Nearest metro: Gostiny Dvor, Nevsky prospekt
The Art Hotel Rachmaninov has a superb central location on Kazanskaya Ulitsa, a historic side-street in the heart of St. Petersburg, just a few steps from Nevsky Prospekt and the magnificent Kazan Cathedral. All major visitor attractions, including the Hermitage, St. Isaac's Cathedral, and the State Russian Museum, are within short walking distance of the hotel, and guests will find themselves ideally situated to enjoy the best of St. Petersburg's downtown shopping, dining, nightlife and entertainment.The nearest metro station - Nevsky Prospekt/Gostiny Dvor - is only just over 100m from the hotel. Moskovsky Station is under 2km from the Rachmaninov, and can be reached by car in less than ten minutes, depending on traffic. Other mainline stations are within 30 minutes' drive of the hotel. Pulkovo International Airport is around 14km from the hotel, and the journey will take upwards of 40 minutes depending on traffic.
Local Sightseeing
Just a few steps from the front door of the Art Hotel Rachmaninov, Kazan Cathedral is one of Nevsky Prospekt's most spectacular sights, and one of the most significant religious buildings in the St. Petersburg. Built between 1801 and 1811 to a design by architect Alexei Vorokhin, its original purpose was to house the miracle-working icon of Our Lady of Kazan, which had brought to St. Petersburg by Peter the Great. Purportedly inspired by the Basilica of St. Peter's in Rome, the cathedral is an awesome neoclassical structure, with curved colonnades stretching out to embrace Nevsky Prospekt around a garden with fountain and statues of Field Marshals de Tolly and Kutuzov, both key figures in the Russian defeat of Napoleon's forces. Turned into a Museum of Atheism under the communists, the cathedral is once again a functioning church, although the interior has yet to be fully restored to its former glories.Running past the cathedral and up to the equally impressive Church of Our Saviour on the Spilled Blood, the Griboedov Canal is arguably the most beautiful of St. Petersburg's central waterways, with its winding granite embankments and several unusual and attractive historic bridges including the nearby Bank Bridge, with its famous gold-winged griffons.
Opposite the Kazan Cathedral on Nevsky Prospekt, the historic Singer Building is one of the finest examples of Style Moderne or Art Nouveau architecture in the city, with its landmark tower and globe and intricate wrought iron decorations. Built in 1904 to house the St. Petersburg store of the Singer Sewing Machine Company, it is now home to Dom Knigi - "House of the Book" - the city's oldest and probably best bookstore.
