Page 64 - (DK Eyewitness) Top 10 Travel Guide - St. Petersburg

62 ❯❯ The Top 10 of Everything

St Petersburg for Free

The Hermitage
1
On the first Thursday of the
month entry to the Hermitage (see
pp14–17) is free during the usual
opening hours of 10:30am to 6pm.
Arrive early to beat the queues
in high season as the free day is
popular with both locals and tourists.
Cruiser Aurora
2
Commissioned in 1903, this
127-m (417-ft) steam-powered cruiser
(see p95) is most famous for its role
at the beginning of Russia’s 1917
Revolution, when sailors on board Palace in Yelagin Island
fired a blank shot as the signal for the
Yelagin Island
Bolsheviks to storm St Petersburg’s 5
Winter Palace. After extensive Once the exclusive preserve
restoration work, it reopened to of wealthy aristocrats, this delightful
the public free of charge in 2016. park is dotted with picturesque lakes
and is free to enter on weekdays.
Mikhaylovskiy Gardens
3 Its westernmost point is a great spot
to watch the sun set over the Gulf of
MAP P2 • Open May–Sep:
10am–10pm; Oct–Mar: 10am–8pm Finland (see p50).
• Closed Apr
White Nights Festival
The scenic parkland surrounding 6
Mikhaylovskiy Castle (see p69) offers The White Nights Festival
welcome respite from the sights of runs from May to July, when the sun
bustling central St Petersburg. barely sets due to the city’s position
just a few degrees south of the Arctic
Alexander Nevskiy
4 Circle. It’s St Petersburg’s busiest time
Monastery
of year, so accommodation should be
There’s no charge to explore this booked well in advance, but many of
18th-century monastery complex (see the festival events are free. Numerous
p102), the final resting place of the carnivals with participants in period
city’s patron saint, Alexander Nevskiy. costumes and the Scarlet Sails
celebration – fireworks, music
concerts and a massive water show –
are among the highlights.
Alexander Nevskiy Monastery

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