Marcie

We'll be in St. Petersburg on a cruise ship for only two days. Could you rank the "must sees" in order.....so much to see in so little time..we need to prioritize. Thank You.

Kay

Must-sees for St. Petersburg are the following: <BR> <BR>1.Hermitage Museum, one of the world's greatest collections of art, part of this is in the Winter Palace, which sits on... <BR>2. Palace Square, an incredibly imposing place, where revolutions were born. <BR>3. St. Isaac's Cathedral. You've never seen so much malachite in your life as the pillars inside that huge domed church. <BR>4. The Bronze Horseman, statue of Peter the Great put up by Catherine the Great in his honor. It stands on the banks of the Neva River and looks across at... <BR>5. Strelka, the easternmost tip of Vasilievsky Island, home to beautiful 18th century buildings <BR>6. Nevsky Prospect, the "main street" of St. Pete. At the far end of it (away from the Palace Square area) is an ancient cemetary where notable Russians are buried. Visit that, too <BR> <BR>All of the above you can do in two days. If time permits, venture outside of St. Petersburg to see... <BR> <BR>7. Petrodvorets,(means Peter's Palace in Russian) gorgeous imperial palace on the banks of the Baltic Sea with extensive grounds. You can take a hydrofoil from the pier at the Hermitage Museum in summer and get out there in 30 minutes. <BR>8. OR see Catherine's Palace, also about 30 miniutes outside the city. <BR> <BR>Before you go, read the incredible book of the Siege of Leningrad (the city's name under the Soviets), The Nine Hundred Days, that tells how Leningrad withstood a 900 day siege of the city during WWII, complete with citizens eating the paste off the backs of their wallpaper in order to survive. The latter two palaces listed above were heavily damaged but have been lovingly restored. May I come with you, pretty please?!? <BR>8.

Patrick

Marcie...a few suggestions.. <BR> <BR>1. Hermitage...though that could take 2 days by itself. Amazing museum. <BR>2. Take the train or bus out to Peterhof...it is beautiful with fountains, statues etc....It was the summer home of Peter the Great. <BR>3. The Opera/Ballet - Get to the Kirov..and see anything..it will be great. <BR>4. Take a canal tour...get one that winds around the city..try to find one that has a tour guide that speaks english though. <BR>5. Just walk the streets, meet the locals and be social.

Charlotte

The Hermitage is truly amazing - you can spend days there. <BR>The other museum that I really enjoyed was the Russian Museum. It is much smaller than the Hermitage. It introduced me to styles I knew very little about and artists whose works I enjoyed but in some cases had never heard of before. <BR>St. Isaac's is very high on my list also. <BR>Beyond that, it is a great city for walking.

Kathleen

The Hermitage is wonderful! Spend what time you can there. <BR>Definitely take a trip outside the city. Consider going to Tsarskoe Selo (Pushkin) to see the Catherine Palace, and walk around the garden. If you go there, don't miss the Alexander Palace, the last residence of Tsar Nicolas II--when I was there it hadn't been restored, but I hear there are plans to refurbish it and open it to the public. Walk around the Alexander Park grounds, stand on the steps to the palace, and think of the history--the family was held captive there for a few months before being sent to Siberia and their deaths. I still get goosebumbs thinking about it!

Kristy

Marcie: <BR>Last summer we had the same opportunity <BR>to be in St. Petersburg via a cruise line port of call - (RCCL Splendour of the Seas.) My suggestion: You should book the shore excursions to avoid obtaining a visa which will run you over $75.00 per person, and this will also be the easiest way to see the most sights in the shortest amount of time. The cruise line trips in St. Petersburg have excellent guides, and depending on the schedule, you can take in 2 or even 3 each day. As a seasoned cruise goer, I generally do the ports on my own to save money and escape the herd mentality of being hustled about, but in Russia unless you have some other connection for a private guide, it would be very unadvisable and a bit risky to undertake the touring yourself. <BR> <BR>Be prepared for a bit of culture shock! <BR>The Hermitage, great museum that it is, is crumbling from neglect along with the rest of the infrastructure of this once regal city of the Russian Czars. <BR>The best purchases can be found in the open market by the Church of Spilt Blood. The wooden Matruska dolls are lovely, and cheap! Stock up when you have the chance as the shopping time is limited on the tours. <BR> <BR>If you want further info, e mail me again. <BR>Have a wonderful trip! <BR> <BR>Kristy

Pat

Marcie, <BR> <BR>We just returned from a cruise to Scandinavia/Russia, having spent two days in St. Petersburg. We hired a private guide along with two other couples for the two days and saw all of the above mentioned sights, had lunch with champagne and even rode the subway with our guide. He was terrific and treated us to a wonderful experience in St. Petersburg; all this and at a fraction of the cost of any shore excursions the ship offered and without the hassle of being herded on and off busses which we frown upon. <BR> <BR>If you're interested, I'll be happy to give you his name if you e-mail me. <BR> <BR>Enjoy your cruise.

D.B.

Regarding matrushka dolls, a six inch one will cost about $10 USD and sell for about $90 in the US (as I have noticed in the malls). Also look for pysankee (painted eggs), and the ornately painted metal boxes that can be used for jewelery or hair ribbons and stuff, they have a tremendous mark-up as well. I have seen larger pysankee (12 inch) that run over $1,000 in US stores. They are a good investment that make great mementos of your trip. <BR>

Kristin

Could the people who posted above about cruises which included stops in St. Petersburg please post the names of the companies and websites, if possible, and/or 800 numbers. Thanks. <BR>

Charlise

You've had some great info from all the replies but just again from me as well: Do visit The Hermitage. Decide before your trip which parts you'd like to see & then get a guide there to show you around. Most Russians haven't even seen all the treasures of The Hermitage, you won't want to leave! <BR>Please don't pay $10 for the matrushka dolls! They are much cheaper than that & beware of buying on the street-check all the smaller dolls inside for cracks first. <BR>Enjoy!