Spectacular St. Petersburg, Russia—Day 2

by Teri E. Popp, Tastemaker in Residence

We continued our tour of St. Petersburg by spending a full morning at The State Hermitage Museum.  Consisting of 5 buildings, and the second largest museum in the world, the Hermitage opened to the public in 1852.  Its massive collections include paintings, sculptures, drawings and prints.  In fact, the museum itself is a work of art.  You could easily spend a week at the Hermitage and still not view all it has to offer!

We then enjoyed a lovely lunch at Управляющий—known as the Summer Palace—located near Peterhof.  Designed to feed large tour groups, the restaurant is as visually appealing as the service and food are good and efficient.  For smaller groups, there are a number of additional restaurants in the area as well.

From lunch, we ventured on to walk the breathtaking gardens and grounds of Peterhof Palace located in Petergof.  Truly a sight to behold, its golden statuary—inspired by Versailles--is both magnificent and ornately detailed.  If you have more than 2 days in St. Petersburg, I highly recommend also touring the interior of the palace with its gorgeous ballrooms and state compartments, as well.

We finished our day by hydrofoil, crossing the Neva River and returning to the Winter Palace, one of the central buildings of the Hermitage.  Its definitely a must experience adventure!  Прощай (Proshchay)—Goodbye, and I hope you enjoy your own travels to spectacular St. Petersburg!

*Note:  Pick-pocketing is common in St. Petersburg.  I viewed two instances, myself while touring the city.  Travelers should definitely take safety precautions and visit the U.S. Department of State’s - STEP Smart Traveler online web page at for helpful hints and travel tips.

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