April 20, 2016

Piter's Five Must-Stroll Streets (that are not Nevsky)


Piter's Five Must-Stroll Streets (that are not Nevsky)
(click to expand)

So you have walked all 2.8 miles of St. Petersburg's Nevsky Prospect. You've seen all sorts of beautiful buildings: imperial palaces, art nouveau shopping malls and banks, the old market place, Catholic and Lutheran churches – you name it. But you have only scratched the surface. In fact, most locals tend to avoid Nevsky because it is too touristy and crowded. And if you are looking for the best restaurants and bars, it's time to need to leave Nevsky behind.

And so, here are five must-stroll streets in the Northern Palmyra, once you get off Nevsky (with convenient links to Google Street View, so you can explore the streets virtually too).

1

Rubinstein Street (Google Street View)

Rubinstein street is the city's “dining heaven.” There is a restaurant, café, bar, or pub in almost ever one of the 40 buildings along this compact street.

If you are up for American food, visit “City Grill” (#4); for Spanish paella, go to Barslona (nope, not Barcelona – get used to it) tapas bar (#25); if you are interested in Jewish cuisine, then Beziker (#40) is your destination. The oldest Irish pub in St. Petersburg, Mollies, is located at #36, just across the street from #23, where Russian-American writer Sergei Dovlatov lived before he emigrated to the US in 1978.

If you are up for a crazy party, don’t miss Poison karaoke bar at #11, where the language for singing is English and all Russian songs are prohibited. Guess that's where the Poison comes in.

The street's architectural gem is Tolstoy House (#15-17), built for Mikhail Tolstoy, a distant relative of the famous writer. Try to sneak into the yard, which has been used as set for many films. [Google Street View] But if you get caught, we had nothing to do with it.

2

Bolshaya Konyushennaya Street (Google Street View)

Bolshaya Konyushennaya is one of few "green" streets in the city center. It’s perfect for luxury shopping: Dior, Louis Vuitton, and Prada boutiques are at #13 and more world-famous brands are in the DLT department store (#21). You’ll find the Imperial Porcelain Factory shop right across the street from DLT.

If you are interested in looking at the life of Russia's creative youth and hipsters, expore Tsarkhitektor Art Cluster (#9), with its numerous cafes, bars, design and book shops. And don’t miss St. Petersburg's oldest Pushechnaya (donut shop) at #23. It's been there since 1958. [Google Street View]

3

Bolshaya Morskaya Street (Google Street View)

Bolshaya Morskaya street starts at Palace Square and the General Staff Building, which today houses the Hermitage Museum's modern art collection. Before the Bolshevik Revolution, Bolshaya Morskaya was the city's most fashionable street, as proven by the presence of numerous majestic (former) bank buildings (#3, 5, 15, and 32). Trust us, you've never seen such a fashionable bank.

So it’s no surprise that the Fabergé family, producer of famous jewel-encrusted eggs for the Russian Tsars, had their shop and workshop at #24.

For those interested in the arts, visit Rosphoto Photography Center (#37), or cross the street to the former building of The Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, where local artists are exhibited (#38). Literature lovers should pop into the Vladimir Nabokov Museum; he was born in #47. [Google Street View]

4

Kamennoostrovsky Street (Google Street View)

Kamennoostrovsky prospect offers many examples of art nouveau architecture, which boomed under Tsar Nicholas II. The street stretches 2.1 miles, but the most beautiful part is located between subway stations Gorkovskaya and Petrogradskaya (on the blue line).

Have a cup of coffee at the café of Lenfilm Studio (#10), which was the Soviet Union's second largest film studio (after Mosfilm). Then admire Austrian Square with its fairytale towers and artistic mansards (starts at #13). For a history lesson, visit the memorial flat of Sergei Kirov (#26-28), the party boss whose murder marked the beginning of Stalin-era Terror.

When you arrive at Leo Tolstoy Square, you can admire the “House with Towers” (#35), which looks rather like a medieval castle, or you can turn left and explore Bolshoi Prospect on the Petrograd side – one of the city's best luxury shopping streets. [Google Street View]

5

6 Liniya (Google Street View)

Lines 6 and 7 on Vasilyevsky Island are partly blocked off pedestrian areas. The area is a canal that was supposed to have been built in the eighteenth century, but never made it past the blueprints. The closest subway station, Vasileostrovskaya, is due to reopen in June, 2016, but if your travel takes you to the island before that, you can make your way there via the Sportivnaya station as well (purple line).

Make a stop near the monument to “konka” – the horse-drawn trams that appeared in St. Petersburg in 1863 (at the crossing of Line 6 and Sredny prospect). If you would like to try local cakes, visit Sever-Metropol bakery (#25).

Other attractions along this street are the Novy Museum of Modern Art (#29), the Monument to Vasily (Peter the Great's main engineer and artilleryman), St. Andrew’s cathedral (#11) and Andreyevsky market (#9), which has decent souvenir shop inside. Those who would like to feel the atmosphere of prerevolutionary St. Petersburg, should visit the restored Doctor Poehl pharmacy (#16-18). [Google Street View]

Not enough walking for you? Need more? Head over to the Hermitage and stroll its miles of exhibits. Or you can always do Nevsky again in the opposite direction. Whichever way you go, Piter is always bound to give you something new.

You Might Also Like

Leningrad Region
  • March 15, 2016

Leningrad Region

Alexander Solo is documenting "monotowns" in Russia. He shows us a couple in Leningrad Region, where he lives.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955