petersburg! It is worth it!
