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The Baltics and in particular St Petersburg have long been a draw for cruise ships with so much to offer the would be visitor.

St. Petersburg is an amazing city for sightseeing, with its abundance of art-filled galleries and awe inspiring architecture to explore. Stroll along the Nevsky Prospekt and have a coffee at a local café or visit one of the many palaces or museums that the city has to offer.

My Top 5 or is it 6 things not to be missed are:

1. Hermitage Museum and Winter Palace

Founded by Catherine the Great in 1764 so she could house her private art collection, this complex has six buildings, including the Winter Palace, which was the home of the Tsars for almost 200 years. It was not open to the public until 1852, and attracts more than two million visitors each year. It is literally bursting at the seams with art from the likes of Da Vinci and Picasso.

2. The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood

This iconic and easily recognisable icon of architecture, The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood is one of the main attractions in St. Petersburg, drawing crowds to its ornately decorated onion domes and the stunning mosaics housed within. It was commission in 1883 by Alexander III as a tribute to his slain father, Alexander II, who was assassinated on this site by a group of revolutionaries. Hence its name.

3. The Peterhof Palace & Garden

If you’re visiting St. Petersburg this summer, the Peterhof Palace & Garden is an absolute must-do. The Peterhof lures visitors with its Versailles-inspired palace, which overlooks a cascade of fountains and gardens opening onto the Baltic Sea.” A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Peterhof was the inspiration and summer home of Peter the Great. The palace itself is stunning but it is the gardens with its hundreds of fountains that really capture your imagination.

4. The Russian Museum

The Russian Museum boasts the largest collection of Russian fine art in the city. Its main part has been housed in the neoclassical Mikhailovsky Palace since 1895. The Russian Museum also consists of the Marble Palace, the Mikhailovsky Castle, the Stroganov Palace and the Benois Wing. The complex is so large, make sure you allow enough time to take it all in.  It might even be worth doing some research on what is in the museum so you can go armed with a plan of action to see the things you don’t want to miss.

5. St. Isaac’s Cathedral

The construction of St. Isaac’s Cathedral was undertaken by Alexander I in the early 1800s, but was not completed until 1858 after a mammoth 40 years of construction. In its history St. Isaac’s survived Nazi shelling in World War II. St. Isaac’s Cathedral has an imposing exterior presence with its single massive dome, but you’ll not want to miss its opulent interior either, with columns made of single chunks of granite, malachite, and lazurite. Its floors of different-coloured marble and its many frescoes.

Oops nearly forgot one you cannot miss!

6. The Russian Vodka Museum!

This popular tipple dates right back to the 12th century and the perfect place to sample Russian vodka is located in St Petersburg’s former military stables. Exhibitions at the Russian Vodka Museum illuminate the story of the spirit’s production and its cultural importance, detailing its rise in popularity and refinement from a drink for medieval peasants to the favorite tipple of the Russian aristocracy in the 19th century. There are displays include shot glasses, an enormous collection of unusual vodka bottles, posters from advertising campaigns and ancient equipment used in distillation. Plus of course all visits to the museum terminate with a tasting of several different flavoured vodkas accompanied by Russian snacks known as zakuski – ‘little bites’ of caviar, salads, pickles, smoked meats or fish normally served with flatbread as hors d’oeuvres before dinner but great to eat as you taste.

Now that is my kind of excursion.

There are of course many other attractions including St Petersburg Palace Square, the Admiralty Building, Yusupov Palace, Peter and Paul Fortress and the Monument to Catherine the Great to name but a few.

However, the issue with St Petersburg is that you can only go ashore on an organised Tour which usually comes with a Visa included. If you want to do your own thing which many cruise passengers increasingly do you have to pre-purchase a Russian visa which is not only costly but can be a bit of a rigmarole to obtain as you need a letter of invitation, usually provided by the cruise line to get one.

So here is where you need to pay attention.

With St Petersburg expecting 243 ships this Summer and more than 540,000 passengers, a huge increase of 19 percent since 2016, The Authorities have realised they need to capitalise on this influx of visitors. So, to facilitate this a framework has already been put into place for the port and airport with the aim to introduce electric visas and a 72-hour visa-free arrival program.

It has not yet been finalised but if and I think it is more like when it is, travel to this stunning Capital will suddenly get a lot more interesting.

Have you been? Have you got any tips to share? Then please feel free to comment.