Duration: 2 hours
The bridges of St. Petersburg rank among the most popular tourist attractions. There are 21 draw bridges in the city, which open to let the ships pass through. Every summer, when the city enjoys white nights, thousands of people flow to the city centre to see the bridges opening process, but not everyone knows that the best view opens from water. Imagine that right above your head two enormous bridge spans start moving, until you can see the sky which is as light as in the daytime.
St. Petersburg is the most European-looking city in Russia with palaces, mansions and other buildings decorating the embankments. The main sights are located along the Neva, which is navigable in the summer and never has low tide. It’s hard to believe that Peter the Great forbade to build bridges in St. Petersburg so that the citizens could get used to sailing faster. The first permanent bridge across the Neva appeared only in the middle of the 19th century, the previous temporary ponton structures were never built during the ice flow, so getting from one bank of the river to another had been quite a challenge for almost 150 years. Now the most famous bridge in the centre is the Dvortsovy, or Palace bridge, which was finished in the 20th century and has a complicated opening mechanism, allowing two central parts to be raised simultaneously. It’s the first bridge to be open at night (at 1.10 am), and in 10 minutes it is followed by the Trinity bridge, which was finished in 1903 and decorated with Art-Noveau style lanterns and railing. Every other draw bridge across the Neva which total 13 in number has its unique history and design, but no less attractive are bridges over small rivers and canals which you’ll be able to see during the night boat trip, together with the most important city sights.
In poor weather conditions the duration and itinerary of the tour may be changed.
St. Petersburg River Cruise includes:
- Rent of boat for 2 hours
- An English-speaking guide during the whole time of our tour
The pier address: Fontanka river Embankment, house 21