This is THE must-do run in St. Petersburg! Many of the city’s sightseeing and architectural highlights are its significant squares and gardens, several built around famous palaces, residences, and museums. Seeing these St. Petersburg highlights makes for a fantastic 9 km run along the grand, wide-open paths of the Summer Garden, Field of Mars, Mikhailovsky Garden, Mikhaylovsky Square, Palace Square & the Hermitage Museum, and Aleksandrovskiy Garden. Paths along the river embankment connect these spots.
Field of Mars. Alexander Shiva
Now, our map for the route might look a little confusing…but it’s actually quite easy to design your own route around these signature spots, choosing your own paths and alleys. Just use this as a guideline! We start at the Marble Museum Palace Embankment. Run away from the river for 1 km along the paths of the Field of Mars, a formally laid-out park on former military ground, with burial sites & monuments to revolutionaries. Cross the river and run into the lovely Mikhailovsky Garden, running west along this landscaped city garden toward the iconic Savior on the Spilled Blood church. Choose waterside or interior walking paths. At the Church, turn LEFT along the river, run by
Palace Square
the Russian Museum, and run through Mikhaylovsky Square, a small park. Head EAST, toward Engineer’s Square, and then back toward the river along Klenovaya Ulitsa for the spectacular approach to St. Michael’s Castle, passing the Monument to Peter 1. Run around the square/grounds there, and then along the Fontanka river embankment into the formally landscaped Summer Garden, which is about 1 km down to the river. Here, at the 4 km mark, head west along the river path for 1 km to the Hermitage Theatre. Here, you’ll do a ~2.5 km loop around the Hermitage Museum grounds, Palace Square, the Winter Palace Garden, and then west through Aleksandrovskiy Garden/Park. At the western end of the park, turn along the path toward the river and the Bronze Horseman, a city landmark commissioned by Catherine the Great, named for a Pushkin poem & completed in 1782. The final 2 km is back east along the river paths.
Add-Ons: Enjoy additional paths in the parks and gardens. Can also add with paths along the embankments of the Neva River, Moyka River, and Fontanka River.
This is THE must-do run in St. Petersburg! Many of the city’s sightseeing and architectural highlights are its significant squares and gardens, several built around famous palaces, residences, and museums. Seeing these St. Petersburg highlights makes for a fantastic 9 km run along the grand, wide-open paths of the Summer Garden, Field of Mars, Mikhailovsky Garden, Mikhaylovsky Square, Palace Square & the Hermitage Museum, and Aleksandrovskiy Garden. Paths along the river embankment connect these spots.
Field of Mars. Alexander Shiva
Now, our map for the route might look a little confusing…but it’s actually quite easy to design your own route around these signature spots, choosing your own paths and alleys. Just use this as a guideline! We start at the Marble Museum Palace Embankment. Run away from the river for 1 km along the paths of the Field of Mars, a formally laid-out park on former military ground, with burial sites & monuments to revolutionaries. Cross the river and run into the lovely Mikhailovsky Garden, running west along this landscaped city garden toward the iconic Savior on the Spilled Blood church. Choose waterside or interior walking paths. At the Church, turn LEFT along the river, run by
Palace Square
the Russian Museum, and run through Mikhaylovsky Square, a small park. Head EAST, toward Engineer’s Square, and then back toward the river along Klenovaya Ulitsa for the spectacular approach to St. Michael’s Castle, passing the Monument to Peter 1. Run around the square/grounds there, and then along the Fontanka river embankment into the formally landscaped Summer Garden, which is about 1 km down to the river. Here, at the 4 km mark, head west along the river path for 1 km to the Hermitage Theatre. Here, you’ll do a ~2.5 km loop around the Hermitage Museum grounds, Palace Square, the Winter Palace Garden, and then west through Aleksandrovskiy Garden/Park. At the western end of the park, turn along the path toward the river and the Bronze Horseman, a city landmark commissioned by Catherine the Great, named for a Pushkin poem & completed in 1782. The final 2 km is back east along the river paths.
Add-Ons: Enjoy additional paths in the parks and gardens. Can also add with paths along the embankments of the Neva River, Moyka River, and Fontanka River.
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Essentials
9.2 km (5.7 mile) loop. Can add on with additional park paths and river paths
A tour of some of the city’s most historic and architecturally intriguing sites, all while offering great views of the Neva River from it’s bridges and embankment paths. Most of the route is along wide riverside paths. Includes a tour of the Peter and Paul Fortress.
A good running option in central St. Petersburg, along the Neva River paths east of the Summer Garden, and through Tauride Garden. The 9 km loop includes Coffee Museum, Universe of Water Museum, Smol'nyy Cathedral, Lamplighter Monument.
A 13 km run along the two canal-like rivers coming off the Neva. There are pleasant walking paths along the Fontanka and Moyka rivers, and the roads along them are generally quieter. Water views, palaces, older buildings.
Centrally located Petrovsky Park has undergone some recent improvements. There are paths around the small park, along the Zhnadovka River, and a running track. Run standalone or in combination with other nearby routes.
Tucked away on its own island northwest of St. Petersburg but accessible via transport, the sprawling green space of Tsentral'nyy Park is surrounded by the mouth of the Neva River on all sides. One loop around is 5 km. Other adjoining islands are good add-ons.
With wide dirt paths through foggy forests and hidden lakes, running in Sosnovka feels a bit like a fairytale. This 302 hectare park north of the city center is one of the largest green spaces in St. Petersburg. It's 7 km around the perimeter, with many interior paths.
Though it requires a little more travel from the center of St. Petersburg than some of our other routes, Kolpino is a unique park on the Chukhonka peninsula. Our map follows the same route as the Parkrun series. 2 loops is a 5 km.
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Essentials
9.2 km (5.7 mile) loop. Can add on with additional park paths and river paths
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Share your feedback on this route and see that of other Great Runs users. Click on the image icon to upload a photo. And please let us know if there are notes or changes we should incorporate!