Walking tours in St petersburg have become very popular over the last few years and more and more tourists are arriving in the city each year.

 

You can expect to visit the following places on any popular walking tour of St Petersburg.

 

 

• St Isaac’s square and Cathedral
• Senate square and Bronze Horseman
• New Holland island
• Riverfront views from Vasilievsky Island
• Historical quarters around Vasilievsky Island
• Petrogradsky Island (the Petrograd Side) and its many hidden wonders
• Peter-and-Paul Fortress and area around
• Trinity Bridge and the views from it you may cross it
• Field of Mars and area around Church of the Spilled blood
• The area around Church on the Spilled Blood

No matter how long you are in St Petersburg there is always a St Petersburg walking tour to suit you. Even if you’re just in the city for 24 hours you’ll have a chance to see major sightseeing highlights and tourist attractions. Here we are going to give you a typical itinerary of a guided St Petersburg walking tour, so here we go.

St Petersburg guided tour begins

A great place to start your St Petersburg walking tour is at St Isaac’s Cathedral which is located 5 minutes away from metro station Admiralteyskaya (Line 5).  St Isaac’s Cathedral, the largest orthodox basilica in the world, is the city’s main church constructed between 1818 and 1858 by French-born architect Auguste Montferrand. The Cathedral has fantastic sculptures and columns surrounding every point. You can visit the inside very easily and see the interior which is decorated by detailed mosaic icons, paintings and columns made of malachite. The cathedral has a huge dome which is a major tourist attraction as it is possible to take the stairs up to the roof for some of the best views of St Petersburg but climbing the stairs to the top can often be very tiring so always be sure to be wearing comfortable shoes. There are 300 steps to the top which will put you over 40 m above the city skyline, if you want to make the most of any St Petersburg tour a trip to the dome is a must do.

 

St Petersburg Tours & Tickets

So let us go from St Isaac’s Cathedral Let’s go further and continue our St Petersburg tour cross the Admiralteyskiy proezd street where you can enter the popular Alexander Garden. If you walk along the Alexander Garden and head towards the river you will eventually reach the famous  Bronze Horseman a monument to Peter the Great, the founder of St Petersburg, the capital of Russia back in those days. The monument was built by order of the Empress Catherine the Great as a tribute to her famous predecessor on the Russian throne, Peter the Great. The monument is a popular tourist spot for photos. According to a 19th century legend, enemy forces will never take St. Petersburg while the “Bronze Horseman” stands in the middle of the city and this remains so.

Lets continue our St Petersburg walking tour?

If you continue Eastward to the end of the gardens you will finally reach Palace Square, the main square of St Petersburg and certainly an impressive place to spend a few minutes walking on your St Petersburg tour. Usually the Square will be packed with tourists in the summer months and is well known to be one of the most famous squares in the world.  It features the Winter Palace where the Hermitage is located, General Staff Building, Guards Corps Headquarters and Alexander Column. If you only have one day in St Petersburg the walking tour is probably going to be the only attraction you will have time for and although one of the most famous museums in the world The Hermitage is located right next to you there simply would not be enough time to visit this fantastic museum. 

The guided St Petersburg walking tour continues

Our next part of the St Petersburg walking tour is to head towards the river and walk over the Dvortsoviy Bridge this bridge like many others across the Neva rais in the early hours of the morning to let the passing ships travel through.. Once across the Dvortsoviy Bridge you will arrive at the Spit of Vasilievsky Island that separates the Neva river in two parts – Bolshaya Neva (big one) and Malaya Neva (small one). This is a popular stop off point for couples getting married and often you will see several stretch limousines parked up while the bride and groom make some photos.The architectural complex of the Spit (or Strelka) of Vasilyevsky Island includes an elegant neoclassical building of the Old Stock Exchange and the Rostral Columns. There is a small park area you may enjoy to relax a few minutes before you continue your Guided walk of St Petersburg.

Enjoying your St Petersburg private walking tour?

Are you enjoying your St Petersburg walking tour so far? You have already walked a few kilometers and seen some of the cities greatest attractions so let us continue from the  Spit of Vasilievsky Island along the river and over another small bridge for about 20 minutes until we arrive at the  Peter and Paul Fortress located on Zayachy Island (Hare Island) It was called hare island as many years ago before the construction of the fortress the island was famous for the huge population of hares that lived there. Follow the Mytninskaya embankment and cross the small Kronverkskiy Bridge – you’re now near Peter and Paul Fortress. This is the first structure to be built in St Petersburg, and thus it is the birthplace of the city. St Peter and Paul Cathedral is the central tourist attraction in the fortress, although there are plenty within the walls to keep tourists and citizens occupied. Depending on how much time you have it is very easy to spend an hour or two within the fortress looking at the attractions, there are many museums and of course the most famous point being the church where all the famous Emperors and princesses have been buried.

Let’s continue our St Petersburg walking tour , we will head to the Eastern part of the Fortress and cross the Ionnoskiy Most, turn right and follow the embankment until you reach Troitsky Bridge the bridge itself is huge and a real pleasure to cross in the summer where you can get some amazing snaps of the river and embankments . Expect to take about 10 minutes to cross the bridge back over to the other side of the Neve that you left a little earlier. After crossing the bridge, you will get to the Field of Mars – a favourited place for many locals to sunbathe and relax in the summer months. 

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Let’s continue our guided tours of St Petersburg

Once in the Field of Mars if you look southwards you will see  the Church of Savior on the Spilled Blood – built in the end of 19th century in the style of 16th and 17th-century Russian churches. The church is built on the place where Alexander II was fatally wounded in an assassination attempt. This area is extremely busy during the summer months so expect the hustle and bustle of cars and many tourists also taking walking tours around this point. This is definitely a great place to take some holiday snaps and maybe even buy a souvenir from one of the many vendors outside the church. It is possible to go inside the Church but during the summer months there could be a long waiting time , unless you are lucky, your St petersburg guide will be able to advise you on whether you have time for a quick visit.

So let’s continue shall we? We can walk along  the Griboyedov channel for a few minutes until we come to the major thoroughfare of St Petersburg Nevsky Prospect. As soon as you reach the main road right in front of you on the opposite side of the road you will seeKazan Cathedral with an impressive stone colonnade built in 1811. The architect Andrei Voronikhin was inspired by the Basilica of St Peter’s in Rome.  It is well recommended to cross the road and spend 20 mintes at the cathedral , entrance is free and this is probably a great place to end your guided St Petersburg tour. After which you are right spot on in the centre of the biggest thoroughfare in St Petersburg where you will be able to find an abundance od cafes and restaurants offering tradition Russian food or in fact food from any part of the world.

 

Did you enjoy your private tour of St Petersburg? Want To Learn More About Tours In St Petersburg Russia?

Here are some information links and further information about St Petersburg that maybe of interest to you.

http://cathedral.ru/en

http://kazansky-spb.ru