St Petersburg by Night

After midnight St Petersburg changes. The crowds are gone, the palaces become silhouettes against the sky, the embankments are reflected in black water, and the bridges over the Neva begin to rise so tall ships can pass. This private three-hour drive takes you through it all, with stops wherever it is worth getting out.

The route

Palace Embankment and the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island. The classic night view: the Winter Palace, the Peter and Paul Fortress and the Rostral Columns, with the wide river between them.

The floodlit centre. St Isaac’s Cathedral, the Church on Spilled Blood, Kazan Cathedral, the Admiralty and the bridges, all lit up. In the darker half of the year this alone is reason enough to go out at night.

Empty squares and canals. Palace Square, Senate Square and the Moika and Griboyedov embankments without traffic or people, the best time for photographs.

The bridges opening. The high point of the night. Palace, Trinity, Liteyny and Blagoveshchensky bridges each open on their own schedule. One wing of Palace Bridge weighs 700 tonnes and rises to vertical within minutes. Your guide picks the best viewpoint and gets you there early, before the crowd.

Good to know

• The tour lasts about 3 hours. The start time depends on the season and the bridge schedule and is agreed with you.
• The bridges open only during the navigation season, roughly mid-April to the end of November.
• From late May to mid-July the tour falls in the White Nights, when it barely gets dark. The lightest night is 21–22 June.
• Once the bridges are up, the city is split in two. Your driver plans the route so you get back to your hotel instead of being stranded on the wrong bank until morning.
• The car and guide are included; meals are not. The tour is private, for your party only.

Who it suits

Couples and photographers, travellers in the city during the White Nights, and anyone who wants to add an evening to a daytime programme. It works best as an extra rather than as your only tour.