World Travel Guide

City Guide  - St Petersburg  - Excursions
Excursions

For a Half Day

Kirovsky Islands:
The Kirovsky Islands - Kamenny, Yelagin and Krestovsky - are popular outdoor escapes for city dwellers. Boating on the canals and lakes around the islands, picnics in the parks or walking or cycling along the leafy avenues, amid the homes of St Petersburg's richer residents, provides a pleasant summer half-day excursion, particularly popular at the White Nights of midsummer. Kamenny can be reached by metro to Chyornaya Rechka, while buses 71, 71a and 45 or tram 12 go to Krestovsky and Yelagin.

For a Whole Day

Petergof (Peterhof):
The Grand Palace of Peterhof (tel: (812) 420 0073) lies around 32km (20 miles) west of St Petersburg. Built by Peter the Great in the style of Versailles, remodelled by Bartolomeo Rastrelli and seriously damaged by the Germans in World War II, it has now been carefully restored to its former glory. Splendid fountains and waterways surge and spout in soaring jets and sparkling sprays through the magnificent palaces, parks and gardens of this 600-hectare (1500-acre) estate. The famous Grand Cascade and Water Avenue connect fountains, gilded statues, water jets and channels from the Palace all the way to the sea. Monplaisir, Peter's original, much simpler home at Peterhof, overlooks the sea, as does the Hermitage, his eccentric private dining room in a tiny red and white Baroque building surrounded by a moat.

It takes about 45 minutes to get to Peterhof by hydrofoil or train. In summer, hydrofoils leave roughly every hour from the Hermitage pier (Dvortsovaya Naberezhnaya 34). Trains go from Baltisky vokzal to Novy Petergof, from where bus 351, 352, 353, 354, 355 goes to the palace. The opening hours are Wed-Mon 1100-1800 and admission costs US$4.50.



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