Nevsky Prospect and Golden Triangle
The Golden Triangle corresponds to the area south of the Neva River, bounded by the Fontanka River to the east and the Nevski Prospect to the south. This area is dominated by a series of palaces that house the world's largest museums, such as the Hermitage and the Russian Museum. In the 19th century, this was the imperial and official quarter, with the immense Palace Square overlooking the residence of the Tsars and the Palace of the General Staff. Not far from the Palace, Peter the Great had his summer residence built, which is located in the Summer Garden. In the Admiralty, the domain of the Russian fleet, the main arteries of the city were laid out in a star shape. All aristocratic life took place in this triangle, with its pomp and excess. Millionnaya Street, which runs through the district, runs along the facades of splendid mansions. This part of the city is also home to the most pleasant parts of the canals. The Golden Triangle is also the most lively part of the Nevsky Perspective. Traced out in 1710, this 4.5 km long avenue that connects the Admiralty to Alexander Nevsky Lavra is the favourite promenade for St. Petersburgers and tourists alike. Here you will meet young and old, poor and rich, unrepentant dreamers and hurried businessmen, in short the crowd. It is full of museums, theatres, concert halls and cinemas, literary cafés, churches, libraries, bookshops, art galleries and numerous palaces whose architectural unity impresses foreign and provincial visitors alike.
South Nevsky
Near the Neva River, on the other side of the Nevski Prospect, lies a district dominated by the Admiralty building. Extremely important in the eyes of Peter the Great, who made the Russian fleet the major force in the city, this monument was then home to the shipyards and warehouses. The streets retain names referring to the time of Peter the Great: the Street of the Great Sea (Bolshaya Morskaya), the Street of the Galleys (Galernaya)... In the 19th century, the shipyards were moved. Parade squares such as Issakievskaya Square and the Senate Square were built in the district. The district is inhabited by the elite, namely the aristocrats, whose residences, such as those of Prince Yusupov, are still present. Like the Golden Triangle, this district was then one of the richest in the city. And the pretty Griboyedov Canal offers lovely romantic walks.
Beyond the Fontanka
Beyond the Fontanka River, to the east and south, the points of interest are more scattered. This district, which in fact includes several of them, was born in the 19th century, but without any real planning, unlike the rest of the city. It was here that the urban proletariat was massed, which, almost without realizing it, would overthrow the autocracy of the tsars. Once again it is the Nevski Perspective that delimits the different districts. To the south is the district of Dostoevskaya and Mayakovskaya, to the north that of Chernyshevskaya and the monastery of Smolny.
Dostoevskaya and Mayakovskaya, the trendy youth district. The district around the Dostoyevsky station (Dostoevskaya), south-east of the Fontanka, was one of the poorest in the city in the 19th century. In fact, the writer drew his inspiration from its miserable alleys and one can make a real pilgrimage by visiting its various dwellings. This identity has not yet completely disappeared and the Vladimir Church (Vladimirskaya), in the heart of the district, gathers a crowd of beggars who are not without reminding us of the writer's novels. But in this area, where the houses are not as posh as the mansions in the centre, the communal apartments from the Soviet era have been bought up to make large, cheap flats that the city's trendy youngsters are vying for. Rubinshtein Street and Liteiniy Avenue are today the symbol of this new trend, which has made the area the trendy youth district, with many restaurants, bars and art galleries. It is also a rallying point for the St. Petersburg underground, as it was during the Soviet Union, around the informal art centre Pushkinskaya 10.
In the extension of this district towards the south, the streets along Ligovskiy Avenue (Ligovskiy Prospekt, almost perpendicular to the Nevski perspective which cuts it in two) are the most fashionable. With the Loft Project Etazhi as a focal point, a real meeting point for youth and St. Petersburg hipsters . Galleries, vintage boutiques, discos, cocktail bars: it's a long way from the immemorial palaces that line the Neva. In this district, St. Petersburg shows that its cultural vocation is not just a thing of the past.
Chernishevskaya. In the section of Ligovskiy Avenue north of Nevsky Prospect, Zhukov Street (ulitsa Zhukovskogo) is also very trendy and well stocked with bars, restaurants, shops and trendy places of all kinds. Moving further north from the Nevsky Prospect, around the Chernychevskaya metro station, one can see a major ensemble: the Smolny ensemble, a monastery built by Elizabeth I at the end of her life. While the cathedral and the architectural ensemble are worth a detour in themselves, the Chernyshevskaya district is not lacking in interest either. Born as early as the 18th century in what was still a suburb of the imperial capital, the district has a real identity. At the top of Mayakovskogo Street and Kirochnaya Street, which intersect at the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Holy Savior, there are busy locals in the daytime around the Maltsevskiy Market (Nekrasova, 52), replaced in the evening by a crowd of night owls going to the neighbourhood's bars. The Smolny site itself is a bit off-centre and does not necessarily attract many people apart from tourists. On the other hand, the promenade along the Vosskresenskaya (formerly Robespierre) quay is popular at weekends, with its view of the Vyborgskaya storona district.
Off-centre neighbourhoods to the east and south. To the east of the city centre, Alexander Nevsky Lavra is an important monastery founded in honour of the heroic Duke of Novgorod who saved Russia from Swedish invasion. Dating from the 18th century and closing the Nevski perspective, the Lavra is a surprisingly bustling place, witnessing the religious fervour of the Russians. Religion and visitation go hand in hand here, with the Lazarus, Tikhvin and Novodevitchi cemeteries, a sort of local Père Lachaise. The Russians have a passionate relationship with their great artists, and they are always full. Some museums are also interesting, without being essential. To the south of this large area behind the Fontanka, le monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad offers an impressive group of statues. The large model of Russia is also worth a visit.
Vasilyevsky Island
The island is joined to the left bank by the Annunciation Bridge (Blagoveshchenskiy most), and by the Palace Bridge (Dvortsoviy most) which leads to the Hermitage. It is also connected to Petrogradski Island by the bridges Tuсhkov and Birzhevoy. It was on this island that Peter the Great planned to build the administrative centre of his new capital. To this end, he began to build canals from north to south. But the construction site had to be abandoned due to frequent flooding and its isolation. Today, the parallel streets in the east of the island retain the name of linii (lines), each street corresponding to two lines once separated by a canal. The district, abandoned for a time in favour of the mainland, resumed its growth in the mid-19th century. This revival is still noticeable in the architecture of the district. True to the centripetal conception of power in Russia, the most beautiful and ancient residences are located on the eastern tip of the island, or strelka, which once housed the port of St Petersburg. Today, there is a concentration of must-see museums there. Vasilievsky Island is innervated from east to west by three avenues, Maliy Prospekt, Sredniy Prospekt, Bol'shoy Prospekt (literally "the small, medium and large perspective"). As the numbers of the linii increase, along the bol'shoy Prospekt, we move forward in time.
Arriving at the level of St. Andrew's Church, (7-ya liniya), one enters the part built at the very end of the 19th century. The 7-ya liniya goes up to the Vasileovstroskaya metro station located in the middle of the island. This is the part of the island with the most cafes, as Russians like to get together with friends before the long trip home. Further west and towards the Primorskaya metro, there are Soviet-era buildings and modern constructions. The island has a huge coastline overlooking the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea. С 'is from here that ferries and cruise ships depart and arrive from/to Helsinki, Tallinn or Stockholm.
The eastern tip of the island is particularly enchanting. During the day, streams of students from the university walk up the streets towards the metro, stopping at the many cafés that have cleverly set up along the way. At the very end of the island, the famous strelka, the red rostral column used to serve as a lighthouse. In the summer a flame still burns there. At the foot of this lighthouse a small park (at Birzhevaya Ploshchad') gives a superb view of the Winter Palace and the Pierre-et-Paul fortress. Lovers meet there for a first romantic rendezvous by the water and in front of the palaces. On both sides of the park, stairs lead down to the Neva, and overlook small paths often flooded by guards. The students drink a beer there when they leave class.
Just behind the stock exchange, the district formed by the Birzhevaya and Mendeleevskaya lines does not seem to have moved since the 19th century when it was created. Yet there are oases of modernity and well-being here, including the Sokos Hotel spa. In the evening, the almost deserted neighbourhood really feels like an island, with all the streets converging on the Neva River and the bridges coming up on summer nights. A very good idea for a walk.Petrogradskaya Island
As the historical cradle, Petrogradski Island is a must-see on a visit to St. Petersburg. It is on Hare Island, a small enclave or "island within an island", that Peter the Great's fortress was built in 1703. With its cathedral, its prison and its Mint, it has survived through the centuries and still today offers a series of sites of major interest. It is around this fortress that the city we know today is being built little by little, on what were at first deserted shores. It is on this island that its first buildings appeared: the small house of Peter the Great, the stock exchange market, the church... Later, it will be partially abandoned when the town centre is transferred to the left bank. Dedicated to military activity and the seat of the prison, the island does not attract many people. But at the beginning of the 20th century, the Trinidad Bridge connects it to the city centre. Built by the Batignolles construction company, it is a replica of the Alexandre-III bridge in Paris inaugurated in 1900. The least developed and cheapest district was then besieged by architects and imbued with Art Nouveau, elegant constructions mixing wood and iron. This is one of the reasons for the formidable homogeneity of the island, which is covered with buildings in less than 20 years. These buildings give pride of place to large raw spaces, and remain at low prices. This is how the island became the stronghold of artists and intellectuals.
The name of the Petrogradskaya district comes from this period. Indeed, between 1914 (the beginning of the First World War) and 1924 (Lenin's death and the naming of St. Petersburg after Leningrad), the whole city was called Petrograd. This was to russify a German name while the Russian Empire was at war with the central empires. As this district was the only one to experience a real construction boom during this period, it inherited this name. The island itself is crossed by two large avenues: the Bolshoy prospect, which leads to the industrial district of Vyborg, and the Kamennoostrovski prospekt, which crosses it from south to north and ends on Kamenny Island. The Hare Island mainly attracts tourists and a few brave people who come to enjoy the beach, while the rest of the island retains a bohemian atmosphere and neighbourhood life.
The south of the island is concentrated around the Gorkovskaya metro station and the park dividing Hare Island where you can find the planetarium, the museum of military history of artillery, engineering and communications troops, the music-hall theatre, the Zoo (not recommended). Kronverkskiy prospekt, the street along the park, is home to many cafes, restaurants and shops. Along Sytnynskaya street many shops indicate the presence of a market, the Sytnynskiy prospekt, with its activity of Caucasians unloading fruit and babushkas bargaining firmly in front of the stalls. Around this market is a small but very pleasant district as Petrogradski Island knows how to create them.
On the other side of Kamennoostrovsky Avenue is the beautiful mosque of St. Petersburg (inspired by the famous Gur Emir mausoleum of Samarkand in Uzbekistan) and the modern and interesting National Museum of Political History of Russia. Continuing a little further east along the Petrovskaya quay, one can see the frigate Grace (a reconstruction of an 18th century ship), then pass Peter the Great's House, before arriving at the south-eastern tip of the island in front of one of the emblematic sites, the cruiser Aurora, completely renovated and back at quay with great pomp on 16 July 2016. It is a popular place to stroll for St. Petersburgers of all ages and all conditions.
To the north of the island, the Petrogradskaya metro and its surroundings bear witness to the achievements of Art Nouveau in the Venice of the North. There are many artist's lofts, attracted by the wide open spaces. Testimony to the island's artistic vocation is the apartment museum of the famous opera singer (and inveterate bachelor) Shalyapin. Between the two metros, along the Kamennoostrovski prospekt, another manifestation of the island's artistic vocation is the Lenfilm studios, the second largest studio in Russia after Moscow. In the restaurants on the street, the actors meet after the shots to remake the world.
