South, Saint Petersburg: neighborhood guide

The South is everything below the Obvodny Canal: a belt of former factory districts, Stalinist fronts, later panel apartment blocks and wide roads built for cars rather than pedestrians. It is not a sightseeing quarter in the way the Center is, and most visitors never come here.

Its interest is historical and architectural. This was a strike district in the years before 1917, and the southern edge of the Leningrad siege line in World War II. The Moscow Triumphal Arch, the Chesme Church and the Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad sit along Moskovsky Prospekt, the main artery running south from the center.

Practically, the South is where the city works: the main bus station, Baltiysky Station for suburban trains, and the metro line that reaches toward Pulkovo Airport. If you are here for a few days of classic Saint Petersburg, it is a place to visit, not to base yourself.

Stay if price matters more than position. Hotels and apartments south of the canal are usually cheaper than the Center, and the metro is fast and frequent, so a 15-minute ride puts you on Nevsky Prospekt. Stay if you have an early flight, since the airport side of town is here, or if you are using suburban trains to Peterhof, Oranienbaum, Gatchina or Strelna from Baltiysky Station.

Skip it if this is your first visit and you want to walk out of your door into the historic city. The South has few restaurants aimed at visitors, long unlit stretches between metro stations, and no evening street life comparable to the Center. Families and solo travellers who value being able to walk home at night should pay more and stay central.

A middle option works well: sleep in the Center, then give the South one half-day for the Moscow Triumphal Arch, the Chesme Church and the siege monument, all on Line 2.

Food here is everyday city food: canteens, bakeries, Georgian and Central Asian places, and mall food courts near the big metro stations. Prices are lower than in the Center, and portions are built for locals rather than tourists.

The reliable pattern is to eat near a busy metro station — Moskovskaya, Elektrosila, Frunzenskaya, Baltiyskaya — where offices and colleges keep places full at lunch. Mall food courts at large shopping centres along Moskovsky Prospekt are a safe fallback if you do not read Russian.

For anything special, plan dinner back in the Center. The South is a good place for a cheap lunch between sights, not for a planned evening.

The metro is the only sensible way to move around the South. Line 2 runs from Sennaya Ploshchad through Moskovskie Vorota and Moskovskaya toward Kupchino, with a transfer toward the airport near Moskovskaya. Line 1 serves Baltiyskaya and continues to Prospekt Veteranov. Line 5 stops at Obvodny Kanal, handy for the main bus station, and at Volkovskaya, Bucharestskaya and Mezhdunarodnaya. Line 3 follows the left bank of the Neva to Rybatskoye, with the older industrial streets around Elizarovskaya and Lomonosovskaya.

Baltiysky Station, on the Obvodny Canal embankment, is the southern rail hub and one of Russia's busiest for suburban traffic. Commuter trains leave for Peterhof, Oranienbaum, Gatchina, Luga and Strelna, and there are trains to Aeroport station with bus connections onward to the terminal.

Distances between sights are too long to walk comfortably. Budget for metro rides or short taxi hops, and allow 60–90 minutes door to door if you are heading to Pulkovo Airport by metro plus bus.