St Petersburg has more than enough attractions to keep you busy for a week or more, but at some point even the most intellectual person will get a little tired of museums. To shake things up a bit, here are three offbeat things to do in Russia’s cultural capital.
Go to a SKA Hockey Game
St Petersburg’s local hockey team, SKA, is one of the founding members of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), and as a result, it takes hockey seriously. This is a great opportunity to see world-class hockey for half the price of the NHL. The arena can easily be reached by taking metro line 4 to Prospekt Bolshevikov station.
Check the game schedule on the KHL website: Sort by team to see all of SKA’s games and remember to make sure that they are playing at home. Click on a game to purchase tickets via Kassir.ru. Some games may not have tickets available all the time, we haven’t exactly figured out why this is, but check back again to see whether more tickets are available. You can also purchase tickets in person at the SKA merchandise store on Nevsky Prospect no. 23.
Ride the World’s Longest Escalators
Soviet metro systems are renowned for their depth, and St Petersburg is no exception. Its stations have the longest escalators in the world, and if you take even a few trips on the metro you will get to experience them in all their glory. At Ploshchad Lenina, Chernyshevskaya, and Admiralteyskaya stations, you can ride escalators up to 138 meters long and 69 meters high. If you’re travelling alone, you might want to have a book handy – these escalators aren’t speedy and a ride down to the train can take a solid couple of minutes.
Enjoy Sea Views at Krestovsky Island
If the city is getting too much, you can escape to the sea with a quick metro ride to Novokrestovskaya station (line 3). Exiting the metro, you’ll be faced with a huge stadium from the 2018 FIFA World Cup on one side and the Gulf of Finland on the other. This might not be the most traditionally scenic location, but is it generally not crowded and the boardwalk and views over the water are pleasant. For a bit more adventure, walk around the stadium through Primorsky Park Pobedy to the Divo Ostrov amusement park and Krestovskiy Ostrov metro station. This walk will take about an hour from the waterfront.
Bonus: Go Bowling
Maybe you have time to kill before a sleeper train to your next destination, or maybe you want to relive the glory days of your 12th birthday party. Whatever the reason, we highly recommend an hour or two at PiterGame. This alley with many lanes is conveniently located on the third floor of the mall west of Ulitsa Yefinova, just south of Sennaya Ploshchad station metro. Billiards and other indoor games are also available. Check prices on their website here – bowling will set you back about 500 roubles per hour.
