St. Peter has called my name

For someone who lives a three-hour train ride from St. Petersburg, I know the city so superficially it hurts. But it’s a great destination for a weekend getaway. Here are my tips based on a grand total of one trip.

Vasilyevsky Island is good if you like peace and quiet and decently-priced restaurants. For accommodation, I chose the Finnish-owned Palace Bridge hotel. It really offers value for money (the rouble is cheap) and one of the best hotel spas I have ever seen.

I had lunch at a really funny place called Mari Vanna which is close to Peter and Paul Fortress (photo). It is apparently part of a chain but they really pulled it off: great Russian-style food and service that seems to attract locals as well. A lot of work went into the interior that’s full of old-style Russian kitsch.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasilyevsky_Island

https://www.sokoshotels.fi/en/st-petersburg/sokos-hotel-palace-bridge

https://ginza.ru/spb/restaurant/marivanna