How to get out Saint Petersburg
One-day excursions are popular with travellers to Saint Petersburg. Taxicabs and buses are the most common forms of transport and trips can often be organised either with the holiday operator e.g. Intourist, before traveling to Russia, or from your hotel. Several tour bus companies have kiosks in front of Gostinyy Dvor, with some tours (but not all) offered in English. Some of the most popular excursions include:
Oreshek fortess, a view from the right bank of Neva River
Gatchina — Big park and museum. Can be reached by train from Saint Petersburg Baltiskiy station to the Gatchina's Baltiskiy railway station, which is situated fairly close to the palace. One can also take a bus from near the former Warsaw station (next to Baltiskiy station) in St. Petersburg.
Ivangorod and Narva — Two towns on the Narva river (border between Russia and Estonia). Twin castles (Russian, established Grand Duke Ivan III, and Danish/Swedish). Clarify your visa status before crossing to Estonia, as you may not be able to come back on single-entry Russian visa.
Kronshtadt — Old seaport town on the Kotlin island. Main Russian naval base from early 18 century. You may take a hydrofoil back to the Hermitage for 100 RR.
Lomonosov (AKA Oranienbaum) — Park with museum honoring Michael Lomonosov. Not far from Peterhof (15 minutes by car). Station name is Oranienbaum. TIP - You may also visit Kronshtadt and take a hydrofoil back to the Hermitage for 100 RR, an inexpensive alternative to the more expensive ones leaving from Peterhof.
Novgorod — Ancient town with churches and museums. About 180 km. from St. Petersburg.
Oreshek fortess — a medieval russian fortess at Orekhovy Island in the mouth of Neva.
Pavlovsk — Lusicous green park where you could feed the squirrels from your hands. Can be reached by train from Vitebskiy station (not the main hall, but the smaller hall for local trains, which is on the right side as you face the station). Pavlovsk train station is close to the northwestern gate to the park, and from there it is a long (but pleasant) walk though the park to the palace.
Peterhof — Home of the sumptuous "Russian Versailles". Fountains, parks, museums. Can be reached by train from Baltiskiy station for 43.50 RR, although figuring out which station you want to arrive at can be tricky if you can't read Cyrillic. Station's name is Noviy Peterhof. You may also try going on the red line to Metro station Avtovo, and from there, take a 'Mashrut' Bus to Peterhof for 50 RR. Travel time: 35 minutes without traffic. If you've got plenty of time, consider visiting Oranienbaum / Lomonosov, visiting Kronshtadt, then you may take a hydrofoil back to the Hermitage for 100 RR.
Pushkin (A.K.A. Tsarskoye Selo) — City 25 km south of Saint Petersburg, with beautiful parks and palaces, most notably the Catherine Palace built for Tsarina Catherine I. Can be reached by train from Vitebskiy station (not the main hall, but the smaller hall for local trains, which is on the right side as you face the station). Take the train to Detskoe Selo station, but be advised that the palaces are still about a 20-minute walk through town from the station.
Repino — House-museum of the artist Ilya Repin, located just off the Gulf of Finland, where he lived and worked. To get there: Elektrichka train from the Finland Station (round trip fare 120 RR, eleventh stop on the westbound line — check in advance to make sure the train you board stops in Repino — then from the station cross the main road and walk down the path to the left of the supermarket through a resort complex to the next major road. Turn left and walk about 1.5km to the gate marked Penaty. The walk takes about 45 minutes. The museum and grounds close at 3PM, or earlier if there are no visitors.
Staraya Ladoga — the first capital of Russia is a pleasant little village four hours away with an incredible wealth of historical sights, including its own stone kremlin and church frescoes by the hand of none other than Andrei Rublev.
Vyborg — town situated on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of the Bay of Vyborg, 130 km to the northwest of St. Petersburg, 38 km south from Russia's border with Finland, where the Saimaa Canal enters the Gulf of Finland. Swedish built castle, started in the 13th century and extensively reconstructed by Russians in 1891–1894. Mon Repos, one of the most spacious English parks in Eastern Europe, laid out in the 19 century. Fortifications of the Mannerheim Line (built by Finland against the Soviet Union) are close by.
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The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Saint Petersburg
