St Petersburg tours and excursions

Many operators run boat tours along the river and canals of St Petersburg, visiting famous sights like the Church on Spilled Blood, but most are in Russian. The best English-language operator is Anglotourismo, which runs several tours daily (May to September) from its jetty on naberezhnaya Reki Fontanki. Other boat tours leave from the Griboedova canal, the Moyka River, the Fontanka River and the channel that runs around Zayachy island.

Located north of St Petersburg's city centre, the Kirovsky Islands (Kamenny, Yelagin and Krestovsky) are popular outdoor escapes for city dwellers. Many wealthy St Petersburg residents have fabulous homes here, but ordinary folk come to picnic in the parks, walk along the leafy avenues and boat on the lakes. It’s particularly popular during the White Nights of midsummer. Kamenny is across the bridge from the Chyornaya Rechka metro, while Krestovsky and Yelagin are accessible from Krestovsky Ostrov station.