Save Your Time for Saint Petersburg!!!

Saint Petersburg is way more fun to explore than Moscow! 🎉 DAY 1️⃣: Hermitage + Kazan Cathedral + Century-Old Bookstore The Hermitage is enormous! 🏛️ After scanning your ticket, grab a Chinese guidebook at the right-hand counter—it makes navigation easier. Many say the staircase to the 3rd floor is hard to find (probably because they didn’t take the guidebook!). If you’re tired, head directly to the 3rd floor via the map and work your way down. Don’t miss the mummy on the 1st floor! We wanted to attend the 7 PM prayer at Kazan Cathedral but ran out of time, so we went straight to the Century-Old Bookstore instead. Lunch: Avoid the buffet hotpot (just my opinion! 😅). Dinner: Korean BBQ near the train station—delicious but with a 10% service charge (felt like they charged arbitrarily). DAY 2️⃣: Catherine Palace + Peterhof Palace Took a taxi to Catherine Palace. Skipped the Amber Room and only visited the garden. Garden tickets are sold across the street from the entrance—no queues! An old artist playing the flute greeted us at the entrance—so magical! 🎶 Grab a guidebook; the park is huge with lush greenery and even squirrels! 🐿️ Then taxied to Peterhof Palace. Ate at the restaurant left of the ticket office (burgers, pancakes, fried chicken). The fountains at Peterhof are breathtaking and super photogenic! 📸 Returned to the city by boat to the Hermitage (1,800 RUB). Alternatively, take a taxi back—it’s cheaper for groups. Some suggest buying boat tickets first, but I disagree—who wants to walk extra? 😂 DAY 3️⃣: Skydiving + Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood + St. Isaac’s Cathedral For skydiving enthusiasts, check my previous post—highly recommended! 🪂 As someone not deeply connected to Christianity, the churches felt visually stunning but emotionally distant. St. Isaac’s Cathedral: Arrive early! We reached around 5 PM and missed the colonnade ticket but caught the choir performance. 🎵 Relaxed at the park across the cathedral—bring a picnic mat for ultimate comfort! 🧺 Ended the day at Pushkin Café—a must-visit! ☕ Travel between Saint Petersburg and Moscow: High-speed train + overnight train. 🚄🌙 #SaintPetersburg #Hermitage #DaVinci #Peterhof #GulfOfFinland #CatherinePalace #StIsaacsCathedral #KazanCathedral #SaviorOnSpilledBlood