St. Petersburg

[Julianaa]

DH and I would like to have a short break - say 5 days - in St. Petersburg. We are both EU citizens living in the EU so presume we need visas to visit Russia?

Any tips on where to stay, what to see, what to eat, etc., and generally booking and arranging our trip, please?

You’ll most likely need visas, yes. I know brits do.

I stayed at Domina, which was lovely. Close to st Isaacs cathedral, about 20 min walk to hermitage.

Had a fab meal at a place called stroganoff steak house near to vodka museum. I was original and had... beef stroganoff. Lovely food, great quality ingredients, and good price.

Hi @Julianna,
As MardasSnails says, the Dormina is a great hotel and I've just assumed a date of 2nd June 2019 for 5 nights. The Dormina is around £1031.
Another good option is the Author Boutique Hotel, another 5*, which is right in the heart of St Petersburg and has a luxury Russian interior, for around £1475.
And for £1595, there's also the Trezzini Palace Hotel, which has a beautiful antique style design and is around 15 minutes' walk from the Kunstkamera Museum in the historic cultural sentre of the 300 year old city.
The St. Isaac's Cathedral is 15 minutes' walk away. Set on Vasilevsky Island, Trezzini Hotel makes it easy to get to the Old Stock Exchange and Dvortsovaya Ploshchad Square with the Hermitage Museum are 10 minutes' drive from there. They'll also provide a shuttle service to Pulkovo Airport (20 km) upon request.
There are also around 130+ hotels of different standards in the city and surrounds.
If you're flying from London, Aeroflot offers direct flights (around 3-3.5 hours) for £453 for two people and BA for around £662.

In my view, the 10 best things to do in St Petersburg are:

1. The Hermitage Museum: the most iconic sights - dozens of galleries of old masters displayed in the sumptuous interior of the Hermitage. Prepare to come face-to-face with classic Western artists as well as staggeringly beatutiful treasures from the East.

1. The Peter and Paul Fortress - Russia's most famous historical prison is a definite must-see St. Petersburg attraction.

1. The Catherine Palace - part of a gorgeous complex of parks, guest houses, and the blue-and-gold palace itself. You'll be amazed at how Russia's royalty once lived. Every inch of the Catherine Palace drips luxury but it gets really really busy in the summer.

1. Peterhof - Another palace complex but Peterhof is beautiful as it is fun as it used ot be the playground of theTsars. Make sure the fountains are working when you go and it's also expensive

1. Kizhi Island - is an open air museum of wooden architecture from the Karelia Region of Russia. These impressive structures are made entirely without nails - the wood fits together with joints and grooves.

You can't miss the most photographed sight - the 17th century Church of the Transfiguration, which has 22 onion domes in the Russian style.

1. The Russian Museum - holds one of the largest collections of Russian art in the world.

1. Church of Our Savior on the Spilt Blood - shocking, amazing, startling - the exterior is "sparkly" and hte interior is covered in mosaics that mimic paintings of famous Russian artists.

1. The Bronze Horseman Statue - this statue of Peter the Great sitting astride his horse is representative of Peter the Great's impact on the Russian idea of greatness.

1. Lazarus and Tikhvin Cemeteries - you've got to take your camera to see this plaec! A lot of Russia's most famous artists, composers, and writers are buried and the memorials are gorgeous and bizarre

10. St. Petersburg Sights: Boat Tour - there are two basic routes - one that takes you on the main Neva River, and one that takes you on the smaller canals and the Fontanka. The city looks extraoridinary on both day and night trips.

You will also need a visa and the requirements are here:

1. Your original passport with at least 2 blank visa-designated pages (passport must be valid for at least 6 months after intended departure date from Russia).
2. Two copies of Russian visa application form, completed and signed.
3. Two passport-size photos signed on the back.

Hope that's helpful - let me know if you need any more information!

I have visited Saint Petersburg twice, and on both occasions I stayed at the Petro Palace Hotel. It is a short walk from St Isaac’s Cathedral and Nevsky Prospekt, Saint Prtersburg’s major shopping district. There is also a metro station very close to the hotel which makes it very easy to get around the city, and is also very cheap! I am not sure how much the hotel itself was as I booked as part of a package, but for a three night stay, with breakfast and flights from the UK I paid around £400.

As an EU resident I imagine that you would definitely need a visa, as a British Citizen I had to get one. I’m not sure if this applies to people applying for a visa outside the UK, but I had to go in person to the Russian Embassy in London to submit my application as they had to take fingerprints as part of the application, so this is something to bear in mind.

I’d also second @christravelwizard ‘s recommendations, particularly The Hermitage, it really is absolutely incredible to see in person. One tip - don’t book your tickets in advance via their website, it was actually cheaper to pay on the day and there were self service ticket machines which were available in several languages.

I have also visited St Isaac’s Cathedral, The Peter and Paul Fortress and The Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood, all of which I can highly recommend and definitely wouldn’t want to miss. Saint Petersburg is also perfectly nice to walk around and admire the architecture and I must say that I felt very safe in the city. Enjoy!