Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg (district) is a metropolitan district surrounded by Leningrad Oblast, centered on Saint Petersburg.

Russia's second metropolis, the Saint Petersburg area is one of the world's richest in terms of sights for the visitor. Besides the city itself, the three suburbs, Pushkin, Pavlovsk, and Peterhof are home to three of the world's most spectacularly opulent palaces, former country residences of the Tsars (Lomonosov is home to a less opulent, but also pleasantly less-touristed palace of its own). Pushkin is also rich in literary history, being the site of Pushkin's (the poet) schooling. The island city and naval base Kronshtadt makes an interesting day trip from Saint Petersburg as it is home to an impressive but neglected Naval Cathedral and was closed to all foreign travelers until the late 90's.

• Saint Petersburg
• Kolpino
• Kronstadt
• Lomonosov
• Pushkin
• Pavlovsk
• Peterhof
• Sestroretsk
• Strelna

• Komarovo
• Repino

English is spoken in the city of Saint Petersburg and at all major tourist sites, but not half as widely as in Scandinavia. For independent travel some knowledge of Russian is very useful.

• Fascinating city, crossed by a net of canals, like Venice ! Astonishing a night cruise on the river Neva. • Antonio B.
• If you're going to the Hermitage, be prepared to do some walking. I did not think a museum could be that big. Or that Catherine the Great owned that much stuff. • Bob T.
• If you plan on doing the Dostoevski/ Raskolnikov walk, or just plan on being down in the hay market, try not to be there after dark. The area can get fairly sketchy at night, especially if you're on foot. • Rob B.