St Petersburg private walking city tour
St Petersburg private walking city tour itinerary – within 8 hours you will see and visit the main highlights of the city, explore it from the water taking the boat trip and enjoy lovely hassle-free walking.
Highlights – Nevsky prospect – Boat trip along rivers and canals – Spilled Blood Church – Flea Market – Palace Square – Winter Palace – Admiralty – Stroganov Palace – Kazan Cathedral – St.Isaac’s and its Colonnade – Blue Bridge – Yusupov Palace – Mariinsky Theatre – St.Nicholas Naval Cathedral
Full Itinerary
10:00 – After a hearty breakfast meet your expert guide to begin your Day One in St.Petersburg by taking a stroll down Nevsky prospect, the city’s vast main avenue that connects the Admiralty to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra at the far end. On the way, we will pass beautiful bridges and palaces and stop at Nevsky Prospect metro station on the Griboedov canal.
10:30 – From the Griboedov canal we are taking a boat trip along the rivers and canals. Enjoy the city from the water, it is one of the best ways to explore St Petersburg during summer. No traffic jams – pure pleasure!
11:20 – Our first visit will be to the Savior on the Spilled Blood Church, which is a few stones away from a boat pier. You will see one of the greatest architectural monuments, where 800 hundred square meters are covered with mosaics. It is a relatively small museum but very unique and has an incredible history.
Opposite to the Church of Savior on the Spilled Blood, there is a flea market with Russian souvenirs. Having a quick look there or if you are in a shopping mood we can stay longer. Up to you!
12:00 – Heading to the dazzling ensemble of Palace Square, the Winter Palace, and the General Staff Building. Taking pictures and anticipating Day Two visit to the famous Hermitage, a huge complex which consists of 5 museum buildings and we will explore them all tomorrow.
Through the General Staff Arch, we are getting back right on Nevsky prospect. The Admiralty, the yellow-colored building will be on our left. We keep walking crossing the Moika River bridge and passing by the fantastic Stroganov Palace (Beef Stroganoff recipe? Yes, you will know the real story on the way).
12:45 – Going inside the Kazan Cathedral, Russian Orthodox active church which was used by Russian tzars for wedding ceremonies and has a miracle-working icon of Our Lady of Kazan, one of the most venerated icons in Russia.
13:30 – Lunchtime! Where better to eat than on the eponymous terrace of Terrassa? Just next to the Kazan Cathedral. Lovely, Going there!
15:20 – After a very pleasant and refreshing lunch we are wandering down the Moika river to St Isaac’s Cathedral, visiting the astonishingly elaborate interiors of the enormous cathedral, the fourth largest domed cathedral in the world, and then climbing to the top of the dome – only 122 steps and you are there (no elevator!) to enjoy superb views of the city.
16:30 – Continuing down the Moika river, crossing the Blue Bridge with a quite impressive width of 97.3meters, passing along the Yusupov Palace and the Mariinsky Theatre, ending up at the beautiful sky-blue Nikolsky Cathedral. And if we are lucky, we can enjoy the beautiful choir singing there.
18:00 – Dinner at Teplo
“Teplo” in Russian means very warm. And indeed the atmosphere and interiors are very cozy. The food is excellent there, the service very friendly and all staff speaks excellent English. Prices are low. And it’s a walking distance from the Mariinsky.
21:00 – Are you Ready for More?
If it’s a weekend, we could head down to a jazz club, rock club, any local pub, and have fun with locals drinking, dancing and do some general debauchery. For something a little more elegant, we could end the wonderful day by having a cocktail at the Grand Hotel Europe.
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Highlights – Nevsky prospect – Boat trip along rivers and canals – Savior on the Spilled Blood Church – Flea Market – Palace Square – Winter Palace – Admiralty – Stroganov Palace – Kazan Cathedral – St.Isaac’s and its Colonnade – Blue Bridge – Yusupov Palace – Mariinsky Theatre – St.Nicholas Naval Cathedral