travelfan1

Trying to decide between two apartments and would really like some input. Here's what I have:

1: Premier part of the city. Apartment is on Bolshaya Konyushnaya Street which sits between Moika and Griboedova Canals. Palace Square (Hermitage) is less than 5 minute walk away. Church of Spilled Blood, one of the landmarks of the city is just 2 minutes away. Shops, cafes, nightlife, restaurants etc. just steps away. 4th floor without elevator. Nearest convenience grocery store is in the builidng. Nearest Internet cafe about 2 minutes away on foot.

2: #64 (Does that refer to the street address? Directly on Nevsky Prospect, the main thorofare in the historical Center of St. Petersburg. An elite location between Fontanka Canal and Gostiny Dvor. View across the street to Anichkov's Palace. Apartment is on the 3rd floor without an elevator. Entrance is from a nicely renovated and attractive courtyard and through a nicely renovated hallway with multiple secured doors.

I already asked what the 2nd apartment overlooks as I know that street is extremely busy. This apartment is in the back and overlooks a courtyard.

EugeneNY

My comment won't be of much help but these are both superb locations. I don't see how you could go wrong with either choice.

WallyKringen

Both sound very good. I would prefer the first, simply because it's an even better location, not just near where you mentioned but also to the east and north are attractive parks and the Russian Museum and so on.

About "house" numbers (more like building numbers or even building-group-numbers): This gets tricky. That #64 could mean an entire city block, and the entrance that bears that number might not even be on the street after which it is named but could be around the corner, leading off from a side street that has a different name.

These "city-blocks" are like courtyards that encompass a great many buildings with entrances and stairs giving off to apartments on every floor - they all have subordinate numbers and floor numbers and even apartment numbers - so there could be two-thousand people living at what reads like address nr. 64.

So while 64 could be the 64th numbered building on a long street, miles and miles down from nr. 2 (there is no grid numbering), itself the building numbered 64 could contain a thousand apartments in twenty interior buildings.

Make sure you get really good directions with all those relevant details.
The low street numbers are deceptive - 64 could be as far from 2 as, in the US, a number in the thousands (which is very unusual in Russia).

Hope this makes some sense.

travelfan1

Thank you both for your thoughts...I guess now I just have to make a decision.

SusanEva

Dear Travelfan,

We have stayed in the location of your first apartment, in two different places (near the Pushka Inn)on Moika Canal. Really great location. I have walked around the location of your second apartment.

Definately recommend your first choice.

Nevsky Prospect is busy and noisy. Full of life and interesting. But unless you're a person who thrives on busy, noisy, youngish and sometimes crowded areas, you will probably enjoy visiting Nevsky but staying somewhere else.

If you have time, your first location is also near the State Russian Museum. Absolutely wonderful collection of art that you won't see anywhere else. Hermitage is, of course, not to be missed. But it has a somewhat more western European focus.

Also, some of the restaurants very close to the Church of Spilt Blood are a little too "tourist" in my opinion. Prices are higher, "folk shows" seemed more targeted to the business man traveler. Would suggest looking for places a little removed from that area.

Have a wonderful trip!

Garfield

Here is a map of St Petersburg, it is in Russian however it does show #64 on Nevski, see: http://nakarte.rambler.ru/piter/?sid...&map.y=174