Karelia is a very popular destination for short trips, especially among residents of St. Petersburg. Tourists from Moscow and neighboring regions of Russia are also frequent guests in Karelia. For many tourists, the route of travel in Karelia lies through Petrozavodsk.
Petrozavodsk, the capital and largest city of Karelia, is located on the shores of Lake Onega. Lake Onega (by the way, the second largest freshwater lake in Europe) is the main natural attraction of Petrozavodsk. The population of Petrozavodsk is about 280 thousand people.
Petrozavodsk is often one of the points on the route in Karelia, especially for those who travel by car. But you can purposefully come to Petrozavodsk and here buy several excursions to other interesting places in Karelia. If you want to visit only the city itself, then one weekend will probably be enough.
How to get there
You can get to Petrozavodsk by rail. This is the most convenient mode of transport. There is a bus service between St. Petersburg and Petrozavodsk. You can fly from Moscow to Petrozavodsk by plane. But the most interesting thing is to travel around Karelia by car.
Petrozavodsk is crossed by motorways and railroads leading to Murmansk. The distance from Petrozavodsk to St. Petersburg is about 400 kilometers, to Murmansk - 930 km.
The railway station of Petrozavodsk is located in the very center of the city, on Lenin Avenue. The bus station is located at a distance of less than a kilometer from the railway station (behind the railway).
Petrozavodsk Airport (Besovets) is located 12 kilometers northwest of the city. The airport has a bus service to the city center (station), but a taxi is more convenient.
Tickets to Petrozavodsk can be bought online.
Places to visit
City center
Tourists spend most of their time in the city center in Petrozavodsk. Prospekt Lenina, the central street of Petrozavodsk descends from the railway station to Lake Onega. The length of Lenin Avenue is about 2 kilometers. On Lenin Avenue there is a university building, the Severnaya Hotel, several beautiful buildings.
Prospekt Lenina overlooks Onega embankment - the most popular place in Petrozavodsk. In the southern part of the embankment there is a berth for cruise ships. From the pier, Karl Marx Avenue rises up, which passes by Kirov Square, passes into Engels Street, which at the Severnaya Hotel connects with Lenin Avenue. This is the central part of Petrozavodsk.
Onega embankment
Onega embankment is the most popular place for tourists (and locals) to walk in Petrozavodsk (if the weather is favorable).
In the southern part of the Onega embankment there is a pier, from which hydrofoil motor ships leave for Kizhi Island in summer. There is also a small amusement park nearby.
More information about Onega embankment.
Parks near the Lososinka River
The Lososinka River is a small river that flows through Petrozavodsk and flows into Lake Onega a little south of the pier for tourist boats.
The park area stretches along the river from the shore of the lake for several kilometers. Formally, there are several parks in the floodplain that stretch one after another (Gosudarev Garden, Zaretsky Park, Yamka Park, Lososinsky Park, Governor's Garden).
There are good places to walk in the parks. You will see the parks as you walk (for example) along Karl Marx Avenue.