St Petersburg is a water city, and some of its restaurants sit on board. Five worth knowing.
🚢 1. Flying Dutchman, Makarov Embankment
A replica frigate on Petrovsky Point. Restaurant, cinema and concert venue on board. Permanently moored.
🚢 2. Krasin, Lieutenant Schmidt Embankment
A 1916 icebreaker — museum ship plus restaurants. Tours of the engine room and cabins.
🚢 3. Pallada (historic replica)
A three-mast frigate, berthing by the Peter and Paul Fortress when in port. Deck tours; occasional dining.
🚢 4. Blank, floating restaurant
A modern floating restaurant that sails the Neva with dinner service. Book a week ahead.
🚢 5. Small floating lounges by the fortress
Small 10–20-seater boats for private hire — a good way to watch the drawbridges from the water. GetBoat lists charter options.
🚕 Getting there
Most mooring points are near the Peter and Paul Fortress, the Makarov and Lieutenant Schmidt embankments. From the centre, RideClu.
🛏 Where to stay
Apartments on the Petrograd Side with a Neva view are bookable on Tutkakdoma.
If this is your first time in St Petersburg, bear two things in mind. Distances between the main sights are short, but autumn daylight is brief and rain arrives on no schedule. Plan your route around the lit half of the day, allow half an hour of buffer between stops, and bring a thermos and gloves for the evening. On weekdays after 8 p.m. a table is best booked ahead; at weekends several days in advance.
On the ground, walking is easiest between adjacent blocks, with short taxi hops when it gets dark or wet. If you are travelling as a group or with children, arrange the evening transfer back to your flat ahead of time — late-night fares spike. Flats in the centre go fast at weekends: book a week ahead for Nevsky, the Petrograd Side or Vasilievsky.
St Petersburg rewards half-day visits rather than one long marathon. Pick a theme — a single museum, a district, a walk — and give it time. After the active part, a warm cafe, a bookshop or a swimming pool is as much part of the ritual as the sights themselves, especially in November.
Verified on 22 October 2026.
Cover photo: Члены семей Семёновых и Шакуриных: Юрий Поликарпович Шакурин (1938-2000). Загружено единственной наследницей., CC BY-SA 4.0, Викисклад
