For a Half Day

Kirovsky Islands: Located to the north of St Petersburg's city centre, the Kirovsky Islands (Kamenny, Yelagin and Krestovsky) are popular outdoor escapes for city dwellers. Many wealthy St Petersburg residents have fabulous homes here, but ordinary people come here for day trips to picnic in the parks, walk along the leafy avenues and go boating on the lakes and canals. This is particularly popular during the White Nights of midsummer. Kamenny can be reached by taking the metro to Chyornaya Rechka and crossing the bridge, while Krestovsky and Yelagin are accessible from the metro station at Krestovsky Ostrov.

For a Whole Day

Petergof (Peterhof): The Grand Palace of Peterhof (tel: (812) 427 9527; website: www.peterhof.ru) is situated some 32km (20 miles) west of St Petersburg on the Baltic coast. Constructed by Peter the Great but extensively remodelled by Bartolomeo Rastrelli during the reign of Empress Elizabeth, this stunning Versailles-style palace was seriously damaged by the Germans in WWII, but the buildings and formal gardens have been carefully restored to their former glory. The gardens are a riot of fountains, water features, gilded statues and ornamental flowerbeds, reaching their pinnacle at the Grand Cascade and Water Avenue. More palaces are dotted around the 600-hectare (1500-acre) estate, including Monplaisir, Peter's original seaside residence at Peterhof.

It is possible to reach Peterhof by train, bus or marshrutka, but by far the most atmospheric way to reach the palace is by hydrofoil along the Neva River. The cruise takes around 45 minutes and hydrofoils leave roughly every half hour from the Hermitage pier (naberezhnaya Dvortsovaya 34). Trains go from Baltisky vokzal to Novy Peterodvets, from where buses 350, 351, 352, 353, 354 and 356 go to the palace. The opening hours are Tuesday-Sunday 1100-1800, and the palace is closed on the last Tuesday of every month. Ticket offices shut down one hour before closing time and there's an admission charge.