A walk along the rivers and canals in St. agendas” for both tourists and citizens. In the 2022 season, there are even more options for this exciting pastime. We recall classic water routes and talk about new ones.
WHY PETERSBURG MUST SEE FROM THE WATER
St. Petersburg must be seen from the water. And because the main sights of the city are located along the embankments, and because important details are not visible from the “land”, in which the whole St. Petersburg flavor is revealed.
Take, for example, the Blue Bridge. Standing on it in front of the Mariinsky Palace, it seems that you are on a beautiful square. And only after a ride under it, you understand that this is a real bridge, considered one of the widest in the world.
The Blue Bridge in St. Petersburg is actually one of the widest bridges in the world. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
WALK ALONG THE RIVERS AND CANALS OF ST. PETERSBURG FOR EVERY TASTE
As a rule, navigation in St. Petersburg begins in mid-April and lasts until the end of October. In warm weather, walks along the rivers and canals are available on all the main waterways of the city, both during the day and in the evening and at night.
Many famous sights of St. Petersburg look different from the Neva. Photo by ATOR
The cost of a boat trip depends on the time of day, the route, the class of the ship and the service offered on board. The most budget option is a group boat trip along the rivers and canals with access to the Neva water area with an overview of the main sights of the historical center.
During the tour, the boat passes under several bridges, both large ones spanning the Neva, and small, where the vaults float right over their heads.
Passing under the bridges is a special adventure that all tourists love. Photo by ATOR
For those wishing to see the modern city and the top objects of the New Tourist Geography of St. Petersburg, for example, the Lakhta Center and the Zenit Arena, we recommend a cruise to the Northern Islands with access to the Gulf of Finland. The route passes Kamenny, Elagin, Krestovsky and other islands in the Neva delta.
There are many interesting options for water trips in St. Petersburg – not only in the historical center. Photo: St. Petersburg Tourism Development Committee.
For those who want water “rides” in the company of friends or family, you can order an individual walk. As a bonus, you can take snacks and drinks with you.
There are interesting options along the front Neva: with live music or a gastronomic dinner, a night cruise concert or the romance of drawbridges. The latter is especially good in the two-hour cruise “Leaving for the Sunset”, the route of which passes along the Malaya Neva with access to the cables of the Western High-Speed Diameter.
Be sure to take warm clothes with you (it can be cool on the water in the evening) and charge your phones better: the bewitching panoramas of the city on the Neva and the most beautiful sunsets will make you take many photos.
In addition to classic motor ships and boats, Meteors are also popular in St. Petersburg, on which you can travel to Peterhof, Kronstadt and the Oreshek (Shlisselburg) fortress with a breeze and comfort. Fast hydrofoils depart from the moorings in the city center and operate on a regular schedule.
Oreshek Fortress. Bastion_Golovin. Photo: Wikimedia Commoms
The novelty of the 2022 season is an exciting sightseeing cruise along the Neva towards Lake Ladoga. On the Meteor from the city center you can go to the Proryv Museum and the Oreshek Fortress.
During the route, the ship will make a stop at the Breakthrough of the Siege of Leningrad Museum-Reserve, where, during a tour of the museum, guests will see an installation telling about the Iskra military operation and visit a memorial exposition on the territory of the museum. Then the tour will continue through the Oreshek fortress itself, which holds many secrets and mysteries.
YOU CAN BOOK A BOAT ONLINE
You can plan a boat trip in St. Petersburg in advance: the websites of shipping companies and operators provide detailed excursion schedules, routes and prices.
Everything is convenient and simple, available for booking and payment online. On some routes it is possible to choose a berth suitable for departure or book a seat already on board.
Does it look like Venice? This is it, only “Northern”. Photo provided by the St. Petersburg Tourism Development Committee.
After payment, the ticket will come to the post office, you do not need to print anything. It is enough to show it in electronic form at the ticket office of the pier and get a boarding pass.
If you did not purchase a ticket for a boat trip in advance, it's okay. There are many piers in the city center where you can spontaneously board a boat or a sightseeing boat. You will be returned to the same place where the walk started.
WHAT NEW WATER ROUTES STARTED IN THE 2022 SEASON
In the 2022 season, several new water routes were launched in St. Petersburg, which connected classical St. Petersburg and objects of the New Tourist Geography.
As emphasized by the Chairman of the St. Petersburg Tourism Development Committee Sergey Korneev, these routes are either being restored or are brand new.
“You can get from St. Petersburg to Peterhof along the circular “Petrovsky” water route, and from there to Kronstadt and then return to St. Petersburg. Or take the “Island of Forts” project in Kronstadt, which can be connected with the classic big St. Petersburg only on “Meteors”. There are routes that for the first time connected popular public spaces: for example, from Sevkabel Port you can go by water to New Holland and vice versa,” notes Sergey Korneev.
As the head of the shipping company adds < strong>Yuri Nabatov, high-speed meteors also connected Petersburg and Strelna.
The new excursion program lasts 4 hours and 30 minutes, includes an acquaintance with the Konstantinovsky Palace and the park, as well as a full lunch. On the waterway from the city center and back, passengers are guaranteed beautiful photos and new experiences.
HOP-ON-HOP-OFF WATER ROUTES
If you want to move comfortably on the water, choose routes built according to the Hop-On-Hop-Off system, enter and exit at stops an unlimited number of times during the day. Passengers can purchase tickets for a round trip or from one stop to another, or with an unlimited number of trips during the day.
There are several routes in the Hop-On-Hop-Off format. For example, there is a city sightseeing water route along the “golden ring” with five stops:
Universitetskaya embankment (near the Kunstkamera, the Zoological Museum, the Museum of the History of St. Petersburg, the Menshikov Palace, the sphinx statues, the arrow of Vasilevsky Island) – the Admiralty (the Hermitage, the Winter Palace, the Palace Bridge and Palace Square, St. Isaac's Cathedral, the Bronze Horseman) – the Peter and Paul Fortress – cruiser Aurora – New Holland. Such a full circle route will take 2 hours.
Peter and Paul Fortress and the famous Scarlet Sails. View from the water. Photo by ATOR
The one and a half hour museum route “Vivat, Petersburg!”, which runs between the cruiser “Aurora” and the Central Naval Museum, also operates on the basis of the Hop-On-Hop-Off principle. Everything is new in it: from specially selected trimarans with soft sofas and a folding awning in case of rain, to the logistics of building a route.
As Andrey Kuznetsov notes, the head of the company that launched an interesting novelty, for the first time the water route united three important museums for St. on Krovi and next to the Central Naval Museum – on the Kryukov Canal embankment, opposite New Holland.
St. Isaac's Cathedral, view from the water. Photo by ATOR
From the water on such a route you can see the Hermitage complex, the Kunstkamera and the Peter and Paul Fortress, the Church of the Savior on Blood and the cruiser “Aurora”, as well as the Kazan and St. Isaac's Cathedrals. A visit to New Holland will complete the collection of impressions, where you can relax on the grass or sunbathe, walk through art stores and creative workshops, or have a bite to eat in a trendy restaurant.
Want to visit as top cultural sites in the central Neva water area in one water route , and new urban facilities: Gazprom Arena, WHSD Cable-stayed Bridge and Lakhta Center? Then book a Hop-On-Hop-Off cruise along the Northern Islands of the Neva Delta.
However, no matter what water route you choose in St. Petersburg, the river trip will be comfortable, romantic and memorable.
You can learn more about water and tourist routes in St. Petersburg on the official city tourism portal Visit-Petersburg.ru, as well as on its official VKontakte page and Telegram channel.
Elena Myagkova