I'll be honest, when we told people we were going to Russia, we got quite a few looks. More frequently, people responded with "why?" or "is it safe?". Part of this was possibly due to its rising COVID numbers the week we left. While I can't speak for anywhere outside of St. Petersburg, we felt very safe and comfortable in the city. People were excited to have tourists again. Yes, even Americans! For the most part, everyone was very friendly and helpful. As in any busy, big city, we took the usual precautions - avoided walking around late at night, kept our wallets and phones close to our bodies, and tried not to draw too much attention to ourselves. The last one is a bit hard considering it is basically American culture to draw attention to ourselves in other countries. There were honestly no moments we felt unsafe or uncomfortable. We absolutely loved it and would recommend it to anyone.

I’ll also mention upfront that we had to obtain a visa before arriving in Russia. You cannot obtain a visa upon arrival. While this process isn’t incredibly difficult, it can be time consuming. There are quite a few questions on the visa application and you must obtain a visa support letter. There are several websites and companies that can assist you in this fairly complicated process. We hired CIBT Visas to help us with all the paperwork, processing, and physically taking in our passports to the embassy. This was a huuuuge time and headache saver. They recommended a 3-year multi entry tourist visa. Apply for your visa well in advanced. It took over two weeks to get our passports and visas back from the embassy. You also must have at least two blank pages in your passport. Side note – if you’re a frequent traveler and needing a new passport soon, I highly recommend getting the passport with extra pages.

Prior to St. Petersburg we were in Helsinki, another popular destination in this part of the world. Many people visit both of these places on a Nordic cruise. While Helsinki was cold, St. Petersburg was colder. Bundle up. Granted, we're from California, and what we think of as freezing others may find "chilly." November is an interesting month in St. Petersburg because the snow hasn't fallen yet, and it's pretty gloomy. However, according to our tour guide, the city only gets about 60 days of sunshine each year, and we got one of them. The other sunny days typically fall in January. According to all the locals, May is one of the best months to visit.

St. Petersburg has such an exciting and incredible history. If you don't know much about its history don't worry, any guide or even taxi driver can give you some information. The city is packed with people. Mostly locals, although we did visit during their slow season and right after a lockdown ended, so not many tourists were traveling. That being said, people were not locked down any longer; streets were bustling with people and performers.

One thing we were told before going was to definitely get an English-speaking guide to take us around. In many places we like to do the exploring ourselves, depending on the country and activities/sights it has to offer. However, nothing is really in English, not many people speak fluent English, and let's just say my Russian language knowledge is basically non-existent, so it can be challenging to self-guide yourself around the city. Especially considering how many sights there are to see. We also happened to be visiting during COVID, and there were specific procedures we had to be aware of. Having a guide made this much more manageable. We booked our guide through our hotel concierge and loved her. Her name was Marina. I'm sure there are many guides available throughout the city.

We stayed at the Four Seasons Lion's Palace and it was incredible. The location could not get any better. You are near every museum, Palace, Cathedral, and statue, as well as great restaurants and shops. This was one of the main reasons we chose to stay here. Along with the hotel's stunning interior, once designed as a palace, the location was perfect. We spent our first afternoon just wandering around the hotel and getting a feel for the city.

On our first night, we had a reservation at Palkin, one of the oldest restaurants in St. Petersburg. Although the restaurant had many fantastic reviews online, our concierge "highly suggested" not going. Not sure why she said this, but we listened. If you want to go against her, check it out and let me know what you think. Instead, we went to Banshiki, a cozy restaurant not far from the hotel that offered incredible traditional Russian food. We got dumplings, local Russian fish, and honey cake.

We woke up the following day, had breakfast in the hotel's tearoom, and headed out for our city tour with Marina. Although most of the city is easily walkable, we drove around to maximize time and sightseeing. Plus, as Marina said, Americans are spoiled and don’t like to walk. We started by heading to the Neva River. There is a little spot across the bridge on one of the several islands St. Petersburg is home to, where the water comes right onto the pavement, and you get a good view of the Peter and Paul fortress and Hermitage Museum.

We headed over to St. Petersburg State University on this side of the canals, where Pavlov did his famous dog studies (okay, they are at least famous to my fellow psych nerds). In this area, you'll also see the Egyptian Sphinx's purchased from Egypt many years ago. Usually, you can get a nice view of the statue of Peter the Great, which unfortunately was under reconstruction during our visit.

After crossing back to the central part of the city, we headed to the St Nicholas Cathedral which is always open and always welcomes visitors. Close by is a tiny island called New Holland, where the old trade center once was. It is now a lovely park with several cafés and food stalls. You'll find St Isaac's Cathedral and Square nearby (also a very short walk from the hotel). We passed several other churches, including the Russian Orthodox Church.

The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood is a must when visiting St. Petersburg. Unfortunately, due to COVID, we could not go inside, but the architecture is simply stunning from the outside anyway. The canals run right by it, making for some great photos. Not too far lies the Alexandriinsky Theater and Catherine the Great Statue.

The Mariinsky theater is also a famous theater in St. Petersburg and hosts several shows, including ballets. Unfortunately, no ballets were performing during our short visit, but I highly recommend checking the box office before your trip. The Faberge Museum and Yussoff Palace are two more exciting stops worth checking out in St. Petersburg.

We ended the day at the Hermitage Museum. This is a must when visiting St. Petersburg. Because we don't have a Russian vaccine QR code, we had to take a PCR COVID test within 24 hours of visiting. This was done through the hotel, and we got our negative results quickly. Ask your hotel or check with up-to-date regulations before visiting.

The massive museum used to be a palace and now showcases countless paintings, artifacts, and more. We spent about two hours hitting the highlights, but our guide joked that you really need 8 years to see everything. The museum is located in the Palace Square. When we finished, we were greeted by beautiful lights and a local musician playing.

We had dinner that night at Duo Gastrobar. This chef has multiple restaurants throughout St. Petersburg. Think modern Russian-fine dining. Finally, we ended our night with a drink and dessert at the bar in the Four Seasons. This bar is popular among locals as well and has an intimate, relaxed atmosphere.

On the morning before we left, we headed down Nevsky Avenue to the Kupetz Eliseevs Food Hall for some souvenirs. We had visited briefly the day before. There are also a couple of restaurants within the hall. We also wanted one more look at the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood from the canals. There is a lovely view right off of Nevsky.

St. Petersburg was more than I could have imagined. It was full of rich history, beautiful architecture, vibrant people, and unique culture. We felt very welcomed there and can't wait to go back.

To See:

State Hermitage Museum

Buy tickets online in advance and try to get the VIP entrance to avoid lines.

Palace Square

Right across from the museum and a short distance from the Four Seasons

Eliseyev Emporium

Food market/area

Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood

Closed on Wednesdays, book online to avoid lines

Canal tour

A nice summer activity

St. Isaac's Cathedral