{"id":39031,"date":"2019-10-03T06:00:12","date_gmt":"2019-10-03T13:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wearetravelgirls.com\/?p=39031"},"modified":"2025-08-15T06:15:56","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T13:15:56","slug":"st-petersburg-unique-activities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wearetravelgirls.com\/st-petersburg-unique-activities\/","title":{"rendered":"UNIQUE SPOTS AND ACTIVITIES IN ST PETERSBURG, RUSSIA"},"content":{"rendered":"

St Petersburg is the most Western and incredibly beautiful city in Russia. It bears the unofficial status of the \u201cCountry\u2019s cultural capital\u201d \u2013 and although Muscovites (residents of Moscow) won\u2019t always agree with this nomination, St Petersburg does have a record-breaking number of museums, monuments & historical buildings per kilometer.<\/p>\n

\"Funky<\/p>\n

This city can offer an itinerary for every type of traveler and any budget: classic art lovers can spend many days or even weeks wandering around Hermitage & Russian museum, architecture lovers would be in heaven doing city walks, anyone interested in music would be presented with endless opportunities for all kinds of performances starting from free street concerts up to and getting a ticket to the Mariinsky Theater<\/a>.<\/p>\n

WHEN TO VISIT ST. PETERSBURG<\/h3>\n

The most popular & crowded time to visit St Petersburg is mid-June through the beginning of July when daylight extends to nearly 19 hours. It is a White Nights peak time, such an anticipated & special moment of Northern summer when everyone stays up late, parties hard and get trapped in the city center because all the bridges are raised for navigation.<\/p>\n

If you are planning your visit during this period\u2013 make all your bookings well in advance. Or consider coming a little earlier as White Nights start to roll somewhere end of May and you will get all the atmosphere and feel for it without huge crowds.<\/p>\n

THINGS TO DO IN ST PETERSBURG<\/h3>\n

Regardless of when you are visiting, St Petersburg will have a lot to do. There is certainly a \u201cFirst Time Visitor Must See\u201d list<\/a> with such landmarks as Winter Palace, Kazan Cathedral, Cruiser Aurora, and Hermitage.<\/p>\n

This little guide will help you to fit some funky spots in as you trek antique parquet of imperial palaces and stare at world-renowned architecture, pictures & monuments. All of them are located in a city center, in close proximity to “standard” tourist attractions.<\/p>\n

\"Unique<\/p>\n

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SEE THE CITY FROM A BIRD’S EYE VIEW <\/h3>\n

The most famous viewing point is the Colonnade of St. Isaac\u2019s Cathedral<\/a>. If you are up to being more adventurous and ready to take a bit of risk, look into the rooftop tour. The risky part of the rooftop tour is that these kind of activities are usually organized by small local companies and not all the guides speak English well enough.<\/p>\n

There are other factors which vary depends on locations, roof conditions, time a day, weather, etc. TripAdvisor reviews for this activity range from \u201cbrilliant\u201d to \u201cterrible\u201d. No matter if you will choose a \u201cconventional\u201d way of St. Isaac Colonnade or decide to embark into the unknown with rooftop tour \u2013 prepare to climb long spiral staircases.<\/p>\n

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VISIT NEW HOLLAND <\/h3>\n

New Holland<\/a> is a microcosm of St. Petersburg, a city within the city where the former naval prison had been turned into an art object and became home to numerous gastronomy spots, galleries, installations, recreation areas. If you happen to visit in winter New Holland\u2019s Ice-skating ring will be the best people-watching spot.<\/p>\n

VISIT ANTI-CAFE <\/h3>\n

Unlike in a normal caf\u00e9, in “anti-cafes” you don\u2019t pay for what you drink and eat, but for the time you spend in the space. Paying for your time will give you access to bottomless cups of coffee or tea, snacks, desserts, board games, art activities. Here are few awesome Anti-Caf\u00e9\u2019s:<\/p>\n

Mansarda<\/a> \u2013 In case you did not do the rooftop tour, you can still get a taste of it by visiting Mansarda and relaxing on their patio. The view is spectacular, everything else is adorable, snacks, artisan coffee and a big selection of tea.<\/p>\n

\u201cForAll\u201d \u2013 Would you consider dancing or learning how to dance Brazilian Forro with Russians? Or taking a quick cat nap in a hammock? Then this cheerful \u201cBrazil inspired\u201d cafe is for you! The cookies are great too.<\/p>\n

Cat Caf\u00e9 \u201cSoulmate\u201d<\/a> – Honestly, this one should make it on the aforementioned \u201cFirst Time Visitor Must See List\u201d. Crazy Cat Lady or not \u2013 pay a visit to the house of Russian cats. Enjoy snacks & fluffy snuggles. Piano to play as a bonus.<\/p>\n

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COMMUNAL APARTMENTS<\/h3>\n

Communal apartment living is a unique Soviet phenomenon. A product of the Russian imperial past and the realities of the 1917 Revolution, when residential real estate became public property. The authorities began to divide up the apartments of wealthy citizens into smaller units (10 meters of living space for adult, 5 meters for the child) in order to solve the chronic housing shortage brought on by the country\u2019s rapid industrialization, which attracted many people to big cities.<\/p>\n

\u201cKommunalka\u201d (as it called in Russian) still exists in St. Petersburg. The interiors are a unique blend of the pre-revolutionary palace and hum-drum existence and are preserved because residents are awaiting resettlement and do not renovate it.<\/p>\n

There are a few ways to explore Russian Kommunalka<\/p>\n