Saint Petersburg/Petrograd Side

The Petrograd Side is a borough in Saint Petersburg consisting of the islands of the northern part of the Neva delta.

Mostly residential, it is also home to several smaller universities, stadiums of FC Zenit and the tallest structure of the city, a 326-m-high TV tower. It includes the Peter and Paul Fortress and the site where Saint Petersburg was founded. In the beginning the city grew around Troitskaya Square, but within a few decades the city center shifted to the opposite bank of the Neva, and until the 1890s this borough, dominated by the fortifications of the Peter and Paul Fortress, remained peripheral. In the late 19th and early 20th century it was quickly built over, centring along Bolshoy Prospekt and Kamennoostrovsky Prospekt. The architecture of that period has remained mostly intact. The islands in the northwestern part of the borough, across the Malaya Nevka, have been a recreational area covered mostly by parks, mansions and sports facilities.

By metro
The borough is served by five Metro (subway) stations:

Transfer to : № 2M, 2Mб, 46, 46а, 180. : № 6, 40. : № К-30, К-46, К-76, К-183, К-223.

Transfer to : № 1, 2М, 2Мб, 10, 25, 46, 128, 191. : № 40. : № К-10, К-46, К-76, К-120, К-127, К-131, К-136, К-141, К-149, К-160, К-175А, К-183, К-209, К-223, К-252, К-298, К-346, К-369, К-690. : № 31, 34

Transfer to : № 1, 5М, 5Ма, 14, 25, 191, 180. : № К-98, К-120, К-131, К-321.

Transfer to : № 10, 25, 25А

Transfer to : № 1, 5М, 5Ма, 10, 128, 135а, 191, 492. : № К-10, К-30, К-32, К-120, К-127, К-141, К-149, К-175, К-183, К-209, К-252, К-298, К-346, К-690. : № 6, 40. : № 1, 7, 9, 31.

By bus
Buses, trolleybuses , trams and marshrutkas  cover the main streets, though they can be crowded and caught in traffic jams during peak hours, as these streets are major commuting routes linking the North to the Vasilievsky Island and Center. Note that Bolshoy Prospekt is a one-way street (southbound) for most of its length, the traffic in the opposite direction follows Bolshaya Pushkarskaya Street.

Get around
Don't confuse Bolshoy Prospekt and Maly Prospekt with the streets of the same name on Vasilievsky Island.

Petrogradsky Island
By far the largest island, served by four of the five metro stations.

Quarters of well-preserved and often beautiful houses from the 1890s-1910s along Bolshoy Prospekt and Kamennoostrovsky Prospekt are off the beaten path and worth exploring.



Aptekarsky Island
Home to the Botanical Garden, TV tower (inaccessible), the Electrotechnical University and medical research institutes



Kamenny Island
Its remarkable early 20th-century villas as well as some earlier buildings are well worth seeing.

Yelagin Island
The island is accessible through footbridges from three sides (Krestovsky Island, Kamenny Island and the mainland to the north). The nearest metro stations are : 'Krestovsky Ostrov', and Staraya Derevnya.

Krestovsky Island
Home to the stadium of FC Zenit (a host stadium during the 2018 FIFA World Cup), an amusement park, and modern residential blocks. It's served to the east by the Krestovsky Ostrov metro station (line M5, purple, towards Komendantskiy Prospect) and to the west, closer to the stadium, by Novokrestovskaya (line M3, green, towards Begovaya).

Sleep
Most travellers choose to stay at the Center. There are a few options available in the northern boroughs as well.

Stay safe
Don't wander anywhere near the stadium after matches of FC Zenit.