Nearest metro: Obvodny Kanal
Standing just behind St. Petersburg's central bus station (Avtovokzal), the Lyra Hotel may not be able to boast the most attractive location in the city, but it is close to the city center nonetheless, and well serviced by public transport. Nevsky Prospekt, St. Petersburg's central avenue, can be reached on foot in under 20 minutes.The nearest metro station, Ligovsky Prospekt, is under ten minutes' walk from the hotel, ensuring that major visitor attractions such as the Hermitage and the Peter and Paul Fortress can easily be reached in less than 30 minutes door-to-door. The hotel is also very convenient for both of St. Petersburg's central mainline stations - Moskovsky and Vitebsky - both of which are less than ten minutes' drive from the hotel. Pulkovo International Airport is around 14km south of the Lyra, and the journey will take around 40 minutes under normal traffic conditions.
Local Sightseeing
Although the area around the Lyra Hotel is by no means the most picturesque in St. Petersburg, it is by and large filled with 19th century apartment buildings, and there are even a few sights of historic interest among them.Just across the Obvodny Canal from the Lyra, the Cossack Church of the Exaltation of the Cross is in dire need of renovation, but its soaring neoclassical belltower, dating from 1812, is an impressive monument nonetheless, with a tiered structure of arches and vast curving colonnades. It is also still the main center for St. Petersburg's Cossack community.
About fifteen minutes' walk from the Lyra Hotel, Vitebsky Station serves trains to Belarus and the Baltic States. It also has several suburban services, and one of the most comfortable ways of reaching Tsarskoye Selo to see the Catherine Palace and the spectacular park is to take the suburban train from the station, following the route of Russia's first railway, opened in 1837. The current station dates from 1904 and is an impressively elegant building with lofty interiors and a beautiful Style Moderne facade.
