Coffee, art, war games: a land-based slice of Russia’s northern city.
Saint Petersburg, tucked into a bay in the Baltic Sea of the Gulf of Finland, is built on dozens of islands—fragments of flat land parted by hundreds of waterways, ranging from inky, narrow canals to the 4,000 foot-wide (in places) Neva River. It’s all twinkling water, supersized European squares, and warrens of smaller streets. Compared to Moscow—that imposing showcase of modern Russia—it’s perhaps a little threadbare in places, but that doesn’t take away from its grandeur. It’s a city of colorful buildings and in the summer, soft light, especially in the evenings. You should see the city from the water at some point during your stay, but here is our essential land-based crawl across the best small corner of the center, with a sampling of Russian breakfasts, history, art, and Soviet curiosities.
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