World Cup city guides: what to see in St. Petersburg?
The oldest pyshchnaya, delicious craft beer and streets steeped in history. What to do in a city with curbs and parades?
Beautiful sunny Peterburg has already opened its arms for all the guests of the 2018 World Cup. What can I say, a trip to St. Petersburg in the summer is already a great plan, and if you add a soccer match at the newly built St. Petersburg Arena to the mix, it’s perfect.
Contrary to the common stereotype that in St. Petersburg you can only drink, as Shnur willed, in this article we will go over the most unusual and interesting things that you just need to put on your check-list. And don’t forget that you are in the Capital of Culture, which means that there are curbs under your feet, the front door of your hostel or apartment is a parade room, and around every corner on Nevsky and Ligovsky there is a shaverma waiting for you.
How to get from the airport and railway station in St. Petersburg?
Unlike the complicated Moscow system with several airports that lead to the city, in St. Petersburg everything is much simpler. There is only one airport here and it is called Pulkovo. Inside, to be fair, the building is divided into two airport terminals: “Pulkovo-1” (for domestic flights) and “Pulkovo-2” (for the arrival of international flights). In general, this information may seem useless, but it will help you a lot when ordering a cab.
Let’s look at a few possible ways to get to the city:
- Bus #39. In “Pulkovo-1” opposite the exit from the arrival hall No. 1 there is a stop of the city bus No. 39, which goes to the metro station “Moskovskaya”. The interval between flights is 12-20 minutes, the route’s operating time is from 5:30 to 01:30, and the travel time is about half an hour;
- bus No. 13. Opposite the arrival terminal of Pulkovo-2 airport terminal there is a stop of bus No. 13, which also goes to Moskovskaya metro station. The movement starts at 5:40 on weekdays and at 6:00 on weekends, and ends at 0:47. The bus runs at intervals of 13-20 minutes. Travel time is 20-25 minutes;
- route cabs K39 and K13 duplicate the routes of buses, but they depart not on schedule, but as the cabin is filled and move a little faster. Also from “Pulkovo-2” you can get to the city by shuttle cabs K3, K213 and K113;
- 24-hour shuttle service. Express buses run between the airport and Vladimirskaya Square (metro stations “Vladimirskaya” and “Dostoevskaya”): from “Pulkovo-1” – K800, from “Pulkovo-2” – K900. They can take you to the metro stations “Moskovskaya”, “Tekhnologichesky Institut”, “Vladimirskaya” and “Dostoevskaya” (final stop). They depart every hour, without a break;
- cab. Cab will cost you from 600 to 1500 rubles depending on the direction you are going to go. In addition, Yandex.cab in St. Petersburg often has discounts on current orders, if there is no high demand for the car. We recommend that you order a car online and in advance.
It is important to remember: the night fare is more expensive than the day fare, but not by much.
As for train stations, they are all located within the city, so you should have no problems finding transportation.
Where to live in St. Petersburg?
If you have not yet puzzled over the choice of accommodation, we advise you to pay attention not to the network, but to small local hotels within the center on Booking or rent apartments with the help of the popular service Airbnb.
How to get to the stadium?
Fans can get to the stadium in several ways:
- by metro to Novokrestovskaya station (5-7 minutes from the metro) or Krestovsky Ostrov (25 minutes from the metro);
- by shuttle buses S3, S4, S6 – see detailed schedule;
- on foot along the Yakhtenny Bridge. Match visitors can get to this bridge by streetcar № 19 from metro station “Staraya Derevnya” and № 48 from metro station “Chernaya Rechka”.
What to try in St. Petersburg?
Of course, in the beginning we would like to advise you to try to meet Shnur or Boyarsky and make legendary selfies with them, but in this paragraph we will talk about gastronomic joys. Let’s answer the question: what to eat to taste St. Petersburg?
- Dumplings, for the sake of which you won’t be afraid to wait in line. If you’ve been to the Northern Capital and haven’t tried this dish, then you don’t know what this city tastes like. Round hot buns with a hole in the middle are usually sprinkled with powdered sugar and washed down with coffee. Undoubtedly, the best buns in the city are made at 25 Bolshaya Konyushennaya Street.
- Fried smelt. Smelt, without exaggeration, is a real culinary symbol of St. Petersburg. The small but very tasty fish is found in local waters, so it has always been used as food by the citizens. Again, you have two options: order the dish in a restaurant or go to the market, say to Sennaya or Vasileostrovsky, choose the one that will pierce your eyes the most and cook it yourself.
- Shot “Boyarsky”. We drink it and shrilly shout “A Thousand Devils” afterwards. A strong, traditional for St. Petersburg shot, you can find it in almost any bar.
- Shawarma. Someone will say that this is shawarma, and will be absolutely wrong. You just try it and you will understand everything at once. It is, as a Jewish grandmother would say, “two big differences”. Look for the most delicious here: Liteiny Prospekt, 64. Price: 140 rubles. Or in “Pitas” at Gorokhovaya Street, 32. The price of the question: 195 rubles.
- Beer Nevskoe. Despite the million variants of craft beer in all bars and cafes, local beer to try still need to try. Look for in stores and supermarkets on the shelves.
Where to eat?
- You cantry smelt in restaurants – from inexpensive place “Kvartira”, where you can enjoy fried smelt for 370 rubles (250 g), and ending with prestigious restaurant“Koryushka” on Zayachy Island overlooking the Neva, where 100 g of fried fish will cost a modest 500-600 rubles.
- You can taste fragrant dumplings in the establishments of the chain “Pyshechnaya” (we wrote about it above), melt-in-your-mouth pies – in “ Stolle “ og “ Pirohovy Dvorik “, and openwork pancakes with fillings – in “Tea Spoon” or “Teremk “ .
- You canbuy cakes and pastries at the specialty pastry shops “Bouchet”, “Sever” and “Metropol”.
- To have a snack on the go in St. Petersburg – buy pies and pies with various fillings, pastries are sold in stalls. Very tasty pies in Gostiny Dvor, costing only 23 rubles.
- A simple lunch in a St. Petersburg canteen will cost 200-250 rubles, thin people can afford 150 rubles, others – 300 rubles. Look for “Canteen No. 1” and check the availability of seats in the institution
- In addition to the above, my personal checklist includes “Laundry 40 Degrees” (a laundry bar), “Kostya Kreutz’s Apartment” (by appointment, you can even rent a room there) and the restaurant “Kokoko” (one of Matilda Shnurova ‘ s projects).
What to see?
Let’s not torture you with a banal list of standard sights. You won’t miss the Hermitage and Isaac’s Cathedral, because it’s simply impossible to pass by. You can see the guide of walking routes in St. Petersburg here. And here are just a few ideas for those who want to get to know and experience the city from all sides:
- Find courtyard-wells are such an architectural specialty of St. Petersburg. Of course, they are sometimes found in other cities around the world, but in St. Petersburg they are the most common. Wells are courtyards of houses surrounded on four sides by walls.
- To see the drawbridges is probably the most trivial attraction in St. Petersburg, but to come to the Northern Capital and not see this mesmerizing process is like coming back from Egypt without pictures of the pyramids.
- Go to the Gulf of Finland. Pine trees, sea and sand – the science of St. Petersburg zen. And all this is less than an hour’s train ride from Finland Station to Solnechny, Sestroretsk, Zelenogorsk.
- Eat or drink on Rubinstein Street. The key restaurant artery of the city offers scenarios for every taste, purse and occasion.
- Take a boat ride along the rivers and canals.
- Climb Isaac’s Cathedral. Or have a coffee at a Singer or Starbucks across the street, enjoying a stunning view of summer St. Petersburg.
- Buy a book or postcards at Singer. House of Books, or Singer’s House. A famous bookstore, one of the centers of cultural and intellectual life of the city. Among other things, there you can find souvenirs for every taste and color.
We wish you not only to spend these few days in St. Petersburg with advantage, but also to get into the mood of the city. Walk, take tea in cozy cafes, chat with locals, take photos, enjoy our summer and our championship!