Nearest metro: Tekhnologichesky Institut, Baltiyskaya
The Azimut Hotel is located directly on the banks of the Fontanka River, one of the most famous and picturesque waterways in central St. Petersburg. Although not right in the heart of the tourist centre, the hotel is very conveniently located for the Mariinsky Theatre and several other notable attractions.The nearest metro station, Baltiyskaya, is around 10 minutes' walk from the Azimut. Tekhnologicheskiy Institut, which is one stop closer to the centre and at an interchange between the red and blue metro lines, is only slightly further away. Baltiskiy Station, which is next to the metro, is useful for suburban trains and bus services running to the Imperial Palaces at Peterhof, Strelna, and Orenienbaum.
The nearest mainline station, Vitebskiy Station, is around 10 minutes' drive from the hotel, and serves trains to Belarus and Ukraine. Moskovskiy Station, the main terminal for trains from the capital, can be reached by car in around 25 minutes. Ladozhskiy Station, which serves trains to Helsinki and the north of Russia, is further away, and will take around 40 minutes to reach.
Pulkovo-1 and Pulkovo-2 Airports are a few kilometers to the south of St. Petersburg. To reach the Azimut by car from either terminal should take no more than 30 minutes.
Local Sightseeing
Just a few hundred meters from the hotel stands the imposing Cathedral of the Trinity. With its distinctive blue, star-spangled domes, the cathedral is one of St. Petersburg's most famous landmarks. Built for the Izmailovskiy Guard Regiment by renowned Russian architect Vasiliy Stasov, this fine neoclassical building was completed in 1835 and, in its rich history, witnessed the marriage of Feodor Dostoevsky to Anna Snitkina, his beloved secretary. Severely damaged by fire in 2006, the cathedral is currently under reconstruction.About 20 minutes' walk from the Azimut Hotel, the Mariinsky Theatre, which stands about twenty minutes' walk from the Azimut Hotel, is one of St. Petersburg's most popular attractions, the home of the internationally renowned opera and ballet companies better known abroad as the Kirov. Originally established in 1783 on the order of Catherine the Great, this beautiful and atmospheric opera house has reached new heights since the fall of the Soviet Union under the artistic direction of star conductor Valeriy Georgiev, and can now match any theatre in the world for the quality of its music and staging.
A few steps from the theatre, the Naval Cathedral of St. Nicholas is one of St. Petersburg's most beautiful baroque buildings. Dedicated to the Russian Navy, the church was designed by architect Savva Chevakinskiy and built between 1753 and 1763 on the site of an older wooden church in the Naval Court. The site of thanksgiving services for Russian naval victories, and a place of worship for sailors preparing to go to sea, the church was one of the few in St. Petersburg not to close under Communism.
