Primorsky Victory Park: 180 hectares in northern St Petersburg
Primorsky Victory Park on Krestovsky Island is 180 hectares, home to the Gazprom Arena stadium, boat hire and playgrounds. What to know before the walk.
Nevsky from the Admiralty to Vosstaniya Square: four kilometres in two hours
Nevsky Prospekt is the main axis of St Petersburg, running from the Admiralty to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Walking the central stretch in two hours is realistic: Stroganov, Kazan, House of Books, Fontanka, Liteyny, Vosstaniya Square. The route and where to turn off.
Mariinsky Theatre for the autumn school holidays: a family playbill to pick together
For the autumn school holidays the Mariinsky Theatre has put together «a bright and varied playbill for every age and taste». The Mariinsky has four stages, and choosing the right one matters more than choosing the right show. What to watch, where to sit and how not to mix the Mariinsky up with Mariinsky II. Checked against the Mariinsky playbill of 21 October 2026.
Lion Bridge: four bronze lions on the Griboedov Canal
The Lion Bridge over the Griboedov Canal is a chain pedestrian bridge with four cast-iron lions. A twin of the Bank Bridge with griffins. How to find it and why it is famous.
Kronstadt in a day: Naval Cathedral, forts and ship tours
Kronstadt is a town on Kotlin Island, the former main base of the Baltic Fleet. Here you find the Naval Cathedral — a scaled-down Hagia Sophia, Peter-era forts and tours on active navy ships. How to drive the dam and plan the day.
Kazan Cathedral on Nevsky: how to visit and what to look for
Kazan Cathedral is St Petersburg's principal Orthodox church, built in 1811 by Voronikhin. 96 columns in a crescent on Nevsky, Kutuzov's tomb, the Kazan icon of the Mother of God. Free entry and service times.
The House of Books on Nevsky: the city's main bookshop and the Singer globe
The House of Books at Nevsky 28 is the 1904 Singer building — the city's largest bookshop. Three floors, a top-floor cafe and a glass globe on the corner. What to look for inside.
The Bak House on Kirochnaya Street: can you get into the courtyard with the hanging galleries, and which apartment houses nearby you can see without an intercom
The Bak House at 24 Kirochnaya Street is famous for the covered bridge-galleries across its courtyard, but it is a residential building behind a locked gate. What you can actually see, how not to disturb residents, and a short walk nearby: the Muruzi House, the giant arch of 32–34 Kirochnaya and the Suvorov Museum with its mosaics. Checked on 19 October 2026.
Chizhik-Pyzhik on the Fontanka: St Petersburg's smallest monument
Chizhik-Pyzhik is an 11-centimetre bronze bird on the Fontanka by the First Engineer Bridge. The smallest and the most frequently stolen monument in St Petersburg.
Shuvalovskoye Cemetery in Ozerki: a church on a hill above the lake, graves of scholars and writers, and the most scenic necropolis in the north of the city
Shuvalovskoye Cemetery on the shore of the Lower Suzdal Lake is one of St Petersburg's oldest working cemeteries, in use since the eighteenth century: two churches on a hill, a view over the water, and the graves of scholars, actors and writers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. People come not only to the graves but for the best view of the northern lakes. Here is what to see, whom to look for and how to get there from Ozerki metro.
Shuvalov Park in Pargolovo: Gothic church, the Yellow Dacha, ponds and Parnassus Hill — a half-day trip from St Petersburg
Shuvalov Park on the city's northern edge is the former estate of the Shuvalov and Vorontsov-Dashkov counts: a Gothic church of Saints Peter and Paul by Alexander Brullov, the Yellow and Small dachas, ponds called Napoleon's Shirt and Napoleon's Hat, and Parnassus Hill with a view over the city. Here is what survives, how to walk the park, why the palace is closed and how to get there by train or bus.
Poryadok Slov on the Fontanka: St Petersburg's intellectual bookshop
Poryadok Slov at Fontanka 15 is the main intellectual bookshop of St Petersburg. Philosophy, film, art, rare editions and regular author events.