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From Chris Meltesen, New York, NY

“Last year good friends from Hamburg, Germany, suggested we all take a trip to St. Petersburg together. We arranged for guides, one of whom was with us the entire trip. In late March, we met up at the Hotel Astoria, in St. Petersburg, over afternoon tea and kicked off five terrific days of seeing the city and surroundings.

On our first evening, we went for a simple Russian dinner at 1913, a local restaurant near the Mariinsky Theatre, where we had borscht (of course). Afterward we took a nocturnal ride around St. Petersburg, and the grandeur of the European-style palaces and the occasional unusual piece of Russian architecture, along with the canals and rivers, made an unforgettable impression.

The main city attraction is, of course, the State Hermitage Museum. We spent a whole day there and never quite settled whether the grand buildings or the art were the more remarkable. One room contained the elaborate peacock clock from the 18th century, made of gold birds that moved, sung and chimed when the clock was wound. A maintenance worker was testing it, and we joined a group of school children who were as captivated as we were by the various animals in motion (one thing you see a lot of in Russian museums is extraordinarily well-behaved groups of kids). We also visited the Russian Museum, which displays everything from Russian icons to Soviet realist paintings, housed in yet another palace. In some ways, we were more impressed by this museum than by the Hermitage, as we discovered a world of fascinating 19th- and 20th-century Russian artists we were not familiar with before our visit.

We were told to take a day trip to Novgorod, a beautifully preserved medieval city. It’s a three hour-drive from St. Petersburg but well-worth it, because you end up seeing an entirely different Russia from that of the city: parts of the road leading there are lined with lovely, small wooden houses (spending a winter in them must be something!), and the old churches and monasteries of the walled city were mesmerizing.

Back in St. Petersburg, a special treat was two evenings of dance at the Mariinsky Theatre. We saw the classic story ballet La Bayadère, which showed off the strength and training of the company—everyone should see the Mariinsky corps de ballet perform the Kingdom of the Shades scene once in a lifetime—and the second night was a program of multiple Balanchine ballets. It was fascinating to see the company perform both types of choreography. Although all the dancers were wonderful, the highlight was Diana Vishneva, the company’s prima ballerina assoluta.

I can’t say enough about our guides, who seemed to know everything about the history of the country and the palaces we toured and had insights into each artist and painting we saw. They could even quote vast amounts of Russian poetry in multiple languages (the education there must be incredible). We had long talks about everything from the intricacies of trade routes in the 10th and 11th centuries to current affairs in Europe. Overall it was a great trip. We were very taken by St. Petersburg, Russia and the Russians. I can’t urge you enough to go.” Chris Meltesen, New York, NY

Editor’s Note:

Getting There

There are no direct flights to St. Petersburg from the United States, so you will have to fly via Moscow or a European gateway, like London, Frankfurt, Paris or Vienna. It is strongly suggested that you ask your hotel to send a car to pick you up from the airport.

Where to Stay

The Hotel Astoria, a Rocco Forte property and the city’s grand dame, is centrally located. Some rooms have views of St. Isaac’s Cathedral. Doubles from $750 during the high season (May through July). (7) 812-494-5757; fax: (7) 812-494-5059; www.theastoriahotel.com.

What to See & Do

The Kirov Ballet performs at the Mariinsky Theatre this June and July. Tickets, which can be purchased on the Mariinsky Web site, range from around $25 to $150. Mariinsky Theatre:1 Teatralnaya Square; (7) 812-326-4141; www.mariinsky.ru/en.

Read a member postcard about a trip to Moscow and St. Petersburg

Read about why Zaha Hadid finds Moscow to be one of the world’s most fascinating cities

Read a Q&A with St. Petersburg insider Greg Tepper

Read about academic Arrangements Abroad, a company specialized in travel to St. Petersburg

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From TSW, July 2009

An Indagare member recently returned from a birthday trip with her husband, which took them to St. Petersburg and Istanbul. Here she shares her discoveries and suggestions for other travelers planning a similar journey.

We had a fantastic trip. The first thing people should know that it is a long, long trip and the jet lag is huge! July means “White Nights” in St. Petersburg, so the sun was down for barely half an hour. Plus, the eleven-hour time difference is significant. But we had signed up for the VIP meet at the airport, so we were out in 5 minutes after our luggage arrived—worth the price.

The Grand Hotel Europe (7-812-329-6000; www.grandhoteleurope.com) was nice and well located. Our knowing guide, Luda, confided that it is the city’s best, although when you look beneath the surface, it is not up to the standards of a US luxury hotel. She also told us that the smaller hotel that came recommended from our travel specialists was more like a security fortress: you have to go through metal detectors and pass by many guards, which makes it difficult to pick up guests there. Also, the people who work at that hotel are beautiful—they look like they belong at a W in L.A.—so if that’s something that’s important to you, you might like it better. For rooms, definitely get the junior suite or bigger.

Going through Indagare’s recommended guide service is definitely the way to go, although it will be expensive. Luda was the perfect guide for us: she’s a St. Petersburg native, informative, kind, funny, relaxed, and fun. She also had our taste in food. Every meal we ate with her, or any that came recommended by her, was the best food we had. One place we loved was a wonderful Italian restaurant near the Hermitage (7-812-710-9079) that felt like being in Rome. Luda also took us to one of her hangouts, the Crocodile Bar, which was terrific for a younger couple. The Caviar Bar certainly lived up to its name—terrific place to eat said delicacy. Luda also recommended the Terrace restaurant, but we did not have time to check it out. Though everyone at our hotel was nice, I would not book things through their concierge, who is just there to sell.

Tips: In general, people should downgrade their expectations when it comes to food in St. Petersburg. You don’t usually travel there for the food. Also, there is better food to be had than the options at the Grand Hotel.

Remember, this is not going to be a luxurious, relaxing vacation. It is a former communist country, and they are new at allowing the freedoms we take for granted. If you love History, Art and Music, you will find a way to have a good time. It is not restful! Most shops are on the lower level, so there isn’t a lot of window-shopping or much to purchase. If you can’t read the Russian alphabet, be sure to hire a guide. There are so many unwritten rules, you will need a guide to help navigate your trip.

There was a lot of nightlife that looked like fun to explore, but we decided to save our energy for our days. We did go to the Ballet (www.mariinsky.ru), which was good but not fantastic—unfortunately, it’s commonplace in Russia to substitute the conductor and ballerinas last-minute. As a result, we didn’t get to see or hear the people we had planned for.

Which brings me to a word on Russia: be flexible. Catherine’s Palace (Pushkin, 7, Sadovaya Str.; 7-812-465-5308) was unexpectedly closed on the day we had planned to go there, so we had to switch our visit to another day. That was fine, but then we missed the Amber Workshop altogether (which we paid extra for). We also couldn’t go inside the Palace of Nicholas and Alexandra because it was under renovation (it wasn’t in our original plan anyway), but walking through the gardens to Catherine’s Palace actually turned out to be one of my highlights. Overall, it helped immensely that Luda was so nimble. She was able to negotiate all of the changes and bumps along the way to make our trip as special and as smooth as possible. (If we ever go back to St. Petersburg, we will definitely request Luda again.)

St. Petersburg is a beautiful city, full of art, history and architecture. Peter the Great’s Palace, the Hermitage (Catherine’s Winter Palace), and the Hermitage storage rooms are incredible and well worth the time. The Hermitage has practically every Impressionist painting you have have ever seen a picture of. It’s incredible that the windows are open, the sun is shining and you can take flash photos of these Masterpieces. I hope they protect the art some day, but that takes money and they don’t have much of that to spare. You can see Nicholas’ desk, at which he abdicated to the Bolsheviks who forced him out. It felt very powerful to stand in the room where Russian history was changed forever. Another highlight I’d recommend is the Peter and Paul Fortress (+7-812-230-6431), the site of the original city where all the czars are now buried. We also enjoyed seeing Paul’s Palace, which was near Catherine the Great’s Palace in the countryside. His wife Sophia’s private living quarters are downstairs and they are not “renovated” so you can feel the presence of the people still.

We had one scary snag when leaving Russia, and apparently it’s rather common. Even though we had re-confirmed the day before, the airline said our reservation was canceled. After jumping through some hoops, we eventually purchased new tickets and barely made it onto the plane. (We’re still waiting for the promised refund.) Because of this, it’s worth mentioning: always have a printed itinerary with you. It helped us make our case. You might also consider registering with the American Embassy. We didn’t, but thought about it afterwards!

Last Tips: Because of the lengthy travel, substantial time difference, and the fact that the sun never sets in the summer, I would recommend sleeping in Frankfurt or your connecting city for a night or two before continuing on to Russia. If you’re going straight through, I would factor in a down day when you arrive. The new Lufthansa first class lounge in Frankfurt just opened a week before our arrival, and it was fantastic. You can schedule a massage, relax in a bath, or just enjoy the space, food and drink there.

Read about the member’s continued trip to Istanbul

Read a postcard from member Payal Chaudri about white nights in Moscow and St. Petersburg

Read an interview with Indagare Insider Greg Tepper about favorite spots and tips for traveling off-the-beaten path in St. Petersburg

Read about an art-filled journey to St. Petersburg