Located at a few latitudes from the Arctic Circle in a unique natural setting, intertwined with dozens of islands separated by arms of rivers and canals, St. Petersburg emerged from nothingness like a dream a little over three hundred years ago. There is the Hermitage of course, the largest and oldest museum in the world. There is the Nevski perspective and its magnificent facades. There are Petrodvorets, the Russian Versailles, and its fountains. But Piter, as its inhabitants affectionately call it, is not just a beautiful sleeping place and the Nuits Blanches offer this unique city a moment of grace like no other. After a long and very harsh winter that stretches into the night from November to March, the arrival of the sunny days is a shift towards a celebration of life so enthusiastic that the sun itself forgets to set!
Legendary Museums
Visiting the Hermitage for the first time is a shock. Especially if you come from the Nevsky Perspective and pass under the arc of the General Staff. Its pistachio-green walls, flanked by a burst of white colonnades, triumph at the other end of the Palace Square. The first impression will remain the bonne : everything here is just too big. Three million works, ten kilometres of galleries, 400 rooms... One life is not enough to deflower all the treasures of this museum, choices can be made at imposent ! Spend a few hours in the company of Flemish painters, discover the largest collection of Matisse in the world or rush directly to the gold of the Scythians.
The Hermitage's worldwide reputation often eclipses that of the Russian Museum. To tort ! It is dedicated to Russian art, less well known to the Western public, but teeming with artists such as Chagall, Kandinsky or Malevitch, whose works will upset generations of painters
A paradise for walkers
Broke students, genius novelists, mothers, street vendors, golden youth, tourists, sandwich men, transis lovers, families in Sunday clothes... All of St. Petersburg wanders along its vast sidewalks. This is the case since Gogol for whom: " Il there is nothing better than the Nevski Perspective, at least in Saint-Pétersbourg ; for this one, it is everything." " From the Admiralty to Saint-Alexandre-Nevski, this main artery carries an incredible human imbroglio. Anchored in the Russian reality with its social contrasts and all-round dynamism, this avenue invites you to take a stroll through the history of Petersburg. On the 18th, the former pastry shop Wolf & Béranger, which has since become the Café littéraire, was the Q. G. from Pushkin. In the 17th, the baroque delirium of the Stroganov Palace continued to turn heads. The courtyard also welcomes a cheap buffet in a magical setting.
A cheerful bazaar reigns on weekends in front of the Gostiny-Dvor metro station: kiosks offer theatre tickets and excursions, demonstrations by nostalgic Stalinists make the youngest ones smile, babas sell flowers from the garden on the run..
In short, the whole city meets at the foot of the luxury boutiques of Gostiny-Dvor.
The majestic avenue is punctuated by bridges and canals that have given this artificial archipelago of 42 îles the nickname " Venise of Nord ". Following the Moïka, the Griboyedov canal or the Fontanka is like slipping into the intimacy of the city and getting lost in sweet dreams
In the heart of winter or during the sleepless nights, they offer long hallucinatory walks along palaces that reflect this subtle northern light
A 60-day rebirth
Because the Nights White (Bieliye Notchi), with 18 hours of daylight and 6 hours of clear night, are the best time to visit the city. If the "real" sleepless nights take place during the last 3 weeks of June, the phenomenon is obvious from the end of May to the end of July. During this festive renaissance of some 60 days, nothing seems to separate day from night and the city suddenly comes alive with exhilarating joy. Liteiniy Prospekt Street with its underground bars is filled at all hours with a crowd of party-goers beer in hand, while Rubinshteyna Street and its twenty or so restaurants resonate. On the Place des Arts, lovers kiss on the benches in front of the Pushkin statue. Like a masterpiece, the sky dresses the Nevski perspective in iridescent blue, pink, ochre and purple shades
We are amazed to see the bridges rise at 1am (to let the big boats pass), with their streetlights inclined at 45 degrees - forcing us to take small boats to cross the river -, before dropping down at 6am. In the absence of shuttle boats, it will be necessary to take a taxi along the canals even if it means travelling 5 to 10 km, but the spectacle of the journey along the quays along the water in the night is almost an essential part of a visit at this time of year! And this is well worth the few hundred rubles of the race
Shows and tables on the same pitch
The "Venice of the North" is having its carnival, Piter is a festival and the high places of the performing arts are getting in tune to celebrate the return of the sunny days and a sun that no longer wants to go to bed. The most famous and emblematic of them, the illustrious Mariinsky Theatre, is hosting the remarkable international festival of the White Nights Stars. From the end of May to the end of July (from 24 May to 27 July in 2019), the festival's rich programme features the best dancers and opera singers of the moment in two mythical venues: the Mariinsky and the Théâtre de l'Ermitage. The celebration of the Écarlates Sails is another great moment. Named after Alexandre Grine's adventure novel and celebrated the weekend closest to the summer solstice, it marks the end of the school year for all students: concerts, festivals, parades, fireworks displays and the passage of a huge sailboat with scarlet sails on the Neva, it is a moment of joyful fervour
Nuits Blanches or not, restaurants generally remain open until 2am and many brands are open 24 hours a day on the Nevski perspective. To enjoy a delicious Stroganoff beef, and other comforting pieces of meat, head for the Stroganoff Steak House, its large rooms with stone vaults and massive floors. To discover a wide range of Russian cuisine at a very good price, Russkaya Ryumochnaya is a sure value that has been acclaimed by generations of locals. Like the Shalyapin for high cuisine. The Russian Vodka Museum, for its part, escapes the usual practices of liquor store museums and its didactic guided tours, not to mention the inevitable tasting at the end of the tour, allow visitors to discover all its secrets. Enough strength to walk the streets in a radiant light. Movement is life, St. Petersburg is waiting for you, so get into the dance!
Smart info
When? When? To experience the sleepless nights, visitus from the end of May to the beginning of July. The "whitest" nights are those of the last 3 weeks of June.
Getting there. Air France and Aeroflot offer direct flights between Paris and St Petersburg.
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Useful. Please note that a tourist visa is required to travel to St. Petersburg. It is issued to the consular service of the Russian Embassy.
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