A lot of people choose a cruise vacation because it combines leisure, luxury accommodation, visiting several destinations in a short time, enjoying excursions in different cities – cruise operators offer many routes in Europe, for instance to Baltic countries with visiting the most famous port in Russia, former capital of the Russian Empire — the brilliant St. Petersburg.
Here you can get unforgettable impressions, immerse yourself in the history of the heyday of the Romanov Empire or vice versa, the times of the October Revolution; enjoy the incomparable architectural gems transformed the city into an open-air museum, fusing Baroque, Neoclassical, and traditional Russian-Byzantine influences.
Not just a part of the city, but the whole historical downtown, coupled with the magnificent suburban palace-and-park ensembles are protected by UNESCO. Among the few other cities that share the same privilege are Venice, Rome, and Paris.
St. Petersburg is a city with many names and faces: the Venice of the North, the Cradle of Three Revolutions, the City of White Nights – and, above all, the cultural capital of Russia. Very few cities in the world can boast so many artistic treasures. There are over 200 museums, the State Hermitage Museum being the largest, and you definitely shouldn’t miss seeing its collection in the former Tzar residence, the Winter Palace.
During almost 200 years, St. Petersburg was a capital city of the Russian empire and there are so many beautiful palaces to visit (around 100) but two suburban palace-and-park ensembles we highly recommend to include into your sightseeing list.
The first one located very close to city and easy to reach is the world-famous Catherine’s Palace with an extraordinary Amber room, and the other one, competing with Versailles, is Peterhof, the first Imperial Summer residence near St. Petersburg; Peter the Great himself imagined and designed the basics of the ensemble with 175 awesome fountains which amaze visitors with their grace and power every season from May to October.
St. Petersburg is incredible in every season but if you are lucky enough to catch the time of White nights in June – July, one of the best times to visit St. Petersburg, when the sun never sets and the city is alive 24 hours a day with festivals, activities, concerts and longer opening hours for museums, restaurants and shops. During this period people stroll along the streets at night, given the existing atmosphere, especially on weekends. Tourists take the opportunity to watch the city’s drawbridges being raised by taking boat cruises on the Neva River starting from 1:00 a.m.
The city annually hosts around 100 festivals and its opera and ballet life offers numerous refined performances you can enjoy in in Mariiinskii or Mikhailovskiy theatres as well as astonishing and vivid Russian folklore show where local artists will sing traditional Russian songs and demonstrate bright dances and skillful attainments to play national instruments.
All this, and much more, you can visit visa free.
“Visa free entry” means that you can enter Russia without a visa for a specified period (up to 72 hours) meeting two Russian law requirements
Nordic travel is the one to order shore tours because we meet all necessary requirement including license. Another our advantage is offering tours in smaller tour groups (up to X) compared to the large cruise ship tours (40+) which will make all the difference!
All you need to enjoy Russia without visa is a valid passport and book a tour in St.Petersburg with us beforehand.
We guarantee to pick you up straight in the port with
and will get you back at night without a delay!
Nordic travel has a lot of experience working with cruise ship passengers; because we know how to show you most fascinating places in St.Petersburg during these one or two days that usually go so fast but we hope will stay with your forever!
If you have more than 2 days in the port of St. Petersburg, then we will be able to offer you a more extensive program for the city itself, suburbs and (plus … to the main one) or even a trip to Moscow or Velikij Novgorod for you to feel and enjoy most of Russia during even a short stay in the city of White nights and happy days!
Please find below the itinerary options for 1-3 days staying in St. Petersburg visa free.
