Three-day all-highlights tour of St. Petersburg
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Designed specifically for cruise-ship passengers who have a full 72 hours in St. Petersburg, this tour works well as a complete itinerary for any visitors who wish to see the city's top sights and attractions at a reasonable pace over three days.
The all-highlights tour takes in all the landmark attractions of central St. Petersburg, including the Peter and Paul Fortress, the Hermitage and St. Isaac's Cathedral, as well as allowing for full tours of the palace and park at Peterhof and the sumptuous Catherine Palace at Tsarskoye Selo. There is also time included in the program for souvenir shopping, and plenty of time at the end of each day to add visits to the ballet or other evening entertainments, which can be booked separately.
Itinerary
Day 1| 9:00am - 12:00pm |
City orientation tour and Peter and Paul Fortress
This three-hour tour gives your guide the opportunity to introduce you to St. Petersburg, giving an overview of the city's rich history and culture, while also showing you the main landmarks of Nevsky Prospekt and the Neva River embankments, including the Winter Palace and St. Isaac's Cathedral. The tour halts for a visit inside the Peter and Paul Fortress, the magnificent island fortress founded by Peter the Great, the highlight of which is the stunning St Peter and Paul Cathedral, the final resting place of nearly all the Romanov Tsars and their families. The tour also calls at a local farmers market.
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| 12:30pm - 1:30pm | Traditional Russian lunch |
| 1:30pm - 2:30pm |
Transfer to Tsarskoye Selo (Pushkin)
After lunch in the city, a bus takes the group to the town of Pushkin, famous for the Tsarskoye Selo palace and park.
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| 2:30pm - 4:00pm |
Tour of the Catherine Palace
The Catherine Palace at Tsarskoye Selo is a grand rococo palace that, like the Winter Palace, was designed by Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli for Empress Elizabeth. Expanded and adapted by Catherine the Great, who used it as her main summer residence, it is famous throughout the world as one of great palaces of European royalty. The highlight of the tour is the Amber Room, an extraordinarily ornate chamber originally gifted to Peter the Great by King Frederick William I of Prussia.
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| 4:00pm - 5:00pm |
Return to St. Petersburg with metro tour
On the way back to the city center, the group will make a brief tour of stations on the Saint Petersburg Metro. The deepest underground railway in the world, the metro is one of the greatest urban developments of the Soviet era, famous for its beautiful marble-clad stations and dizzyingly long escalators.
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| 9:00am - 10:00am |
Drive to Peterhof
The group meets for the morning at nine, and is take by bus to the park and palace at Peterhof.
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| 10:00am - 11:30pm |
Tour of the Grand Palace
On arrival in Peterhof, your tour begins with a visit to the Grand Palace. This charming baroque building is among the oldest of St. Petersburg's royal residences, and is particularly noted for its magnificent, richly gilded ballroom.
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| 11:30am - 1:00pm |
Tour of the park and fountains
The grounds at Peterhof are among the world's most famous landscape gardens. This tour covers the more formal Upper Gardens and the extensive Lower Park, which includes several beautiful baroque palaces and pavilions, as well as the world-famous fountains.
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| 1:00pm - 1:30pm |
Hydrofoil back to the city
The group returns to central St. Petersburg with a hydrofoil voyage across the Gulf of Finland, arriving at a pier a few steps from the Winter Palace.
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| 1:30pm - 2:30pm | Traditional Russian lunch |
| 2:30pm - 3:00pm |
Visit to the Church of Our Saviour on the Spilled Blood
The Church of the Resurrection of Christ (popularly known as the "Saviour on the Spilled Blood") was built on the site where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated by anarchist terrorists. Its riotously colorful Russian Revival architecture, inspired by St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow, makes it one of the most popular and instantly recognizable landmarks in St. Petersburg.
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| 3:30pm - 4:00pm |
Visit to St. Isaac's Cathedral
The largest and grandest church in St. Petersburg, St. Isaac's Cathedral was the life's work of the French-born architect Auguste de Montferrand. The monumental red-granite exteriors in high Empire style are matched by the rich interiors, designed by the most prominent Russian artists and craftsmen of the day and executed using gemstones and minerals brought from every part of the Russian Empire.
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| 9:00am - 1:00pm |
Tour of the State Hermitage Museum
Rated among the top five greatest museums in the world, the Hermitage boasts vast collections of art and historical artifacts, and this tour can give only an overview of the treasures on display. It gives visitors the chance to view the spectacularly ornate state rooms of the Winter Palace, as well as masterpieces of the collection of Western European art by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Rubens, Rembrandt, Caravaggio and Poussin, to name but a few. You then cross Palace Square to the General Staff Building to see what many consider the true highlights of the Hermitage's art collections, the works of the impressionists and post-impressionists, including Matisse, Monet, Gaugin and Picasso.
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| 1:00pm - 2:00pm | Lunch |
| 2:00pm - 3:00pm |
Visit to the Yusupov Palace on the Moyka
The Yusupov Palace on the Moyka River was the residence of two of the most powerful noble families in Imperial Russia in the 18th and 19th centuries. While not particularly remarkable from the outside, it offers some of the best preserved palatial interiors in St. Petersburg, and is most famous as the site of the assassination of Rasputin, which is the subject of an extremely popular exhibition in the palace's basement.
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| 3:00pm - 4:00pm |
Free time and shopping
At the end of your tour, there will be time to shop for souvenirs and explore any other areas of central St. Petersburg that your are interested in, as agreed in advance with your guide.
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NB This itinerary is designed for summer visits (May to October) and may not be available on every day of the week, depending on visitor attraction opening schedules.
Itinerary and route details
Tour start point
By agreement, at client’s hotel, at the passenger sea port
Tour finish point
By agreement, at client’s hotel, at the passenger sea port
Length of tour
8 hours (Day 1), 7 hours (Day 2) and 7 hours (Day 3)
Approximate schedule
| Day 1 | |
| 9:00am - 12:00pm | City orientation tour and Peter and Paul Fortress |
| 12:30am - 1:30pm | Traditional Russian lunch |
| 1:30pm - 2:30pm | Transfer to Tsarskoye Selo (Pushkin) |
| 2:30pm - 4:00pm | Tour of the Catherine Palace |
| 4:00pm - 5:00pm | Return to St. Petersburg with metro tour |
| Day 2 | |
| 9:00am - 10:00am | Drive to Peterhof |
| 10:00am - 11:30pm | Tour of the Grand Palace |
| 11:30am - 1:00pm | Tour of the park and fountains |
| 1:00pm - 1:30pm | Hydrofoil back to the city |
| 1:30pm - 2:30pm | Traditional Russian lunch |
| 2:30pm - 3:00pm | Visit to the Church of Our Saviour on the Spilled Blood |
| 3:30pm - 4:00pm | Visit to St. Isaac's Cathedral |
| Day 3 | |
| 9:00am - 1:00pm | Tour of the State Hermitage Museum |
| 1:00pm - 2:00pm | Traditional Russian lunch |
| 2:00pm - 3:00pm | Visit to the Yusupov Palace on the Moyka |
| 3:00pm - 4:00pm | Free time and shopping |
Days on which tour is available
Daily in summer (May to October), itinerary may vary depending on the days of the week
Attractions visited during tour
- Peter and Paul Fortress
- Tsarskoye Selo
- St. Petersburg Metro
- Peterhof
- St. Isaac's Cathedral
- Church of Our Saviour on the Spilled Blood
- State Hermitage Museum
- Yusupov Palace on the Moyka River
Extra options (free)
None
Extra options (paid)
None
Languages tour is available in
English, Spanish, German, French.
Transport
Bus/minibus/car, hydrofoil, metro.
Breaks for meals/refreshments
A break for lunch is included in the itinerary. Choice of restaurant or café can be arranged with guide during tour or in advance.
Travelers
Who is the tour for?
Russian citizens, foreign tourists.
Physical intensity of tour and health restrictions
This is a relatively intensive sightseeing tour that involves considerable periods on your feet inside and outdoors. If you are a wheelchair user or have other mobility issues, please let us know in advance so that we can make appropriate arrangements.
Minimum recommended age for children
14 years
Payment
Included in tour price
- Admissions tickets
- Guide services
Not included in tour price
- Lunch
Further information
Important information
This tour is designed for visitors, including cruise ship passengers, who have only three days in St. Petersburg and wish to pack as much as possible into their visit. This is an intensive program not recommended for younger visitors or the elderly.
Main tour highlights
This tour comprises all St. Petersburg's top visitor attractions, including the State Hermitage Museum and the suburban Imperial palaces at Peterhof and Tsarskoye Selo.
