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St. Petersburg is the second largest city in Russia right after Moscow and is located right at the mouth of the Neva River on the Gulf of Finland. The city is home to Russia's most important port on the Baltic Sea and has already been given many names. From 1914 to 1924 it was called Petrograd and from 1924 to 1991 Leningrad. Today, the former Russian tsar city bears its original name again: St. Petersburg. However, the locals only kindly call their city "Piter". Cruises to St. Petersburg are among the most popular trips in Russia, as the city can be easily reached by ship through its port.
The former capital of the Russian Empire fascinates its visitors with its golden skyline, its world-famous museums and its extraordinary monuments. No fewer than 2300 palaces, magnificent buildings and castles, together with magical canals and wide boulevards, characterize the city centre, which has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. This is why St. Petersburg is also called the "Venice of the North".
The Hermitage, located right next to the Neva River, is one of the most important and extensive art collections in Russia and the world. The Winter Palace is one of the Hermitage's building complexes. It was built between 1754 and 1762 and was once the main residence of the tsars. The Winter Palace and the bordering buildings are home to almost 3 million objects in their archives, including paintings by Da Vinci, Monet, Rembrandt and Renoir.
About 25 kilometres away from St. Petersburg, in the city of Pushkin, you will find the Catherine Palace. The beautifully decorated Baroque palace is famous for its blue-white façade and golden onion towers. The palace once accommodated the legendary Amber Room, from which a reconstruction can be seen today. Besides the overwhelming palace complex, the surrounding landscape park is also a highlight of Russia.
Peterhof Palace is located about 30 kilometers west of St. Petersburg on a hill at the Gulf of Finland and is known as the "Russian Versailles". The palace, built in 1723, was mainly used as a summer residence by Tsar Peter I and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991. The impressive castle park is decorated by numerous fountains with a total of 176 fountains. Dive into the past and learn more about life at the Russian court.
On our Baltic Sea or Northern Europe cruises you can discover the Russian metropolis. Start your cruise in St. Petersburg or start in the german city Warnemünde towards Russia. On the routes you will also visit other interesting cities such as the Finnish capital Helsinki or Copenhagen in Denmark. Also a special highlight of the Baltic States - Tallinn, the capital of Estonia - is part of most cruises to Russia.
Since there is so much to discover in St. Petersburg, Princess Cruises has planned another highlight for these routes. To give you more time to admire the sights of this Russian jewel, the ship will stay overnight in the harbour. So you can spend two full days in the world's northernmost metropolis. If you would like to explore St. Petersburg on your own, please note that you need a visa for Russia in advance when you leave the ship. However, if you book a guided shore excursion with Princess Cruises, a group visa is already included. In addition to the highlights listed above, we offer you other beautiful destinations in addition to the cruises in the Baltic Sea. A river cruise on the Neva or a visit to the famous Mariinsky Theatre are also available. Princess Cruises offers you the possibility to book these shore excursions 100 days before departure in the online section "Cruise Personalizer".
The months from May to September are particularly suitable for cruises from or to St. Petersburg. A very special highlight in St. Petersburg are the so-called "White Nights". From the end of May to mid-July it remains bright here at night, as the sun does not set completely. So the White Nights give you days of up to 19 hours and put the metropolis in a magical light. The journey by ship is especially impressive in the early morning hours, when the red and golden shimmering sky forms an impressive contrast to the dark color of the Baltic Sea.