Palace, St Isaac, Senate, Arts, Ostrovsky and Vosstaniya squares link into a single walking day. Not a race between sights: they sit close together, and the city between them — arches, courtyards, canals — is half the point. The metro is insurance against tired legs, not transport.
Start where there is most space and light, follow the Neva, turn inland to the theatres, finish by the station.
Palace Square, then the river
Palace Square first — the roomiest point. The Winter Palace, the arch of the General Staff, the column in the middle. Going inside is optional and needs its own hours. The road then leads to the Neva: through Alexander Garden and past the Admiralty to Senate Square, with the Bronze Horseman and the far bank opposite.
Palace Square. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
St Isaac and Senate: stone and water
St Isaac's Square sits beside Senate Square and works best with it. Look up and around, not at your feet. The colonnade climb is a separate stop with its own ticket and queue. Senate is better from the water: the embankment clears the view to Vasilyevsky Island. Windy days are colder here than in the side streets.
St Isaac's Cathedral. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Arts and Ostrovsky: the theatre quarter
From the river the route turns inland. Arts Square is quiet, with the Mikhailovsky Palace and a garden: fewer visitors, more ordinary city. Ostrovsky Square with the Alexandrinsky Theatre is a short step away. A pause between the water and busy Nevsky.
The garden on Arts Square. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
