Saint Petersburg itinerary — 3 days
Day 1 — Saint Petersburg
6 stops · ≈ 7 h 3 minOne of the world's greatest art and culture museums, founded by Empress Catherine the Great in 1764. The main museum complex on Palace Embankment comprises five interconnected historic buildings, centered on the Winter Palace, the former official residence of Russian tsars. The collection boasts over three million works of art, including paintings by Leonardo da Vinci and Rembrandt, the Jordan Staircase, and the Peacock Clock.
The central public square of Saint Petersburg and a masterpiece of Russian neoclassical urban planning. The square is framed by the baroque Winter Palace by Bartolomeo Rastrelli, the sweeping crescent of the General Staff Building by Carlo Rossi, and the 47.5-metre Alexander Column. The monolithic red granite column stands without internal anchoring, held solely by its enormous weight.
St Petersburg's cathedral on Nevsky Prospekt, built between 1801 and 1811 to Andrei Voronikhin's design in Empire style. A semicircular colonnade of 96 columns embraces the square and became one of the city's architectural symbols. General Mikhail Kutuzov is buried here, and after the 1812 war it kept trophy keys from European cities. It is an active church: entry is free, with modest dress and quiet requested.
A masterpiece of Russian Revival architecture erected on the Griboedov Canal embankment where Emperor Alexander II was fatally wounded in 1881. Designed by Alfred Parland, the nine-domed cathedral is renowned for its kaleidoscopic enamel cupolas and over 7,500 square meters of intricate mosaics covering the interior walls and vaults from floor to ceiling.
The oldest formal park in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1704 by Peter the Great on an island bounded by the Neva, Fontanka, Moyka, and Swan Canal. Designed in the French formal style, it features shaded linden bosquets, working fountains, and an exquisite collection of 17th- and 18th-century Venetian marble statues. Along the Neva stands the world-famous wrought-iron grille designed by Yury Felten.
A legendary protected cruiser of the Russian Imperial Navy, permanently moored at the Petrogradskaya Embankment in Saint Petersburg. Launched in 1900, the vessel fought in the Battle of Tsushima in 1905, while its blank forecastle shot in October 1917 signaled the assault on the Winter Palace. Today it serves as a naval museum with historic decks and engine rooms.
Reserve
9If you have time left — worth it too.
The imperial seaside residence founded by Peter the Great on the Gulf of Finland to commemorate Russia's Baltic triumph. The estate is celebrated for its gravity-fed fountain network that powers over 150 jets without a single mechanical pump: the glittering Grand Cascade with Samson tearing open the lion's jaws, intimate coastal pavilions like Monplaisir and Marly, and the gilded Grand Palace rebuilt by Bartolomeo Rastrelli.
Surrounding the grand Catherine Palace in Tsarskoye Selo, this sprawling park is a masterpiece of 18th-century landscape design. It merges a formal French garden planned under Peter the Great with a picturesque English landscape park encircling the Great Pond. Strolling along tree-lined alleys reveals imperial pavilions such as the Cameron Gallery, the Hermitage, marble bridges, and monuments celebrating Russian naval victories.
One of Europe's largest English-style landscape parks, covering approximately 600 hectares along the Slavyanka River in suburban Saint Petersburg. Conceived at the turn of the 19th century by Charles Cameron, Vincenzo Brenna, and Pietro Gonzaga, the park seamlessly merges romantic northern woods with classical pavilions, such as the Temple of Friendship and Apollo Colonnade, ornate bridges, and friendly squirrels.
A masterpiece of Russian Elizabethan Baroque architecture designed by Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli in Tsarskoye Selo. Stretching over 300 metres, its azure facade is adorned with gleaming gilded atlantes and classical colonnades. Inside, the golden Great Hall glistens with mirrors, while the legendary Amber Room, meticulously reconstructed with six tons of amber, is celebrated as the eighth wonder of the world.
The imperial country residence in the town of Pushkin, centred on the baroque Catherine Palace by Rastrelli with its Great Hall and the legendary Amber Room. The ensemble also includes landscaped parks dotted with pavilions, the Alexander Palace and the First World War museum in the Martial Chamber. Palace entry is by timed sessions; the ticket covers Catherine Park, and booking online ahead of the summer queues is wise.
One of Saint Petersburg's most iconic bridges, carrying Nevsky Prospect over the Fontanka River. The three-arch stone crossing is world-famous for its four dramatic bronze sculpture groups, 'The Horse Tamers', sculpted by Peter Clodt to depict man's triumph over wild nature. The ornate cast-iron railings feature mythical sea horses and mermaids designed after drawings by German architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel.
An 18th-century man-made island shaped like a bagel, built under Peter I for storing ship timber and ringed by red-brick warehouses along canals. Closed to the public for two centuries, it reopened in the 2010s as one of St Petersburg's most polished parks: lawns, a playground, lectures, an ice rink in winter and an open-air stage in summer. Entry is free.
The Smolny Cathedral of the Resurrection is a masterpiece of Elizabethan baroque designed by Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli. Construction began in 1748 under Empress Elizabeth and stretched over decades: the interiors were completed by Vasili Stasov under Catherine II. The turquoise-and-white five-domed cathedral stands by a bend of the Neva; today it hosts concerts and exhibitions with free entry.
One of the oldest botanical gardens in Russia, founded by Peter the Great in 1714 as the Apothecary Garden on St. Petersburg's Aptekarsky Island. Its crown jewel is a monumental glasshouse complex of 26 interconnected greenhouses spanning nearly a kilometre, housing over eight thousand exotic plants. Visitors explore tropical and subtropical routes featuring centenarian palms, desert cacti, and the giant Victoria amazonica water lily.
- Keep some cash on hand, as not all places accept cards.
- Learn a few basic Russian phrases, as not everyone speaks English.
- Use a reliable map app for navigation, but be aware of potential data costs.