The Baltic Sea Cruise: Saint Petersburg Russia

DESTINATION PORT

Saint  Petersburg, Russia is one of the world’s most beautiful metropolises.  This city is perched on the banks of the Neva and is crisscrossed by canals.  This is our fourth cruise port from our Baltic Sea Cruise itinerary. 

THE LOWDOWN

Saint Petersburg, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the most colorful city we have visited so far.   It is the largest city in Russia with an undeniably eventful history.  It has arisen to become recognized as Russia’s intellectual and cultural hub.   If you are an American citizen you will need a visa to visit Russia in general.  However, in order to obtain a visa you need to be invited from Russia too – I know..it’s oxymoron.  So let’s say you book the hotel first and then have the hotel send you an invite so that you can apply for the visa.  However,  if you book an excursion (kids are half off) with the cruise then you do not need to get a visa to visit the country.  The cruise line takes care of the visa for you.  I highly recommend the latter if you have kids because it is less headache and some excursions do provide a few hours of touring the city on your own.

We are so grateful to be able to view some of the major landmarks this city has to offer from The Hermitage Museum (saw Rembrandt/Da Vinci paintings and more) and St. Isaac’s Square to Majestic Palaces and the Church of the Savior Spilled Blood. This is a place that my family and I will undoubtedly have a wealth of memories to cherish forever.

DON’T MISS

The Hermitage Museum is a must see when you are in Saint Petersburg.  The building is the Tsar’s form winter palace and includes a collection of over three million artworks, including paintings by Da Vinci and Rembrandt.  We also did the River and Canal Cruise excursion – skip this it’s not worth the money.  The cruise lasted an hour long sailing up and down the river and didn’t venture out much.  We would rather spend the time roaming around the city.  We heard from some cruise passengers that the Peterhof Palace and Gardens excursion was spectacular.

 ORDER THIS

When in Russia eat like the Russians do.  We wanted to try their famous Beef Stragonoff, originated in the 19th century.  The dish primarily consists of small beef pieces in a sour cream sauce, with different vegetables often added into it.  We didn’t see a lot local of Russian restaurants – maybe because we were in a touristy area, but we stopped by a Russian-Asian cuisine restaurant called Pelmenya.  The food was surprisingly good and it was very affordable for a family of four.   

WHAT TO WEAR

Saint Petersburg is always cold.  They get sunny days with an average of 60 days per year.  We were there in early June and it felt like fall with chilly winds.  I brought a light jacket and that wasn’t enough to keep me warm.  So bring a thicker jacket when you visit in the summer and a thick coat in the winter.

WHAT TO BUY

Russia is known for their vodka, paper mache eggs, faberge eggs, lacquer boxes,  caviar just to name a few.  We didn’t have time to try their vodka or purchase any big items souvenir.  If you have room in your luggage I highly recommend getting the lacquer boxes and the Russian dolls. 

Next Sea Port Stop: Helsinki, Finland