Introduction: The city is simply enchanting. It shows the glory of the imperial Russia before the communist revolution. It was founded in 1703. As you travel along the streets of this city, you feel the ambiance of 18th and 19th centuries.
A walk along the main Nevsky Street is a visual feast of marvelous architecture and its evolution during the past three centuries. The white nights in June have to be seen and felt. Like in Amsterdam and Venice a large network of canals crisscross the city connecting the various branches of Neva River that flows though it.
Visa and Other Regulations: Visiting Russia could be problematic as the procedures are cumbersome. An invitation letter from a recognized travel agent who makes hotel / tour bookings is needed for a tourist visa. We paid $25 for each letter. Use a reliable travel agent with strong links with a good Indian travel agency. The visa is issued just for the duration of your stay. When you pass the Russian immigration, a part of the disembarkation form you fill-in is retuned to you, along with your passport, on which you have to get police registration stamps at all the places you visit. Most good hotels assist in police registration, though some for a charge.
This form has to be returned to the immigration authorities while leaving the country. At the customs it is safer to declare anything valuable if you want to take them back. Foreign exchange regulations are strict. Declare your foreign exchange otherwise you cannot take out any. Change money only at authorized places and keep the receipts. Keep all ATM receipts till you leave.
How to Go: St Petersburg is connected directly to many cities in Europe. But for Indians the best option may be to visit Moscow first and take a night train from there. The sleeper coaches are clean, with clean white sheets. St. Petersburg has domestic and international airports located at one place but with separate terminals. The service is poor.
Stay: Night trains from Moscow reach St Petersburg in the morning. But be prepared for waiting in the hotel lobby for a few hours for some guests to checkout before you get the room. The hotels are basic, even in the four star hotel we stayed ? the service was poor. Don?t forget police registration. Negotiate the room rent inclusive of breakfast. Restaurants and cafes are quite expensive. Look for buffets.
Places to Visit: We had a personal guide with personal car for our tour. That gave us quite a lot of flexibility in managing our time. There is a lot to see in the city. In six days we could see only the main attractions, which I describe here. If you visit in June / July during the white nights you will have more time to see the city. But be vigilant.
A day is needed for just site seeing during. Some important places visit are:
Peter and Paul Fortress and St Peter and Paul Cathedral. The richly decorated cathedral contains the tombs of Russian Tsars. The remains of the last Russian Tsars, whom the Communists executed and buried in Siberia, were also brought here in 1998. This fort was built in 1714-1718 at a strategic location on Hare Island to protect the city from invading navies.
The Hermitage museum requires more than a week to see if one is serious about seeing all its 2.7 million items it. It is one the largest and greatest museums in the World. The other museum I could compare with this in size is the Louvers in Paris. Its collection quite varied and interesting. The Palace Square in front of the Hermitage is huge beautiful and impeccably clean.
St Isaac?s Cathedral is the fourth largest domed cathedral in the world and covers a hectare of area. The other three are St Peters in Vatican; St Paul?s in London, and Santa Maria die Fiori in Florence. We happened to see all these cathedrals, and St Isaac?s is no less than others in the splendor and opulence of its interiors. It is decorated with beautiful paintings, mosaics, and sculptures. It took 40 years to build this church.
The Cathedral of the Kazan Icon located on the Nevsky Street is another stunningly beautiful Russian Orthodox Church with beautiful interiors. Ironically, the cathedral housed the museum of atheism and religion under the communists. Now it is returned to the church.
The Church on the Spilled blood was built at a site where Alexander II, a reformist Russian emperor, was assassinated. There is no service in this memorial church. The building is the epitome of Russian Orthodox Church architecture. It is grand and beautiful from outside and even grander inside with iconographic pictures made of mosaic covering the ceiling and walls and pillars. There are 308 fine mosaic pictures covering a total area of over 6, 500 square meters (about 1.78 acres!!!).
The golden, sky blue and white St Nicholas Cathedral, popularly known as sailor?s church, is another example of excellent Russian Orthodox Church architecture. The first service was held in this church in 1770 yet the interior of the church is very well preserved. Even now prayers and services are offered.
The Alexander Nevsky monastery, which also houses the holy trinity cathedral, has among the oldest buildings in the city reflecting various architectural styles. The monastery now holds the relics of the holy prince St Alexander Nevsky who concurred this area form Swedes in the 13th century.
State Parliament (Duma), Smolny Institute, and the Cruiser Aurora (a 100 year old warship) are the places to be visited by those who have an interest in the great October revolution in which the Bolshevik party (the communists) deposed the Tsars.
In the environs of St Petersburg there are a number places to see, among these the most popular are ? Peterhof, and the Tsars village. Both are located at a distance of less than two hours but on different sides of the city. It is possible to go to Peterhof on a Hydrofoil a large high-speed boat that skims on the water.
Peterhof houses a large palace (grand palace) and several small palaces in the middle of a beautiful park dotted with a large number of fountains, pavilions and hundreds of sculptures. The grand palace has a beautiful cascade and an ensemble of fountains opening into a short canal that flows into the Finland bay. Water for these fountains comes from mountain springs located about 40 km away. The palace and its environs are a treat to the eye, which is difficult to describe. One has to experience it.
Important places to see at the Tsars village are the Catherine Palace and the garden behind it. The palace, which is still under restoration, shows the visitors to the splendor of the Russian Tsars? life style. I have not seen anything like the grand hall in this palace in its luxury, magnificence, and size (846 square meters) with exquisitely and lavishly carved wooden sculptures and ornamentations gilded with about 100 kilos of gold!
The visit to St Petersburg is not complete without seeing a Russian ballet. A large selection was available during our visit. We saw Tchaikovsky?s Swan Lake at the Alexanderinsky theater. Mussorgsky opera and ballet theater is another place to visit.
To cap it all we were in St Petersburg during the white nights period (early July) when the sunset was at 0045 am and the sunrise was at 330 am. There used to be bright golden yellow sunlight even at 0000 hrs midnights. I was told that the city has different charm in autumn. I hope I will be able to visit again.
This city must be seen by all, particularly architects.