St. Petersburg on a Sat/Sun or Mon/Tue?

[kely53]

Hi,

I am considering 2 cruises and my concern is the days that we are in St. Petersburg. I know some sites will be closed on Monday but if we are doing a 2 day private tour,I assume they would schedule it so we could see those places on Tuesday. What about on a weekend? Would it be busier or would some places not be open? I made the mistake of booking a 12 nite tour a couple of years ago without looking into this and we were in Florence on a Monday and many of the places we wanted to see were not open. I dont want to make that mistake again!

Thanks.

Karen

[Giantfan13]

Hi,

I am considering 2 cruises and my concern is the days that we are in St. Petersburg. I know some sites will be closed on Monday but if we are doing a 2 day private tour,I assume they would schedule it so we could see those places on Tuesday. What about on a weekend? Would it be busier or would some places not be open? I made the mistake of booking a 12 nite tour a couple of years ago without looking into this and we were in Florence on a Monday and many of the places we wanted to see were not open. I dont want to make that mistake again!

Thanks.

Karen

 

Karen

 

When we toured St Petersburg, it wasn't on either of your days that you mentioned, but, just from listening to other posters, I think I can answer. Yes, there are several things that are closed on Mondays, but, as you said, if you book with a reputable independent tour company, they know this and will arrange a schedule that will make it so, you CAN see everything there is to see. That is the great thing about these tour companies, they can, and do change their schedule according to weather, traffic, what is open and closed, and you WILL see everything there is to see.

As for the weekend, I would image most sites are as crowded as they would be during the week. Places like Peterhof, Catherine's Place and the Hermitage are crowded all the time, so I wouldn't worry about that too much.

St Peterburg is just a marvelous city, with so much to see and do.

Here are a few of my pics from St Petersburg, hopefully, for you to enjoy.

 

The Church of the Spilled Blood from a side street view

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe647.jpg

 

Catrherine's Place and gardens

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe714.jpg

 

From Peterhof, looking out towards the Sea of Finland

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe721.jpg

 

At the Church of Peter and Paul, you will see the final resting places of Peter the Great and several others

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe878.jpg

 

In Yusupov's Palace, where y9u can view the actual place where Rasputin was murdered, they also have a private theater and a special box made for the Tsars

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe897.jpg

 

In the Hermitage, the rooms are jsut magnificent and are chocked full of glorious artworks

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe927.jpg

 

Cheers

 

Len

[Ashland]

Agree with Len and his post above..The flexibility and knowledge of a private tour guide and driver will provide you with a wonderful opportunity to see this amazing city and all it has to offer regardless of the days you will visit...Enjoy !!!

[kely53]

Thank you so much for your replies. We used only private tour companies on our 12 nite Venice cruise and were very pleased with all of them. We are really looking forward to this cruise....unfortunately it isnt until July 2012!! I will be spending alot of time on these boards planning over the next year!

[TMLAalum]

Based on our weekend experience last June, I would opt for M & Tu. While it was wonderful to mingle with the Russian people enjoying St. Petersburg on a sunny weekend, the crowds made for unbelievably heavy traffic getting to the Peterhof Gardens and a long wait to get into the Peterhof Palace (I don't recommend that Palace, BUT DEFINITELY THE GARDENS/FOUNTAINS). Sat. nite there was a festival occurring in the heart of St. P-burg and traffic was rerouted causing major congestion and difficulties getting to our pre-booked Folkloric Show (RECOMMEND) at Nikolaevsky (sp?) Palace.

 

Sunday we prebooked early admission to the Hermitage which was a good decision as crowds were nonexistent and added the Diamond Room. Yusopov's Palace was scheduled for Sun. afternoon and, although it was busy, our guide did his magic and got us to the front of the queue.

[jamessemaj]

I don't know that it would make a lot of difference. I have been in St. P on all of those days during the off season, and I don't recall a time when traffic wasn't hectic. The Hermitage is always crowded. On the weekend there will be more Russian families off work taking in the sites. But again, I really don't think it much matters. During the high season, St. P just doesn't slow down.