St. Petersburg, if you had to choose …...

[zebra]

If you had to choose ONE HIGHLIGHT of your tour in St. Petersburg, what would it be and why?? (Yeah, I know sooooo many awesome sights …….)

[RickT]

If you had to choose ONE HIGHLIGHT of your tour in St. Petersburg, what would it be and why?? (Yeah, I know sooooo many awesome sights …….)

 

I did a two day tour a couple years back and the one thing that stuck out was our visit to the Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction_Review-g298507-d300133-Reviews-Church_of_Our_Savior_on_Spilled_Blood-St_Petersburg_Northwestern_District.html

 

The palaces and the Hermitage were also excellent but there was something about the church that stuck in my mind. Perhaps it was walking up the street to the Church and seeing the iconic Russian architecture.

[Chairsin]

The whole "island" fortress complex of the church of SS Peter and Paul is not to be missed--if nothing else for the tomb of the murdered Romanoffs. St Isaacs cathedral is amazing when you realize what you thought were murals are actually mosaics. And because it gave is a less glitzy more human face to St Petersburg (not to mention a window into the intrigue of Rasputin's murder) we very much enjoyed visiting the Yusopov Palace.

 

 

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[nybumpkin]

I loved the Church of Spilled Blood (I took a photo of the exterior that I titled "This is Russia"), but my vote would be for Peterhof. The fountains are absolutely amazing and the grounds are gorgeous.

[squadron]

The whole "island" fortress complex of the church of SS Peter and Paul is not to be missed--if nothing else for the tomb of the murdered Romanoffs. St Isaacs cathedral is amazing when you realize what you thought were murals are actually mosaics. And because it gave is a less glitzy more human face to St Petersburg (not to mention a window into the intrigue of Rasputin's murder) we very much enjoyed visiting the Yusopov Palace.

 

 

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Basically these sites are what is missed with Alla Comfort tour - am I correct? Do others have a different view point of their value?

[nybumpkin]

Basically these sites are what is missed with Alla Comfort tour - am I correct? Do others have a different view point of their value?

We did the comfort tour and we didn't go to St. Isaac's or Yusupov's Palace (we did go to Sts. Peter and Paul, which is really worthwhile). We were traveling with two teenaged boys and wanted something a bit slower paced. Sure, if we had another day in St. Petersburg I would have liked visiting both, but I don't regret the "slower" pace. (It was still a very intensive two days.) We did see the exterior of both and our guide told the story of Rasputin's murder. I approach travel with the understanding that you will never see everything a city has to offer in a short visit. Heck, I live two hours north of NYC, visit frequently, and haven't even scratched the surface in 30+ years of visits. With the comfort tour, I liked two sit-down lunches. And BTW, a sit-down lunch isn't a short affair. Edited May 16, 2014 by nybumpkin

[Kiwi Kupple]

For those that are interested, here is the link http://fabergemuseum.ru/ to the official website for the recently opened (December 2013) Fabergé Museum, housed in the restored historic Shuvalov Palace in St Petersburg. I understand there is only one tour operator offering exclusive viewing, so we have booked the DenRus ‘2 day Complete St Petersburg’.

 

Although the website is in Russian, the pictures are marvellous. Don’t forget to scroll down and click on the 3D panorama where you can click to enter each room, scroll around and also click on the camera icon to view the glittering objects.

 

Here are a couple of links relating to the opening of the museum:

http://www.faberge.com/news/142-fabe...urgmuseum.aspx

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/1cc38...#axzz30hZVwf9y

 

Compare all the tours and decide what best suits your sightseeing preferences but amongst other highlights, we’re definitely off to enjoy Fabergé.

[Giantfan13]

It is very hard to nail down one particular place. I loved Yusupov's Palace just because this was the place where actual history was made, (Rasputin being assassinated).

For sheer spectacular, yes, nothing beats Peterhoff, the grounds, the fountains, everything simply spectacular.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[CoralReef]

If I could just do one place for an extended time, I would choose the Hermitage. We had so little time there, and there was so much to see.

 

For the amount of time we spent, my favorites would be:

1. Canal tour

2. Catherine Palace

3. Peterhof

 

The Church of the Spilled Blood is the iconic St. Petersburg photo op, but I would have been just as happy taking a few quick pics from outside on a sunny day. The interior tour was not tops on my list.

[Brigbound]

Peterhof Palace hands down. As others have said, the fountains, grounds, and the palace itself- all the antiques, art, amazing.

Edited May 18, 2014 by Brigbound

[Alebd]

We did the comfort tour and we didn't go to St. Isaac's or Yusupov's Palace (we did go to Sts. Peter and Paul, which is really worthwhile). We were traveling with two teenaged boys and wanted something a bit slower paced. Sure, if we had another day in St. Petersburg I would have liked visiting both, but I don't regret the "slower" pace. (It was still a very intensive two days.) We did see the exterior of both and our guide told the story of Rasputin's murder. I approach travel with the understanding that you will never see everything a city has to offer in a short visit. Heck, I live two hours north of NYC, visit frequently, and haven't even scratched the surface in 30+ years of visits. With the comfort tour, I liked two sit-down lunches. And BTW, a sit-down lunch isn't a short affair.

 

It's impossible to see everything worthwhile in two days. Due to knee and back issues, I need the slightly more relaxed pace of the Alla Comfort tour. This will be my second visit to StP, albeit the first was in 1972!

[Alebd]

Forgot to add that my vote goes to Peterhof. Beautiful setting on the Gulf of Finland, fountains, gardens, wonderful architecture. We were fortunate that the weather was also spectacular on the day we visited. I do remember that 42 years later!

[TLCOhio]

If you had to choose ONE HIGHLIGHT of your tour in St. Petersburg, what would it be and why?? (Yeah, I know sooooo many awesome sights …….)

 

Yes, Jackie and Tony, there are many, many awesome sights and options in and around St. Petersburg. Impossible to do just do and only cite ONE!!! Plus, another key factor is that it depends on each individual's personal tastes, interests, loves, etc. How much are you focused for history, architecture, food, culture, drink, shopping, nature, water action, etc.???

 

Below would be my visuals as examples/proof for my top six, not in any special order. Loved it ALL in St. Petersburg, especially when our weather was so super nice and it was just the four of us with our wonderful guide, our driver, etc. This way, there were no hassles, wasted time getting off and on large buses, plenty of time to converse with our guide, get our questions answered, learn so much, etc.

 

I did not show it below, but we also really liked our canal boat tour. Nice, relaxing, interesting hour. Great hydrofoil ride from Peterhof to enter main St. Petersburg. AND, agree with Len that Yusupov Palace, overlooking the Moyka Canal has great history in this long yellow building. It was once the residence of the wealthy and powerful Yusupov family. It was the site for one of the most dramatic episodes in Russia's history, Grigory Rasputin’s murder. In 1916, some of the city's noble elite, including one of the Grand Dukes and the prominent Prince Felix Yusupov, conspired to kill a royal advisor who they believed threatening the stability of the war-torn Russian Empire.

 

And if you have a cruise doing three days in St. Petersburg, it is easier, as we did, to do an exciting day-trip to Moscow, also. Great to contrast and experience BOTH of these great Russian cities/capitals.

 

Need more details and ideas? Reasons why?

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 143,388 views. Nice to be hitting this high of a level for viewership. Appreciate the interest!!

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

 

 

Here are some of the fountains and water at the spectacular Peterhof outside of St. Petersburg. The greatest technological achievement of Peterhof is that all of the fountains operate without the use of pumps. Water is supplied from natural springs and collects in reservoirs in the Upper Gardens. This elevation difference creates the pressure driving most of the fountains for the Lower Gardens, including the Grand Cascade.:

 

 

 

As we entered Catherine's Palace in St. Petersburg, here was the welcoming band. This Rococo summer residence of the Russian Czars is located in the town of Pushkin, 15 miles SE of St. Petersburg. The residence originated in 1717, when Catherine I engaged a German architect to construct a summer palace for her pleasure. In 1752, Empress Anna found her mother's residence outdated and had her court architect demolish the old structure and replace it with a much grander edifice in a flamboyant Rococo style. Construction lasted for four years and in 1756 the new 325-meter-long palace amazed courtiers, foreign ambassadors and other visitors. During Elizabeth's lifetime, the palace was famed for its lavish exterior, including more than 100 kilograms of gold used to gild the sophisticated stucco façade and numerous statues erected on the roof.:

 

 

 

Here is an overall view of the size and scale of St. Isaac's interior in St. Petersburg. It is the largest Russian Orthodox cathedral in this historic city and was dedicated to Saint Isaac of Dalmatia, a patron saint of Peter the Great. The cathedral took 40 years to construct, 1818 to 1858, under direction of a French architect. During Soviet rule, it was nearly destroyed and was made into a Museum of Scientific Atheism. It has been restored to its religious beauty/role. The cathedral's main dome tops out at 333 feet and is plated with pure gold.:

 

 

 

Private, personal tours can be worth it, especially in St. Petersburg. Here our group of four, with our guide, Jane or Zhenya from Anastasia, we are viewing and learning more about one of the two da Vinci masterpieces (Madonna Litta or Madonna and Child) at the Hermitage after an early admission. There are only 14 such paintings by this artist existing in the whole world. We did an early admission at the Hermitage, lessening the crowd battles and adding to the enjoyment in this spectacular place/set of five palaces AND museum. It is both! This Madonna and Child was probably painted in Milan, where the artist moved in 1482. The Madonna's tender gaze as she looks at her son, and the tranquillity of the distant mountainous landscape, reflect humanist dreams of Ideal Man and a Harmonious Life. Experts says the painting reveals great beauty in its coloring and composition. The painting came to the Czar's collection and museum in 1865 from the collection of Count Antonio Litta in Milan.:

 

 

 

Lots of beautiful church towers and buildings are located all over in historic St. Petersburg. Some “riding around time” allows an opportunity to see the variety of buildings in this historic capital.:

 

 

 

Here is a wider shot of the Spilled Blood Church interior in St. Petersburg. Its exterior design is more traditionally "Russian" or Orthodox than St. Isaac. Spilled Blood or the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ was built on the site along a canal where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated in 1881 and its building was dedicated to his memory. Construction began in 1883 and was completed in 1907. This city's architecture is predominantly Baroque and Neoclassical, but this church harkens back to medieval Russian architecture in the spirit of St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow. The Church contains over 7500 square metres of mosaics, among the most for any church in the world. It suffered much damage during the Russian Revolution and World War II, but was reopened in 1997, after 27 years of restoration. The results are beautiful!!:

 

Edited May 18, 2014 by TLCOhio

[Gossyboy]

I've booked a private tour for our party of four with Insider tour. Usual city tour in morning but special request for photo stop at church of saviour spilled blood. Then on to Hermitage. Lunch. Peterhof in afternoon. Sound about right!?

 

Gossy.

 

 

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[Cornishpastyman1]

Basically these sites are what is missed with Alla Comfort tour - am I correct? Do others have a different view point of their value?

Maybe that tour changes slightly from year to year. I did the Alla Comfort tour in 2010 and it saw these :

[YOUTUBE]8NksYBcarXI[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]lQR4tA7mGfo[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]E63tkIQSIAU[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]ntfg92fRF38[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]pLrNXXB2Qr8[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]driudAEkocs[/YOUTUBE]

 

What with travelling around, lunch and a couple of unscheduled photo stops it seemed like a full day to me but I wished I had gone to the Yusupov Palace too, so I asked a friend to take some footage of his visit, and made this

[YOUTUBE]x6AgPa4OYDQ[/YOUTUBE]

 

I really can't rank them, they were all fantastic so just pick the most all-encompassing tour whichever company you select provides and soak it all up.

[4774Papa]

I would list our favorites for SPB as follows:

 

1. Catherine's Palace

2. Peterhof

3. Peter and Paul Fortress

4. Hermitage

5. Church of Spilled Blood

6. Canal cruise

 

I haven't included the Russian Army show and Ballet (Swan Lake) that we loved. Both were wonderful.

[LaCat3]

As you have seen, we all have our favorites. If I can only select one then for me there is no question - the Church of the Spilled Blood. As others have noted, you can never see it all - pick a tour, based on your number of days there, which will not be at a faster pace than you can enjoy. Don't ruin your visit by becoming so exhausted you don't enjoy anything.

[spbstan]

I have a different perspective since I am a foreign living here. I like the smaller less visited museums but such as the Arctic Museum or the large Military museum but a new favorite is the just opened Faberge Museum. It is really beautiful and I never thought I would be taken by such art objects. I knew the palace it is housed in before the full restoration and the results are hard to imagine was the same palace.

The interior of Church on Spilled Blood really is special, unique with mosaics of such detail and beauty covering every surface.

Of course the Hermitage is one of the two best museums in the world and does not concede second place for a minute. There are 275 PhD specialists on staff in the research and restoration departments so is a major player in museum science and preservation technology.

Heck, I even like the Water museum. Not quite as enamored of the Bread museum. The largest "empty" museum that is interesting but little visited is the Communications museum that covers post office and mail through the invention of radio by A.C. Popov, and late communications satellites. It housed the Popov radio and electronics museum, and the world's largest stamp collection.

For outdoors, no question, Pavlovsk near Catherine Palace. The Botanical Gardens comes in second.

[kkinaus]

I've booked a private tour for our party of four with Insider tour. Usual city tour in morning but special request for photo stop at church of saviour spilled blood. Then on to Hermitage. Lunch. Peterhof in afternoon. Sound about right!?

 

Gossy.

 

 

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Hi Gossy,

 

Would love to know how your tour went with Insider tours??? I am thinking of them for our cruise next year.

Thanks...Karen