The Fontanka is one of the centre's main rivers, 6.7 km from the Neva to the Neva. Walking the embankment is the best way to feel the "chamber" St Petersburg, in contrast with Nevsky.
🚶 Start: Laundry Bridge, Summer Garden
The Fontanka springs from the Neva at the Summer Garden. The Laundry Bridge, one of the first stone bridges, marks the start. The Mikhailovsky Castle sits to the right.
🏛 Fountain House and the Anichkov Bridge
A kilometre on, the Sheremetev / Fountain House (Akhmatova's apartment). Another 500 metres to the Anichkov Bridge with the four Klodt horses — the most touristy stretch.
🎭 Beloselsky-Belozersky, Yusupov Garden
The red Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace stands on the Nevsky corner. 500 metres further, the Yusupov Garden (not the palace) and the Fontanka Bridge.
🏘 Kolomna and the Kalinkin Bridge
Past the Krukov Canal, you enter Kolomna. The Kalinkin Bridge marks the Fontanka's return to the Neva.
🚕 Shortcuts
Six km is a long walk. Split it: Summer Garden → Anichkov (1.5 km, 30 min); Anichkov → Kalinkin (4.5 km, 90 min). Between sections, a RideClu transfer.
🛏 Where to stay
Apartments along the Fontanka 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. Dress in layers and wear non-slip soles — the embankments and bridges are windy, and courtyards stay wet after rain.
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: Vyacheslav Bukharov, CC BY-SA 4.0, Викисклад
