Nearest metro: Ploshchad Vosstaniya
Located just off Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg's historic centre, the Grand Hotel Emerald is not as close to major visitor attractions as some of the city's five-star hotels, but it does have particularly good transport links. Moskovskiy Station, the city's main rail terminal, only a few minutes' walk away, making the hotel ideal for those visiting from the capital on short breaks or business. It is also situated in one of the best areas of St. Petersburg for dining out, shopping, and nightlife.The nearest metro station, Ploshchad Vosstaniya, is only five minutes' walk away, and a vast number of bus services run along Nevsky and Suvorovsky Prospekts, making almost every corner of the city easily accessible. Major visitor attractions such as the Hermitage, the Russian Museum, and St. Isaac's Cathedral can all be reached by public transport in under 20 minutes.
Pulkovo International Airport is around 20km from the Grand Hotel Emerald, and can be reached by car in around 40 minutes.
Local Sightseeing
While all St. Petersburg's major visitor attractions can easily and quickly be reached by public transport from the Grand Hotel Emerald, the immediate vicinity of the hotel was traditionally the less prosperous area of the historical centre, and is therefore not rich in historical monuments.The main exception is the Alexander Nevsky Monastery, about 15 minutes' walk from the hotel at the far eastern end of Nevsky Prospekt. One of Russia's most important religious houses, the monastery has several remarkable 18th and 19th century buildings as well as a cemetery that includes the graves of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Dostoevsky.
Smolny Cathedral, at the northern end of Suvorovsky Prospekt, is a baroque masterpiece by Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, architect of the Winter Palace. One of the city's most stunningly beautiful buildings, the cathedral is now used mostly as a concert hall, and is a little way off the beaten track for most tourists, but it is well worth taking the 20-minute walk from the Grand Emerald Hotel (5-10 minutes by bus) just to take in the spectacular views of its blue-and-white towers from the Bolsheokhtinsky Bridge, which is a fascinating piece of civil engineering in its own right.
