St Petersburg offers a multitude of attractions, parks, museums, and various places of interest. Usually in a group tour or shore excursion you will see only the main attractions such as Peterhof, the State Hermitage Museum, and St Isaac’s Cathedral. If you choose a private guide for your St Petersburg tour or shore excursion you will find many more options available to you.
Only a private guide in St Petersburg has the knowledge and experience to take you on these excursions during your tour or shore excursion. In this article we present some of the less known but equally interesting places and attractions in St Petersburg that are worth your attention during your visit:
1. On of the best hidden attractions in St Petersburg is the secret wine cellars of Count Stroganov, whose cook invented “beef a la stroganov” on Nevsky prospect. The Count had a secret bedroom installed in the wine cellar for his many mistresses that is now a 1-bedroom exclusive hotel room. However, a private guide can take you on an excursion of this room and the wine cellar as part of a customized tour or shore excursion in St Petersburg.
2. Meet sunrise on the top colonnade of St Isaac Cathedral with a glass of champagne in your hands or just spend 5 minutes at the top the panoramic restaurant in the middle of Nevsky Prospect drinking your morning coffee.
3. Enjoy looking at the gold decorations of Scythian Chieftains made for them by Greek masters using a special micro-technique in the Diamond Room of the Hermitage.
4. View the frightening St Petersburg Sphinxes devoted to the victims of Stalin repressions in St Petersburg and find the only preserved image of Stalin in the city. Your private guide will explain in detail about Stalin and his repressions during the Soviet Union.
5. Attend a service in a Russian Orthodox Church while listening to the explanations of your private tour guide about the history of the church and Russian Orthodox religion.
6. Take the night boat along numerous rivers and canals of St Petersburg while watching the bridges of the city open during the White Nights period. Your private guide can explain about the bridges, canals, and history of the city while you enjoy a truly remarkable and romantic atmosphere.
7. Get acquainted with Mr. Kalashnikov (his name is connected with the AK-47) : “a man, a legend, a gun” in the Artillery Museum and look at the bottle of vodka designed like a Kalashnikov gun. You can even buy the bottle of vodka as a souvenir.
8. Visit the Siege Memorial on the outskirts of St Petersburg to watch a 10 minutes film about the greatest Siege in the history of mankind at the hands of Nazi Germany. Your private guide will explain some details and stories about the Siege of St Petersburg and the bravery and courage of the citizens. This is a very emotional experience and really tells the story of how much the citizens of St Petersburg love their city and country.
9. Stand behind the shoulder of a master in the Amber Restoration Workshop and get to know how the most expensive treasure ever stolen was painstakingly restored by Russian masters over many years.
10. Drop inside the Imperial Porcelain Factory (founded in 1744) near “the icon” of St Petersburg – The Church of our Savior on the Spilt Blood: see the imperial porcelain factory which supplied beautiful pieces to the Tsar’s family during the centuries. Drink tea from beautiful tea cups, enjoy a dinner, and even buy some porcelain to take home as a souvenir.
About the Author – Dancing Bear Tours is a family owned business which provides customized St Petersburg private tours and St Petersburg Shore Excursions.