New Holland Island Walk (Self Guided), St. Petersburg

The Moika River encompasses one of the most intriguing areas in St. Petersburg. This small river encircles a central portion of the city, known as the island of New Holland. It was founded by Peter the Great in 1719, not long after construction of St. Petersburg had started.

It housed buildings that served a number of purposes, including a facility for shipbuilders, warehouses, a laboratory and even a naval prison. The triangular-shaped island and the riverbank are wonderful escapes from the busy city, and many people come here to hike among picturesque scenery.

Stroll along the embankment and be sure to bring your camera with you to capture stunning scenes. There are 15 bridges over to the island which is filled with old warehouses. Currently, there are plans to redevelop the whole site, and this will include museums and exhibition halls inside the old buildings.

One of the best times to be in the locale is in the summer for the Summer on New Holland program. During this time the island is transformed into a cultural haven, with public art exhibitions, cafés, lectures, parties and open-air markets. There also athletics fields, volleyball courts, children’s play areas, concerts and DJ sets. With so much to see and do, you will have to keep coming back to enjoy new experiences each day.

Image Courtesy of Wikimedia and Evgeny Gerashchenko.

How it works: A discovery walk features a route using which you can explore a popular city neighborhood on your own. This walk, along with other self-guided walks in over 1,000 cities, can be found on the app "GPSmyCity: Walks in 1K+ Cities" which can be downloaded from iTunes App Store or Google Play to your mobile phone or tablet. The app's built-in GPS navigation functions allow following this walk route with ease. The app works both online and offline, so no data plan is needed when traveling abroad.

Download The GPSmyCity App

Create Your Own Self-Guided Walks in St. Petersburg

Guide Name: New Holland Island Walk
Guide Location: Russia » St. Petersburg
Guide Type: Self-guided Walking Tour (Discovery)
Travel Distance: 2.2 Km or 1.4 Miles
Author: vickyc

Walking Tours in St. Petersburg, Russia

Create Your Own Walk in St. Petersburg

Creating your own self-guided walk in St. Petersburg is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.

St. Petersburg Introduction Walking Tour

Russia's northern capital, Saint Petersburg is the country's second largest city where nearly every stone breathes history. It is named after apostle Saint Peter and traditionally dubbed by the Russians as “the Window to Europe” “opened” by Peter the Great on 27 May 1703 on the site of a captured Swedish fortress amid the swamp and the Neva River.

The city is integral with... view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 4.3 Km or 2.7 Miles

Bolshevik Revolution Walking Tour

When thinking of the events that changed the course of history in the 20th century, one of the first places that comes to mind is St. Petersburg. The “cradle of three revolutions” waged against the Tsarist autocracy saw the country's most important revolutionary events unravel, sending shock waves across the entire globe. What started in February 1917, reached its climax in October when... view more

Tour Duration: 4 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 9.8 Km or 6.1 Miles

Nevsky Prospekt Walking Tour

Nevsky Prospekt (Avenue) is the main artery of Saint Petersburg, named after the Alexander Nevsky Lavra (monastery) found at the eastern end of it. The monastery commemorates a prominent warlord and legendary figure in the Russian history, Prince Saint Alexander Nevsky (1221–1263).

Upon his founding of the city in 1703, Tsar Peter the Great planned the course of the street as the outset of... view more

Tour Duration: 3 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.1 Km or 1.9 Miles

Russian Literary Heritage Walking Tour

If you're an ardent fan of Russian literature, St. Petersburg is undoubtedly your dream destination. Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Gogol, Nabokov and many other Russia's literary greats have blessed this city with their presence – born, lived, worked, or set their characters here. To a great extent, St. Petersburg is a huge stone book, whose pages have been created by prominent Russian... view more

Tour Duration: 3 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 5.9 Km or 3.7 Miles

Vasilyevsky Island Walking Tour

Situated just across the river from the Winter Palace, Vasilyevsky Island constitutes a large part of Saint Petersburg's historic center.

There are various versions of the origin of the island's name suggesting either Vasily-related etymology or perhaps just a corruption of the previous Swedish or Finnish name, e.g. Vasikkasaari (“Calf Island”). Legend has it, however, that some... view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.7 Km or 1.7 Miles

Useful Travel Guides for Planning Your Trip

16 Unique Russian Things to Seek in St. Petersburg

The "cradle of two revolutions", St. Petersburg bears cultural and historic significance for Russia that is hard to overestimate. Perhaps, nearly every stone in the downtown part of the city breathes history and can qualify as a memorable souvenir, although picking up them for such purpose...