St Petersburg is known as the city of a thousand palaces, and as soon as you arrive you’ll understand why. The grandeur of the architecture is incredible here and you can clearly see how much of an impact its European neighbours had on it compared to Moscow. The city is rich in history, and was once a favourite meeting place for the nobility, so spending at least 72 hours in St Petersburg is essential if you want to see everything this beautiful Russian city has to offer.
There are lots of things to see and do in St Petersburg, from visiting the famous Hermitage to seeing the charming canals and stunning cathedrals. We spent 3 days in St Petersburg and hardly had enough time to do everything we wanted to. The food is exceptional here and depending where you choose to eat it can be quite inexpensive as well. St Petersburg may not be known for being a cheap city but there are certainly activities you can do here on a budget.
Getting to St Petersburg by train
We travelled to St Petersburg via train from Tallinn in Estonia. There are several options you can choose from depending on what time of the day you want to travel, and if you would prefer to travel overnight. Rather than purchase tickets for a carriage on the sleeper train, we chose to travel during the day and bought seats in the normal part of the train. The journey takes just over 7 hours, and there was no air conditioning (in the middle of the summer!), so take something to fan yourself with and lots of water!
If you’re travelling from Moscow to St Petersburg by train, I would highly recommend travelling overnight and purchasing a private carriage. We did the reverse journey and it was definitely worth it for comfort as well as ease of mind. When you’re booking your tickets you’ll find a lot of confusing websites, many of which have very poor translations. We booked ours through Russian Railways who are very prompt to reply to emails if you have any questions.
Public transportation in St Petersburg
The metro system in St Petersburg isn’t as large as the one in Moscow, and the stops aren’t really near many of the main attractions, but it does come in handy. Your best bet if you want to use the metro is to find the closest stop to where you want to be and then walk to it from there. You can buy a card that gives you 10 journeys, which I’d recommend rather than multiple day passes since you won’t be using it a lot.
The metro system is actually one of the deepest in the world, which is a weird but fun fact. Yandex Taxi (Russia’s version of Uber) is very cheap, which is useful if your feet are tired. We actually opted to use Yandex to get to many of the palaces that were very far out of the city centre.
The best time to take photos in St Petersburg
Most of the attractions are overcrowded, which makes getting nice pictures difficult. If you wake up at sunrise you can head to your favourite spots and get photos without the crowds in the background. Our 72 hours in St Petersburg was spent in the summertime so sunrise was very early but you may get lucky in the off season too when there are less people travelling.
Things to do during 72 hours in St Petersburg
So, what can you do in during 72 hours in St Petersburg? I know 3 days seems like a good amount of time to visit a city, but there are a lot of incredible sites to visit in St Petersburg, many of which are in the opposite direction of one another. That being said, arriving with a strong itinerary and a general knowledge of how much time you’ll be spending in each location is a good place to start. Here’s what we managed to see in 72 hours in St Petersburg.
Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood
The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood is a long name for a church, but it’s a very impressive one! This is the city’s most elaborate church, and is one of the most popular attractions in Russia. It was built on the spot where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated in 1881. The bridges over the river are packed with people trying to get photos during the day so I would recommend waking up early if you can.
The queues to get inside the cathedral are very long, and it’s not cheap either, so if you’re budget travelling take this into account. Unfortunately there are also a lot of people walking around in costumes that will insist on taking photos with you, only to ask for money later.
Shop at the Eliseyev Emporium
Even if you don’t feel like treating yourself during your 72 hours in St Petersburg, make sure you stop at Eliseyev Emporium. It’s an incredible, over-the-top food hall with beautiful food displays. The food hall closes at 11pm, so if you get there at 10:30 they have a big sale on all of their cakes! If you want to do some shopping in St Petersburg, you can’t go wrong here.
Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan
The Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan is packed during the day, so if you’re looking to get a nice photo, get there very early. This is a very important cathedral in St Petersburg that isn’t too far from the Hermitage. It was constructed in the early 19th century and was inspired by St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Following the war of 1812 the cathedral became a monument to Russian victory.
Marvel at the State Hermitage Museum
The State Hermitage Museum at sunrise might be one of the most beautiful things you’ll see during 72 hours St Petersburg. This is the only time of the day you’ll be able to get a shot without hundreds of people in it, and it’s definitely worth waking up for. The museum is made up of five interconnected buildings, and is the largest art gallery in Russia.
For those of you wondering, the Winter Palace is one of the buildings that make up the Hermitage. It’s also the second largest museum in the world, after the Louvre. The museum is also home to over 50 cats, who are used to hunt mice in order to protect the art. You can purchase your ticket at a number of machines just outside of the entrance so there’s no need to book in advance.
General Staff Building
You can also get a ticket to enter the General Staff Building that sits across from the Winter Palace. Before the Revolution it housed various government offices but today it’s home to Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artworks and is one of the most popular parts of the Hermitage collection.
If you’re only spending 72 hours in St Petersburg, make sure you go to the Hermitage, and block off a whole day for it. It’s one of the main attractions in St Petersburg and is enormous to walk around.
Faberge Museum
The Faberge Museum is one not to be missed. It’s home to the world’s largest selection of Faberge eggs, and also showcases some other unique items from Russian royalty. It doesn’t take too long to go around, and there’s a lovely cafe inside with very fancy desserts. No 72 hours in St Petersburg is complete without stopping at this iconic museum.
Catherine Palace
What’s one more palace when you’re in St Petersburg? Catherine Palace in particular is one of the greatest in Russia, and is home to the famous Amber Room. It’s not the easiest to get to though. It takes a long time through public transportation, so we took a Yandex which cut the journey down to 45 minutes instead of 90 minutes.
When you arrive, you have to pay to enter the park first, which is huge and has many other points of interest inside. You then need to join a long line to purchase a ticket for the palace itself if you didn’t buy one online ahead of time. We arrived shortly before it was due to close and there was almost no waiting time. This palace is considered by many to be the best place to visit during 72 hours St Petersburg but it can easily take an entire day to explore so take that into consideration.
Saint Isaac’s Cathedral
Saint Isaac’s Cathedral is huge and functions as a museum too. It was completed in 1858 and is incredibly detailed compared to other cathedrals in St Petersburg. If the weather is nice when you visit I would suggest purchasing tickets for the roof where you’ll get one of the best views in St Petersburg.
Hop on a river cruise
There are many options for river cruises in St Petersburg, but AngloTourismo came out on top during my research. The meeting point is opposite the Faberge Museum, so it’s easy to locate. We took the evening cruise, which was amazing, and we saw many key attractions from a unique angle. The cruise isn’t expensive either, so it’s something to add to your list of things to do during 72 hours in St Petersburg.
Catch a show at the Mariinsky Theatre
The Mariinsky Theatre is one of the main theatres in St Petersburg, so if you have time make sure to take in a show. It opened in 1860 and quickly became a major music theatre in 19th century Russia. I would recommend booking your tickets ahead of time if possible because it’s a very popular thing to do during 72 hours in St Petersburg and tickets can sell out quite quickly.
Discover the history behind Yusupov Palace
There are lots of palaces to explore in St Petersburg but Yusupov Palace is one of my favourites. It has a lot of history behind it and is probably most famous as the place where the infamous Rasputin was murdered. So if you can’t decide what palaces to visit during your 72 hours in St Petersburg I would highly recommend adding Yusupov Palace to your itinerary for a unique experience.
Find a bit of Egypt in Russia
If you’re walking along the river, try to spot the sphinxes outside of the Academy of Arts. This most likely won’t be at the top of anyone’s itinerary but it is quite an unusual thing to see in St Petersburg. The sphinxes are approximately 3500 years old and once stood guard outside the tomb of Pharaoh Amenhotep III along the Alley of Sphinxes.
Eat the best doughnuts in St Petersburg
Even if you’re not a big doughnut eater you can’t spend 72 hours in St Petersburg without visiting the city’s oldest donut shop – Pyshechnaya. There’s always a long line of people and they only take cash, but they’re very cheap so make sure you stock up! This is a unique thing to do in St Petersburg so add this to your list of where to eat.
The Cabin of Tsar Peter the Great
The Cabin of Tsar Peter the Great is a short walk from the popular Peter and Paul Fortress but is worth a quick stop. It was completed in 1703 and was the first residential building to be built in the city. There’s a small entry fee to go inside but I personally didn’t feel that it was worth it.
Peter and Paul Fortress
Built by Peter the Great, the Peter and Paul Fortress was the first structure built in the city. It never actually served its defensive purpose but it was a prison for many prominent Russian prisoners. Add this to your list of free things to do in St Petersburg because the complex is free to walk around! The museums inside require tickets though, which you can buy at the entrance.
Eat dumplings at Pelmenya
Pelmenya is the best restaurant in St Petersburg if you want authentic Russian food. They have a variety of dumplings and raviolis to sink your teeth into from all over the world. We ate here every night during our 72 hours in St Petersburg and almost made our way through the entire menu. It’s located on the same street as the Faberge Museum so it’s easy to locate too.
Peterhof Palace
Peterhof Palace is Russia’s response to the building of Versailles and is very impressive. The gardens cost just as much to get into as the palace itself, so it’s not cheap to do both. We arrived on a day that it was closed but visitors were still able to access the gardens. Make sure you check the website for opening times, because they are closed on certain days, especially at the end of the month for cleaning purposes.
The easiest way to get there is by Hydrofoil, which is a high speed boat that docks outside of the Hermitage. Again, this isn’t cheap but it’s definitely the quickest and least stressful way to get to Peterhof Palace. Even if you only have 72 hours in St Petersburg I would recommend taking at least half a day to explore this beautiful palace outside of the city centre.
Where to stay for 72 hours in St Petersburg
Hotel Esplanada
If you’re planning on staying for 72 hours in St Petersburg or more, you’ll want to be centrally located. We stayed at Hotel Esplanada which is only a short walk or Yandex ride from the main train station. It’s a great budget hotel to stay at in St Petersburg and it’s in a busy area of the city too. You really can’t beat the view of the river from the bedroom window either.
>> Click here for the most up to date prices at Hotel Esplanada <<
However you plan on spending your 72 hours in St Petersburg I guarantee you’ll have a great experience. Yes, the attractions can get a little pricey, but there are more then enough free things to do in St Petersburg to help keep you within your budget.
Don’t forget to plan your trip to Russia well in advance and sort out your tourist visa before leaving your country of origin. Places like Moscow, Tallinn, and Helsinki are all within reach if you’re visiting St Petersburg too so they may be worth adding to your itinerary. Get in touch if you have any questions or concerns about visiting Russia, and remember to follow me on Instagram!
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