There are many options for where to go for a weekend from St. Petersburg. The immediate surroundings of the Northern capital are rich in historical and natural attractions. Curious tourists can see ancient estates, walk through beautiful parks, and get acquainted with the unknown pages of the Great Patriotic War. The suburbs of St. Petersburg will interest even the most experienced traveler.
The suburbs of St. Petersburg are interesting and rich in cultural heritage.
Pavlovsk
If you are tired of the city and museums, come to Pavlovsky Park. Its smooth, calm lines are a treat for the eyes. The park is loved by both locals and tourists: here you can feed the nimble squirrels, go boating and biking, walk or run. There are beautiful statues, palaces and museums. We walked through Pavlovsky Park in spring and summer, but in autumn it is also very beautiful.
Entrance costs 100 rubles, from 6 to 10 am and after 18:00 - free. We went to the park by train from Vitebsky station, but you can also go from the Kupchino railway station. There are also minibuses, see the list here. From St. Petersburg you can easily travel by car on your own or take an excursion: there is an individual excursion by car, and there is a group excursion Pavlovsk + Gatchina + Tsarskoe Selo.
Pavlovsky Park is a great place where you can inexpensively travel from St. Petersburg.
Seliger
An amazingly beautiful lake in the Tver region attracts fans of wild or at least not littered nature. Fishing is good here, and “silent hunting” is thriving. Many recreation centers and guest houses have settled on the banks of Seliger. And today they are already decently equipped and comfortable - booking.com/region/ru/seliger.ru.
Some people live here for weeks in tents right in the open air. Swims, rides boats in complete isolation from the restless reality and sometimes even the Internet.
Getting there from St. Petersburg is easy - along the M-11 and then the regional highway. But it won’t be possible to cover approximately 450 kilometers in less than 6-7 hours - the quality of the asphalt at the finishing stretch is not very good.
Motor ships cruise along Seliger from the administrative center, the city of Ostashkov. And they take tourists, including to the Nilovo-Stolobenskaya Hermitage, a monastery on the island. It was founded in the 16th century, but the surviving striking architectural complex dates back to the 19th century.
Peterhof
Peterhof is probably the most famous suburb of St. Petersburg! Russian Versailles is magnificent: a lot of gilding, fountains, sculptures and greenery. But don't expect to stroll along the shady paths in peace and quiet. In the summer there are especially many Chinese tourists - it seems that they are teleported from the Hermitage straight to Peterhof.
However, the fountains are turned on only from May to September, and the rest of the time life in Peterhof is not so vibrant. Entrance to the Upper Park is free, but to the Lower Park there is a fee. The area is huge, come early. It took us 5-6 hours to inspect. You can get there from the Baltic Station by minibus or bus, they go straight to the park.
Meteors run to Peterhof - a good opportunity to combine a boat trip with sightseeing. It's fast and convenient, unlike the bus. You can even fly over Peterhof by plane!
The fountains in Peterhof are amazing! Photo: iam_os / unsplash.com.
Velikiy Novgorod
If Muscovites are happy to travel to this ancient Russian city - even though it is not part of the Golden Ring - then St. Petersburg residents should be even more so.
If you wish, you can turn around in a day - “Swallow” will cover 180 (approximately) kilometers in 3 hours. Autotourists using the M-11 St. Petersburg-Moscow toll highway, by the way, can get there even faster—in theory, in 2.5.
But if a day is theoretically enough to see Veliky Novgorod, then we are no longer talking about pleasure—everything is done in a rush and run. This same city, on the contrary, sets you in a leisurely, measured mood.
Which is understandable - Veliky Novgorod is so old and wise that it has long measured time in centuries. And he is able to introduce you to imperishable values... if you promise not to rush. To do this, however, you will have to rustle through historical works. Or rely on the knowledge of a local guide - velikiy-novgorod-pogruzhenie-v-drevnost.
Local hotels, apparently, are somewhat accustomed to Moscow tourists, and allow themselves to raise their prices. Therefore, in the center at the height of the 2022 season, you will not find decent options cheaper than 4,500 rubles per night. On the outskirts (15-20 minutes walk from the Kremlin), however, there is easily the Three Cats guest house.
Kronstadt
We went to Kronstadt on a February day - it was unbearably chilly and so gray that it seemed that the sky was about to crush this island city. Therefore, the first thing we did was rush to a coffee shop, where we ate an eclair and sat for a long time, trying to warm up after the minibus.
From the whole trip I remember the black silhouettes of warships, the windswept pier, the austere white lighthouse, the Makarovsky Bridge, the embankment and the impressive St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral, reminiscent of the Istanbul Hagia Sophia with its rich interior decoration and chandeliers. Take a good look at the dome of the cathedral.
Kronstadt is located not far from St. Petersburg - go for one day, but not in winter (it’s very cold!). In summer the city looks much more cheerful, and you can also take a boat to the forts. You can leave from the Chernaya Rechka metro station by minibus K405, from the Staraya Derevnya by bus 101 and from the Prospekt Prosveshcheniya station by minibus K407.
St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral in Kronstadt reminded me of Istanbul's Hagia Sophia. Photo: Ninara / flickr.com / CC BY 2.0.
Svargas
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Visit a medieval city
Svargas is a fortress of the Baltic Slavs, recreated by modern history buffs near Vyborg. Here you can forget about civilization for a while and feel the atmosphere of the early Middle Ages: visit a forge, do archery, try on a helmet, sit in a tavern. You need to sign up for the excursion in advance, details here. Ticket price is 600 rubles, children under 7 years old are free.
Komarovo
Another charming suburb of St. Petersburg, where you can relax for a day or two, is the famous Komarovo from that very Soviet song. We came to Komarovo for a couple of hours to sit in the sun, watching the waves of the Gulf of Finland lazily lick the sand. Slender pine trees, a refreshing wind and... a swarm of mosquitoes that fully justified the name. To be fair, on the beach they were driven away by the wind, but in the village itself there was not a second of peace.
The beach in Komarov is wonderful: long, with light sand and picturesquely scattered stones here and there. No buildings - only nature. The forest comes close to the beach. The village has a well-groomed eco-trail with wooden paths, Shchuchye Lake, and you can also see sights: the necropolis, the remains of the Renault villa, Akhmatova’s dacha and Yukhnevich’s dacha in the Art Nouveau style.
You can get there by train from Finlyandsky Station or Udelnaya railway station, as well as by bus No. 411, which departs from the Chernaya Rechka and Staraya Derevnya metro stations.
Komarov is cozy and quiet. Photo: Oopt.spb / wikipedia.org / CC BY-SA 4.0.
Russian village Shuvalovka
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Look into a Russian hut
Another ethnocenter is the Russian village of Shuvalovka. Adults can eat delicious food here (be sure to try bread from the Russian oven), listen to stories about table traditions at the Vodka Theater, and attend master classes on folk crafts. Children will see wooden carved huts, a forge and a mill, run around playgrounds with characters from famous fairy tales, and take a walk around the petting zoo. The cost of the sightseeing tour is 950 rubles, details on the website and information about other programs can be found here.
Alexandria Park
Go for a walk from St. Petersburg to Alexandria Park - it’s nearby and inexpensive. Unlike its famous neighbor Peterhof, the wonderful landscape park with a Gothic chapel is empty. We walked there almost alone. In autumn, the park looks completely Pushkin-like. Be sure to go to the beach on the Gulf of Finland, it’s beautiful there too.
Tripster has an interesting excursion “Unknown Peterhof”. In addition to the Alexandria Park, the program has a lot of interesting things: palaces, estates, mansions, dachas. The guide will open you up to the world of estates on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland.
The Gothic Chapel in Alexandria Park is a very unexpected structure in Russia. Photo: Pavlikhin / wikipedia.org / CC BY-SA 3.0.
Tver
May the residents of this ancient Russian city forgive us, but coming here for a weekend from St. Petersburg is an excessive luxury. Because you can see the Imperial Travel Palace, the main tourist attraction of Tver, in just an hour or two.
And the spoiled residents of St. Petersburg, who can go to the Winter Palace every day, are unlikely to be truly impressed. Although the excursions along the streets and embankments here are really exciting. And over the centuries the city has acquired some very interesting legends - tver-istorii-i-legendyi.
One way or another, the distance you will have to cover (by car - by train) is 500 km. It's about a 5 hour drive along M-11.
Tsarskoe Selo
For one day from St. Petersburg, I advise you to go to Pushkin and visit the Tsarskoe Selo museum-reserve. There is a whole galaxy of parks and palaces. The main one is the baroque Catherine Palace, surprisingly reminiscent of the Winter Palace. It is there that you can see the famous Amber Room.
We didn’t go into the palaces and pavilions because we arrived late. Get to Pushkin early if you want to look around properly, take a walk and see the interiors - the scale of the museum-reserve is impressive. We came by minibus, but it’s better to take the train at Vitebsky station. Look on the museum's website to see what else you can get there by.
Many people visit Tsarskoe Selo with a guide - you can take an individual tour for up to 7 people or a group tour by bus and visit three residences in one day.
Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo.
Pskov
It is located further from St. Petersburg - almost 300 kilometers away. Therefore, you will have to spend a little more time on the road - from 3.5 hours. Equally by train or car.
The main attractions of Pskov: Krom, a fortress, according to historians, built in close to Western European traditions, and the Spaso-Mirozhsky Monastery. However, they are not alone: the Pushkin Mountains and the neighboring ancient cities of Izborsk and Pechory also attract travelers.
Including those traveling to Pskov by car from Moscow. Why not - Europe is still closed!
Both active and completely independent, and those who prefer to completely relax and just listen - pskov-i-ego-okrestnosti.
Eco-trail “Komarovsky Coast”
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Walk along the seashore
Eco trails have become especially popular during the pandemic. To walk through protected areas you do not need masks and gloves, pre-registration and visit fees. You need to know the entry point and follow the signs. There are several eco-trails around the city; for families with children, we recommend “Komarovsky Bereg” - a relatively short route (about 3 km), equipped for walking. You can find out how to get there and what to look for during your walk here.
Ethnopark "Bogoslovka Estate"
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Sit in a wooden temple
The Bogoslovka estate is called the St. Petersburg analogue of the Kizhi nature reserve. Replicas of wooden architecture monuments can be seen 5 kilometers from the city. Excursions, fairs and master classes are held here, there is an interactive ethnographic museum with a photo zone and a cafe. After visiting the estate, you can take a walk through the Nevsky Forest Park. Order excursions, directions and other information on the website.
Fort Krasnaya Gorka
Alex Doorsen / commons.wikimedia.org
Take a walk through the casemates
This place will impress adult military history buffs and all children. You should start your visit with a trip to the museum, where samples of ammunition and weapons, communications equipment, an exhibition of underwater science and other exhibits are collected. Then you can wander through various buildings that have been preserved since the war. Children happily climb onto military equipment, while adults wander around the casemates. At the end of the day, you can go to the shore of the Gulf of Finland and admire the views. Directions and information about the museum's work are here.
Sablinskie caves
Dmitry Fomin / commons.wikimedia.org
Look at stalactites and stalagmites
A great option for active recreation for parents with children over 6 years old is a walk through the Sablinsky Caves. The largest and most interesting is “Levoberezhnaya”. 5 and a half kilometers of colorful underground passages. It is easy to get lost in this labyrinth, so you can only get here with a guided tour. Wear warm clothes and comfortable shoes, sign up by phone and go on a trip.
Andersengrad
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Remember Andersen's fairy tales
The fairytale town, stylized as the architecture of medieval Europe, was built back in 1980. For a long time it was difficult to visit, since Sosnovy Bor was on the list of closed cities. Today, to enter the city, it is enough to have a passport with you. On the territory of Andersengrad there are the town hall tower, the tower of the tin soldier, the Snow White cafe, Ole Lukoje's house, a summer theater, bastions, bridges, and an underground passage. Excursions are held here, holiday programs and other activities are provided. The schedule for the May holidays can be found on the Andersengrad website. Entrance to the territory is free.
Pony farm
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Ride a pony
Not all country farms survived the quarantine, and for those that remained, the support of city residents is more important than ever. The pony farm in Tosno is waiting for guests. Visitors are given rides on mini-horses, given excursions around the farm (other animals live here), you can learn horse riding, and there are programs for children with physical disabilities. More information here.
Koshkino Park
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Overcome the rope course
Rope parks are another type of active leisure time with children. One of the best in the vicinity of St. Petersburg is Koshkino Park. There are more than 160 structures here, making up 9 trails of varying difficulty and length, where you can relax with the whole family. Cost: on weekdays 1290 rubles for adults, 990 rubles for children (on weekends - 1690 and 1290 rubles). Contact information on the website.
