Nearest metro: Petrogradskaya
Situated on Aptekarskaya Island, the northern section of the Petrograd Side, the Andersen Hotel offers relative seclusion in a pleasantly leafy, mostly residential district while providing fast access to the historic center of St. Petersburg and the city's major visitor attractions by public transport.The nearest metro station, Petrogradskaya, is under ten minutes' walk from the hotel, and from there it is only two stops to Nevsky Prospekt Station, for the Hermitage, the State Russian Museum, Kazan and St. Isaac's Cathedrals, and Nevsky Prospekt itself.
Moskovsky Station is around 4km from the hotel, and can be reached by taxi in 20 minutes in reasonable traffic conditions. Vitebsky Station is only slightly further away, while Ladozhsky Station is in the eastern outskirts of St. Petersburg, and the drive will take at least 30 minutes.
Pulkovo-2 International Airport is to the south of the city, about 24km from the Andersen Hotel, and the car journey to/from the airport takes 40-90 minutes, depending on traffic conditions. Pulkovo-1, the international terminal, is about 2km further out of town.
Local Sightseeing
The Petrograd Side is one of the most attractive neighborhoods in St. Petersburg, with scores of beautiful Style Moderne houses and a lot of green space. The Andersen Hotel is situated on Aptekarsky Island, just to the north of the main Petrograd District across the Karpovka River. Although the island is now very much part of the city center, it is still home to the city's Botanical Garden, and only a short walk to the leafy parks and historic residences of the Kirov Islands.Kamenniy Island is the closest, just over five minutes' walk from the hotel. For centuries the closest suburban retreat for St. Petersburg's wealthy and high-ranking citizens, it has numerous beautiful villas in a variety of architectural styles, as well as the Kamennoostrovsky Palace (sadly closed to the public), and the charming neo-gothic Church of John the Baptist.
Neigbouring Yelagin Island is probably the most popular with visitors, thanks to its unspoilt (if overgrown) parkland and the charming Yelagin Palace, built by Carlo Rossi on the orders of Alexander I for his mother Maria Fyodorovna. Krestovsky Ostrov, meanwhile, is more likely to attract locals, with an amusement park, two stadiums, and a number of other leisure facilities.
It is also possible to walk from the Andersen Hotel (or take the metro one stop to Gorkovskaya) to the Peter and Paul Fortress and several other visitor attractions around it. The fortress is the oldest building in St. Petersburg and, although it never actually served a defensive function, its rich history includes its role as the Tsarist prison for St. Petersburg's most notorious political prisoners, and as the burial site for nealry all of the Romanov Tsars from Peter I onwards in the Ss. Peter and Paul Cathedral, with its unmistakable golden spire. Within five minutes' walk of the fortress are the Artillery Museum and the Leningrad Zoo, while Peter the Great's Cabin and the Cruiser Aurora are only slightly further away.
