To the south of St. Petersburg there is a great variety of cultural and historical sites. Many manors and palaces, defensive and church buildings were built here during the Russian Empire. In our trip we will try to see the most interesting of them. It was decided to start our journey with a visit to Gatchina, after which we plan to move further south. On the way we will visit some of the most interesting museums, as well as visit famous monuments and ancient castles. We plan to return to St. Petersburg via Kingisepp along the coast of the Gulf of Finland.
We are going on a journey through the Leningrad region, first we will go south to the city of Luga. On the way we will visit several monuments and also go on a couple of excursions to local museums.
Our trip began with a visit to one of the most beautiful places in the Leningrad region, the Palace Park in Gatchina. The walk here took place mainly near the shore of the White Lake. There are many small islands on the lake, which are connected to each other by small bridges. There are also many different statues and sculptures in the park.
Not far from the village of Kobrinskoye there is another interesting place - the house of the great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin's nanny Arina Rodionovna. Here you can recreate the peasant way of life and the environment of those historical times, get acquainted with the early years of the writer's life, and learn a lot about his ancestors. The museum is open from Wednesday to Sunday.
After a fascinating excursion, we moved on. And at some point we wanted to have lunch, and we stopped at a small cafe bar called "On Deck". The atmosphere here is quite simple, the range of dishes is also standard. We decided to order ourselves some salads and light snacks.
We were on our way to the town of Luga when we wanted some fresh air. To do that, we stopped at the memorial of partisan glory. I must say that the monument itself is very well-groomed. There's a small walking area around.
After coming to town, we still had some time to spare, which we decided to spend on a walk in one of the squares. There is also a small walking area, a stele "City of Military Glory", as well as commemorative signs to the heroes who defended these places during the Great Patriotic War.
After the walk, we went to dinner at Chaplin Restaurant. The menu was unsophisticated, but the food was tasty, we took baked potatoes with grilled meat.
Today we leave the town of Luga and go to Kingisepp. The path will not be close, but we plan to dilute our trip with walks through historical places of this region. In the evening after our arrival in the city there will be a walk through the parks of the city.
On the way, we stopped at another rather large memorial of military glory. As with other similar memorials, the area around the monument is very well-groomed and tidy, there is a small area where you can wander a little and reflect, around the monument there are commemorative signs.
The next stop on the way to Kingisepp was unfortunately the ruined Redkino Estate. A whole pleiad of buildings once were owned by the nobility, and representatives of the bourgeoisie, in the Soviet period there was a school, after which the estate was abandoned. It is generally pleasant to walk here. Although one must be careful, as the buildings are very dilapidated.
In Kingisepp, we stopped for lunch in a small cafe serving Asian cuisine. We took rolls, sushi and udon, we were satisfied.
In the evening we were in no hurry, so it was decided to walk around town. We wanted to start walking in the park, where there are several beautiful city fountains. In the evening it can be quite crowded, but the experience is not overshadowed.
The next place we went on our walk through Kingisepp was the historic Romanovka Park. There is also a fairly large area for the promenade, decorated with trees and bushes. In the center of the park there is a monument in the form of a bronze lion in honor of the hero of the Patriotic War, General KI Bistrom.
It's a great trip, isn't it? And for it to be dynamic, come to the Gazpromneft filling station, take water and a snack.
After a long walk, when we were hungry, we went to a small Italian restaurant La Provincia. It was very cozy and peaceful here. We chose several traditional Italian dishes, including spaghetti carbonara and lasagna. The service also left pleasant impressions - quickly and qualitatively.
Today ends our trip to the Leningrad region. We leave Kingisepp and go to St. Petersburg. On the way we plan to visit ancient fortresses and military fortifications that once guarded these lands.
One of the most interesting historical buildings in this region is Ivangorod Fortress. It was erected before the birth of Ivan the Terrible and for a long time served as an important defensive frontier against western invaders. It is now part of the Ivangorod Museum Complex, and every day there are exciting guided tours telling about the rich past of these lands. The fortress is located in the border zone, so it is necessary to arrange a pass in advance, which can be done by contacting the contacts listed on [website](http://lenoblmus.ru/museum/ivangorodskiy/) of the museum.
Another interesting and very ancient defensive structure in this region is Koporskaya Fortress, located to the north of Kingisepp in the village of Koporje. We took a walk around the territory, as the fortress itself is still under reconstruction.
After the excursion we went to a small town called Pine Forest, where we intended to have lunch. After a short wander in the streets we stopped at the cafe "Spice&Strast". The service of the place seemed to us to be very quick and competent. Among the dishes we liked stewed potatoes with vegetables, as well as tuna and meat salads.
In the afternoon we moved along the shore of the Gulf of Finland towards St. Petersburg. On the way we decided to make a short stop at the Krasnaya Gorka defensive fort, which once cut off the approaches to Kronstadt. There are still remains of some defensive structures here, as well as railway transporters.
On this journey we have stopped more than once near the memorials of the Great Patriotic War, and this time we have not changed the existing tradition and stopped near the monument to the defenders of the Leningrad sky, which is located in the heart of the city of Lebyazhie.
Passing through Kronstadt, we stopped for dinner at a small café-bakery "Briosh". Facility's interior is made in very modern style, polite service also left quite pleasant impressions. Having drunk a few glasses of coffee and snacked locally made cakes, we moved on to St. Petersburg.