Best Things to do in St Petersburg in 1 Day

We believe that it’s not about how many days your vacation is. It’s about how good they are. So if you’re in St Petersburg in one day, follow our instructions!

We designed this walking tour to make it a superb experience, to say the least.
Take in the main sights of the bohemian capital of Russia in style.

8:00 – Get up early to have more time for your St Petersburg in One Day adventure. Start your day in St Petersburgwith a delicious breakfast and a cup of freshly brewed coffee. We suggest you a very lovely place near St. Isaac’s Cathedral – restaurant “Schastye” (Happiness) which is a perfect start to your tour.

St Petersburg by night. Photo: Evgeny Kolesnik

9:00 – After breakfast wander the medieval streets of the Northern capital. You will find yourself near one of the most beautiful monuments of St Petersburg– St. Isaac’s Cathedral. Its interior is decorated with paintings, sculptures, mosaic, stained glass and gems. But don’t miss a chance to go up to cathedral colonnade with observation deck from where you can see a breathtaking view of the city.

Monumental architecture of St Petersburg. Photo: Evgeny Kolesnik

10:00 – Near the cathedral there is a famous Alexandrovsky garden with beautiful monuments and fountains. From here you can see the building of Admiralty. After walking through the garden you will see the most important point of all tours to St Petersburg – Dvortsovaya Square which is in the UNESCO world heritage list. In this square there is one of the largest world museums and the main St Petersburg attraction – Hermitage.

Of course you need much time to visit Hermitage and it’s impossible to see all its collection even in 1 month. But if you have only one day in St Petersburg, it will be a crime if you don’t visit it. To save your time by avoiding big queues we recommend you to book tickets before you visit the museum. We promise that you will be amazed with majesty and beauty of Hermitage.

Romantic city of St Petersburg. Photo by Alexander Ulbrich

13:00 – If you got hungry it’s time to taste typical Russian cuisine. You can visit the most popular restaurants like “Severianin”, “ПалкинЪ”, “Ekaterina the Great” which are recommended by TripAdvisor. Here you will enjoy delicious food and will be impressed with rich historical interior from times of Russian Empire.

14:00 – Time to enjoy walking along the main street of the city. If you are looking for things to do in St Petersburg, you will find many ideas and places here – on Nevsky Prospect. This is the heart of the city. This street is lively at any time of day and night. There are many restaurants, cafes, bars, shops and of course monuments. Every building here has its own history. While walking you will see the Stroganov Palace, Anichkov Palace and Kazansky cathedral – one of the most famous churches in Russia.

Don’t forget to turn from Nevsky and take a little walk along Griboedov channel to see amazing Church of the Savior on Blood. It looks magnificent but the most interesting views are waiting for you inside: discover the best collections of mosaic art in the world. It’s time to remember that St Petersburg things to do are not only sightseeing and visiting monuments.

How about mouth watering desserts? Make a stop at Eliseev store to stock up.

Go back to Nevsky prospect for some gift hunting. Nevsky is a great place for it because there are many shops and shopping centers to satisfy all tastes. The most popular shopping centers are “The Gallery”, “Nevsky Centre”, “Sennaya”. And the most famous one is “Gostiniy Dvor” which is also a historical monument. Being a city of history and culture St Petersburg is the best place to buy antiques, art objects and vintage items. And of course don’t forget to buy Russian souvenirs which you can find everywhere on Nevsky.

Make sure you hit up the Museum of Chocolate before leaving, your friends want to taste your Russian experience too.

St Petersburg in summer. Photo: Evgeny Kolesnik

18:00 – St Petersburg is often called the cultural capital of Russia. That’s why our traditional answer to a popular question “what to do in St.Petersburg” is the same all year round: go to a theatre. You will not regret you did! Visit the best theatre in the world – Mariinsky theatre. It’s exactly the perfect place to enjoy opera and ballet. If you prefer drama performances you will like the Alexandrovsky drama theatre. For music lovers we recommend to visit the Music Hall. Don’t forget to book tickets before your visit.

21:00 – Time for dinner. If you want to enjoy a meal and a city view at the same time choose a fashionable Sky Bar located on 18^th floor of Azimut hotel. You will be delighted with breathtaking panoramic view of St Petersburg by night.

23:00 – After chilling in restaurant you have a great opportunity to see St Petersburg at night. St Petersburg is located on water. That’s why we advise you to take a boat tour in St Petersburg. It’s the best way to see many sights you didn’t have time for and enjoy wonderful views of the city. St Petersburg is gorgeous at night and we are sure you will find no words to describe your delight.

Sunset in Saint PEtersburg. Photo: Evgeny Kolesnik

01:00 – St Petersburg is the city which doesn’t sleep at any time. Its nightlife is very lively and there is a great variety of places where you can have fun.

Spend some hours in local bars and clubs, sampling traditional caviat with vodka. If traveling in summer, your experience with local white nights will definitely be with a difference! Lap up the fantastic atmosphere in the best places in Europe to spend your Russian holidays.

If you prefer luxury fashionable places you can visit such places as “Estrada” club, “SOHO Lounge” and “Laque”. If you prefer bars with special kinds of music you can visit jazz bars like JFC Jazz Club, Hat Bar or rock bars.

If you want to visit informal places you can choose, for example, club “Tsocol 2.0”, “Fish Fabrique Nouvelle”, “MOD”. But if you want to visit many places during the night and have St Petersburg residents who know everything about nightlife in the city for company you should definitely take guided tours St Petersburg organized by local experts of St Petersburg nightlife. You will have an opportunity to visit more than 10 places during the night with a great company. It will be exactly a night to remember!

06:00 – After a sleepless night it’s so great to see St Petersburg sunrise. In this time the city has a magic atmosphere with empty streets and no people, no cars, just architecture, history, coffee smell and crisp air. You can see only endless beauty and majesty of the city.

Of course one day in St Petersburg is not enough to see the whole city. But it is enough to fall in love with it and make a wish to come back.