Saint Petersburg General Tips by HORSCHECK

Favorite Thing: St. Petersburg's metro is the deepest in the world. So the first thing you will notice are the long, steep and fast escalators packed with people. Construction started in 1940, but the first line was inaugurated in 1955.
Many stations are beautifully decorated. Unfortunately, taking photographs is prohibited. Nevertheless, I took a few photos in the less busy stations.
The stations of line 1 (red line) are especially worth seeing. I recommend having a closer look at Ploshad Vosstaniya, Ploshad Aleksandra Nevskogo, Pushkinskaya, Avtovo, Kirovskiy Zavod and Narvskaya.
For more info about the metro, please have a look at my "Transportation Tips".


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Favorite Thing: St. Petersburg has five main train stations: Vitebsky, Ladozhsky, Moskovskya, Baltiisky and Finlyandsky. East European train stations are often very beautiful and worth seeing. So always when you come across a train station, take the chance to get a glimpse of the architecture both from the outside and the inside. Unfortunately, the area around the train stations is often a bit dodgy and full of beggars, thieves and drunks. Nevertheless, don't miss the chance to see some architectural gems.
My favourite train station in St.Petersburg is Vitebsky Station. For more info about Vitebsky Station, please have a look at my "Things to do Tips".


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Favorite Thing: St. Petersburg has many churches all around the town. Most of them are Russian Orthodox Churches, but other denominations can be found as well. Especially Nevsky Prospekt is lined with churches of all denominations and therefore Alexander Dumas called it "the street of religious tolerance".
During Soviet times many churches were closed or used as warehouses or for any other non-religious purposes. Make sure to check the inside of some churches, but respect the local customs.


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Favorite Thing: St. Petersburg has many indoor and outdoor markets for for all kinds of fresh groceries or used stuff including soviet memoriabilia. The atmosphere in these markets is often interesting and gives you a fair insight into the local life. As Russia is Europe's leading honey producer you will find many market stalls offering honey from different origins.
So don't miss the opportunity to visit a few markets, but beware of pickpockets. For markets I visited please have a look at my "Shopping Tips".


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Favorite Thing: I spent almost a whole day sightseeing along St. Petersburg's main avenue Nevsky Prospekt. It leads from the Admirality in the west via Moskow Railway Station to the Aleksandr Nevsky Monastery in the east.
Some interesting buildings along Nevsky Prospekt are: School building with memorial (no. 14), Lutheran Petri Church (No. 22-24), Kazan Cathedral (opposite No. 28), Catholic Church of St. Catherine (No. 32-34), Armenian Church (No. 40-42), department store Passage (No. 48) and the former delicatessen Jeslissejew (No. 56).


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Favorite Thing: St. Petersburg was founded by Tsar Peter the Great in 1703, so it celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2003.
The tsars employed the best architects and artists from Western Europe to build St. Petersburg. Most of the Baroque or Classizism style buildings were worked out by Italian, French, Dutch or German people, therefore St. Petersburg is dominated by Western European Architecture.


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