I have an itinerary for St. Petersburg but am wondering if it might be too much. Can anyone suggest memorable (or don't miss) highlights so we can actually enjoy ourselves rather than rushing from one museum/palace/church to the next.

mpbear, I recall your posting your concern about this port several times in the past. Have you engaged a private guide? Have they given you choices? Please let us know your plans, and we will all jump in to help, I am sure.

I know it seems daunting...make sure you ask for enough time in the palaces ... all the palaces are magnificent..and the Hermitage...they will push you through..it is Russia..and tell them you are not interested (unless you are) in seeing all the photo ops with their statues, which eat up lots of time.

We missed having time to shop in the Hermitage, to ride in the subway and to go to the flea market. Make sure you allow yourself time to do this. Perhaps those who have done this will tell you how much time you should allow.

I agree with Olivia. You should engage a guide. But, saying that our guide pushed her wishes on us and I saw more statues than I would have liked and did not get to go to the subway or the market.

mpbear, my advice is to assume you cannot do it all because you cannot. I am about to embark on my third cruise visit there. I agree to get a guide. In 2003 I used Ost-West because I wanted a 'walking' tour to try to get the feeling of the city. My guide did exactly what I wanted to do and for the length of time I wanted it.
It sounds like a cop-out, but you need to narrow your parimeters. Do you want to see the most famous places, do you like churches, or art museums, or palaces, maybe shopping or 'real life in the city (or a very little bit of everything). Then I am sure a lot of people here could give you their input.
I love St. Petersburg and cannot get enough of it.
Good luck, and let us know what you like to do.

I agree you should use a private guide. Red October is excellent. In my opinion there are three must see's in St Petersburg -- Catherine's Palace, Peter's Palace and the Hermitage. If you have time for a fourth see the Church on Spilled Blood.

You can see it all in two days. But if you try to do it on your own I think you could be very disappointed since it can be overwhelming. Good luck. Tom.

I agree with Tom. We used Red October and loved every minute of it. St. Petersburg stunning. We would love to go back and take our time. Moscow is wonderful too!!!!!

We were there about 2 years ago. I agree with Tom on the must sees. There is a flea market right across from the Church...so o.k. for some shopping. The Hermitage is wonderful...but interesting that sunlight was shining on those masterpieces....and even dust on the bosoms of some of the statues!
It is a very interesting city.
Enjoy,
Carol

I have never been to St Petersburg but I would base your decisions on how likely you think it is that you will go back in the future. If you don't think you will be back, try to see all you can see realizing that you are skimming over the top of the iceberg.

If you think that you will be back, then I would cover a lot less but do it in depth. Seeing a palace or church in depth means that you wil not have to (unless you really want to) see it on your next visit. When we were in London the first time, we spent hours in Westminster Abbey. True, there were a lot of places we still haven't been to, but at least we know we have seen Westminster throroughly so will skip on later trips. Maybe you can skip the Hermitage if you know you will be back. Why see the hermitage if you spend less time there than they did on Amazing Race. I would love to take days.

We have a collection of top 10 books for many cities. Each book has dozens of lists in them. Although we try to prioritize and schedule our itinerary for efficiency, we realize that we are not going to see it all and don't try.

I agree use Red October they were great.