Red Line

What can you expect?

Red line by double decker bus company City Sightseeingwill introduce you to all the famous sights of the historical center of St. Petersburg. On it are the Palace Square and the Winter Palace, St. Isaac's and Kazan Cathedrals, the Admiralty and the Bronze Horseman, the entire Nevsky Prospect, the Summer Garden and much more.

15 stops await you, next to each of which are our signature hiking trails. Get off at the stops and choose what interests you the most.

1. The beginning of the way. Stop "St. Isaac's Cathedral": St. Isaac's Square, 4, at the main entrance to the cathedral.

You can go for a walk along these routes both before the start of the sightseeing bus tour, and after its completion.

«Parade squares of St. Petersburg».

The route runs from St. Isaac's and Senatskaya to Palace Square. It contains the most important sights for which millions of tourists come to St. Petersburg to see them not only on postcards, but also with their own eyes.

«Bankers and Jewelers Street».

If this is not your first time in St. Petersburg and have already seen the most important thing, we invite you to take a walk along one of the most fashionable streets of the city - Bolshaya Morskaya. Wealthy residents of St. Petersburg, including the court jeweler Karl Faberge, lived here, and at the beginning of the 20th century, it was here that many banking buildings and the first telephone exchange in the city were erected.

«Petersburg from above».

St. Isaac's Cathedral is famous for its colonnade, from where you can see the entire center of St. Petersburg from a bird's eye view. But there is often a long line. Did you know that this is far from the only observation deck in the city? We will show you other places with equally impressive views.

2. Stop "Nevsky prospect, 3" (the nearest point is the Wawelberg house, Nevsky prospect 7).

«Palace Petersburg».

After crossing the Nevsky Prospect, you will find yourself on the Palace Square, from where one of the main tourist routes in St. Petersburg, "Palace", begins. Do you want to see the Northern capital in all its splendor? It is here that the main imperial residences and grand ducal palaces, world famous museums, monuments and gardens are located ... And the State Hermitage Museum is also located on this route.

"City of the Architect Rossi" 

Diving under the arch of the General Staff building, you will find yourself on a thematic route dedicated to the creations of the great architect Carl Rossi, who created the most famous buildings in St. Petersburg. The route runs from Senate Square to Lomonosov Square, and you will have the opportunity to go on it more than once.

"Nevsky Prospect-1 (from Malaya Morskaya to Sadovaya Street)" 

You are at the very beginning of Nevsky Prospekt, and from here you can go on a journey along this main street of the Northern capital. Here the aura of Elizabethan and Catherine's times was still preserved, Pushkin, Gogol and Dostoevsky walked past these buildings, St. Petersburg women of fashion shone with their outfits, and instead of the rustling of tires on the asphalt, the clatter of hooves was heard on the cobblestone pavement.

3. Stop "Kazan Cathedral": Kazanskaya square, 2 (the nearest point is Kazan Cathedral)

"Nevsky Prospect-1 (from Malaya Morskaya to Sadovaya Street)" 

Leaving Kazansky Square, you can continue your walk along Nevsky Prospekt.

"Multiconfessional Petersburg" 

You can also visit the Kazan Cathedral itself and several nearby churches of different Christian denominations, or even make a long, but very interesting expedition to multi-confessional St. Petersburg.

Did you know that there are 268 religious associations in our city? The overwhelming majority of believers are Orthodox, Muslims are second in number, then Protestants and Catholics, Buddhists and adherents of Judaism.

4. Stop "Gostiny Dvor": Nevsky prospect, 35, exit from the metro Gostiny Dvor. (the nearest point is the Gostiny Dvor department store)

"Nevsky Prospect-2 (from Sadovaya Street to Vosstaniya Square)" 

Leaving Gostiny Dvor, you can continue your walk along Nevsky Prospekt - the second part of the route begins behind Sadovaya Street. On it you will see many famous monuments of history and architecture, you will find the sights hidden in the courtyards, you will understand how Petersburg looked and lived in different eras.

"Petersburg classics"

This is one of the must see routes for those who have limited time, but want to see the most beautiful places in the Northern capital. A not very long, but very eventful journey through the very center of the city will acquaint you with almost all the Petersburg classics.

5. Stop "Anichkov Palace": Nevsky Prospect, 39. (the nearest point is Anichkov Palace)

"Nevsky Prospect-2 (from Sadovaya Street to Vosstaniya Square)"

Leaving the Gostiny Dvor, you can continue your walk along Nevsky Prospect.

"Fontanka - the border of ceremonial St. Petersburg"

You can also turn along the embankment of the Fontanka River and walk upstream to the Summer Garden, or down to Lomonosov Square - both directions are equally interesting. Indeed, until the middle of the 18th century, the city border passed along the Fontanka, and even when it moved further, beyond the Obvodny Canal, the river remained the southern border of ceremonial Petersburg.

6. Stop "Vladimirsky prospect": Nevsky prospect, 51. (the nearest point is "Saigon")

"Nevsky Prospect-2 (from Sadovaya Street to Vosstaniya Square)"

Leaving the bus at the corner of Nevsky and Vladimirsky avenues, you can still continue your walk along Nevsky.

"Petersburg discoveries: around Liteiny"

But there are directions that are no less exciting than the Nevsky. If you turn onto Liteiny Prospect, you can make many discoveries! It is worth deviating a little from the traditional tourist route along the parade city, and you will find yourself in a completely different Petersburg. On this unusual route, you will find secret gardens, houses with a rich history, colorful graffiti and other interesting places hidden from the eyes of curious passers-by.

7. Stop "Ploschad Vosstaniya": Nevsky pr., 114-116. (the nearest point is the pavilion of the metro station "Ploschad Vosstaniya")

"Bazar-station"

The route with this unusual, funny name really runs from the bazaar - Nekrasovsky market - to the railway station (Moskovsky). It is interesting because two hundred years ago there were pools where the Ligovsky Canal flowed into the center of St. Petersburg, bringing water from the Liga River (now Dudergofka) to the center of St. Petersburg, and because in the middle of the 18th century an elephant was taken along this street - and not just one! And there are also many literary places here.

"Creative Ligovka"

And this route is for those who are interested in the creative life of St. Petersburg. Crossing the Nevsky, you will delve into one of the most creative corners of the city. In the area of Ligovsky Prospect, the concentration of creative spaces, clubs, art galleries and museums is unusually high.

8. Stop "Liteiny Prospect": Nevsky prospect, 74-76. (the nearest point is the Museum of Magic)

The double-decker bus turned around at the Moscow railway station and is moving back along the Nevsky. Getting off at the Liteiny Prospekt stop, you can look into the Museum of Magic located nearby, and then continue exploring the surroundings along the routes you already know:

"Nevsky Prospect-2 (from Sadovaya Street to Vosstaniya Square)"

"Petersburg discoveries: around Liteiny"

"Fontanka - the border of ceremonial St. Petersburg"

9. Stop "Trading House Eliseevs": Nevsky prospect, 54. (the nearest point is Eliseevsky store)

"City of the Architect Rossi"

Here you again find yourself on the route dedicated to the creations of the great architect Rossi - nearby, behind the Alexandrinsky Theater, there is also a street named after him.

"Memory of the blockade"

There is a terrible page in the history of our city - the blockade. The 872 days spent under siege claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, perished from hunger and cold, enemy shelling and air raids. A route passes through this point at the corner of Nevsky and Malaya Sadovaya streets, which brings back memories of these tragic events and the feat of Leningraders who defended the city.

10. Stop "Arts Square": Arts Square, 4, opposite the entrance to the Ethnographic Museum. (the nearest point is the Ethnographic Museum)

A stop at the Arts Square is a great reason to visit the Ethnographic or Russian Museum. After (or - if you wish - instead of) the museums, you can go for a walk along the routes:

"Palace Petersburg"

"Petersburg classics"

"Literary Petersburg"

On the route through the literary sites of the historical center of St. Petersburg, you will find addresses related to the life and work of the most famous Petersburg writers of the 19th-20th centuries - from Pushkin and Dostoevsky to Brodsky and Dovlatov. But first, take a look at the "Stray Dog's Basement"…

11. Stop "Bolshoi Circus": Inzhenernaya st., 13. (the nearest point is the Pavilions of the Mikhailovsky Castle)

If you have not yet visited these sightseeing routes, then you can go on a journey along them now:

"Petersburg classics"

"Fontanka - the border of parade St. Petersburg"

12. Stop "Summer Garden": entrance to the Summer Garden from the side of the emb. the Moika river. (the nearest point is the Summer Garden)

"Sergievskaya, Kirochnaya, Panteleimonovskaya"

Take a walk in the Summer Garden, admire its sculptures and the famous trellis. And then - we recommend you a route that you haven’t been on yet. It passes along the streets of Tchaikovsky (former Sergievskaya), Kirochnaya and Pestel (formerly Panteleimonovskaya). You will learn a lot of interesting things about the ancient buildings and temples located here, aristocratic mansions, tenement houses and bridges.

13. Stop "Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood": Tsaritsynsky passage, opposite the entrance to the cathedral. (the closest point is Savior on Spilled Blood)

"Tragic addresses of St. Petersburg"

"Savior on Spilled Blood" is the popular name of the cathedral, erected in memory of Alexander II, killed by the People's Will. On March 1, 1881, here, on the embankment of the Catherine Canal, an attempt was made on the emperor's life. And the bridge next to the temple bore the name of Grinevitsky for a long time - the assassin of the king.

Having visited one of the most beautiful St. Petersburg cathedrals, you can go along the route dedicated to the tragic events of Russian history. You will walk through the places associated with the death of monarchs and poets, see prisons and temples, honor the memory of the victims of the Leningrad blockade and Stalinist repressions, think about the lessons that must not be forgotten ...

14. Stop "Hermitage": Dvortsovaya emb., 38, across the street from the Winter Palace. (the nearest point is the State Hermitage Museum)

If you have not yet been to the Hermitage, it’s high time to visit. But keep in mind that currently the ticket offices in the museum are closed, and tickets to the Hermitage can only be purchased online, moreover, for certain sessions.

If visiting the Hermitage today is not part of your plans, you can choose one of the routes through the "brilliant St. Petersburg". They are especially beautiful at night, when the famous palaces, bridges and embankments will appear before you in the enchanting architectural illumination.

"Parade squares of St. Petersburg"

"Palace Petersburg"

15. Stop "Admiralteyskaya embankment": Admiralteyskaya embankment, opposite the descent with lions. (the nearest point is the Palace Pier (Descent with Lions)

Here, at the Admiralty building and the famous pier with lions, the Red Line ends, which you took a tour of on double-decker buses Hop On Hop Off and on foot - with the help of the Mobile Guide "Petersburg 24".

But your journey doesn't end there. City Sightseeing has a second, no less interesting line - Zelenaya, with a visit to Vasilievsky Island and the Petrogradskaya Side. A single ticket for Hop On Hop Off buses is valid on both lines.

Green Line Route