St. Petersburg is the well-known historical capital of a huge country. Many people call this city Northern Venice, implying that the streets are built on water. This unforgettable beauty city stands on islands surrounded by water. Therefore, the city has many canals and rivers. For fast movement on the rivers, townspeople use boats and motor ships. For tourists, such trips are the best way to see all the sights.
City on the water
St. Petersburg was built on the islands, so kilometers of rivers and canals stretched across the city. Throughout, you can see the chic promenades along which it is nice to walk at any time of the year.
The city is relatively young. After all, it was founded only 3 centuries ago by the great emperor. The city has changed its name more than once, but its grandeur and beauty, which shakes every tourist and never ceases to amaze indigenous people, remains unchanged.
There are not many cities like St. Petersburg around the world where you can see so many amazing sights. This city is a truly valuable historical heritage, not only for Russia.
Surrounded by bright colors of spring, on sunny summer days, at dusk of white nights and frosty days in winter, the city appears to visitors in all its glory of the royal buildings, numerous rivers and canals of St. Petersburg, which make it one of the most beautiful cities in Russia.
Water structure of St. Petersburg
In addition to natural rivers and lakes, the city has many artificially created canals and ponds. About 300 km of waterways flow through the city. The rivers and canals of St. Petersburg are an important transport structure in the city, where there are about 90 rivers.
During the day, due to the reduced bridges, the movement of ships is difficult. But at night, nothing prevents you from moving along the water part of the city.
The most famous rivers: Fontanka, Moika and Ekaterinofka. The largest channel is Obvodnaya, 8 km long, and the second longest (5 km) is the Griboedov Canal.
Excursions are held on all rivers and canals of St. Petersburg , motor ships, boats, meteors are constantly moving .
Water transport
In addition to land transport, the city has a well-developed network of water transport.
In the season from May to September, you can ride on the rivers and canals of St. Petersburg on the river tram, which is also very convenient to use for sightseeing. In addition, you can ride on the boat. On the rivers you can see different models of sea transport. There is an open deck, there are closed and with a transparent top, which is convenient to travel in bad weather, because in the sun can be a little uncomfortable under the hot plastic.
Walking along the rivers and canals of St. Petersburg is a favorite form of transportation not only for guests of the city, but also for local residents.
One of the fastest ways to get from St. Petersburg to Peterhof is the Meteor motor ship. Such a trip takes only 35 minutes.
There are taxis both on land and on rivers. River taxis are small boats for which there are special stops, for example, on Universitetskaya Embankment.
River and canal sightseeing tours
If you plan a trip to the Northern capital, you should definitely include a boat trip along the rivers and canals of St. Petersburg in the tour . This walk will leave a completely exceptional impression of the city. The view of the city from the side of numerous rivers is a truly different view of historical beauty.
In St. Petersburg there are many travel agencies that engage in excursions. To get the most out of your trip, you should turn to a company that conducts cruises along the rivers and canals of St. Petersburg together with a guide.
The most common trips are tours of the rivers Neva, Fontanka, Moika. The most popular channels are the Griboedov Canal, the Kryukov Canal. It is definitely worth looking at the Anichkin Bridge, Egyptian Bridge and the Kisses Bridge from the water. Only from the riverside you can see all the beauty and grandeur of ancient architecture, which strikes with its uniqueness and magnificence.
You can choose excursions that show more palaces along the Neva. There are tours with a trip to the Gulf of Finland, as well as those that show the northern islands of the city - Kamenny, Petrogradka, Elagin.
One of the unforgettable impressions will, of course, be a night trip on a boat during the construction of bridges. Many tourists go to the city at this time, but such observations will increase romance if you swim near bridges during this period. Truly impressive!
Guided tours on the water can also be carried out on individual orders. The main tours show historical monuments, buildings, excellently preserved since the time of Peter, but individual boat trips can be along small rivers and canals, far from tourist routes.
If an excursion tour of the canals was not immediately planned, then you can use the services of the touts at the quays. They will tell you what trips are possible from the place where you are, the cost and duration of the tour.
The price of a cruise along the rivers and canals of St. Petersburg is not so high as to think about whether to go. View the city from a small boat - this is a great opportunity to learn about it as much as possible.