Krestovsky Island, St Petersburg

Is Krestovsky Island worth visiting?

Yes, if you have a second or third day in St Petersburg and want a break from palaces. It is the city’s big green playground: a long park with ponds and swans, a funfair, a spaceship-shaped stadium and a breezy walk to the Gulf of Finland — all free except the rides.

No, if you only have one day. The Hermitage, Peter and Paul Fortress and the canals are in the centre; Krestovsky is a pleasant extra, not a must-see. It works best on a warm, dry day — in rain or strong wind the open gulf shore is grim.

Families get the most out of it. Kids have Divo Ostrov, the swan pond and boat hire; adults get two kilometres of lime-tree avenue and a view of the Lakhta Center across the water.

Is it free? Opening hours

The island and Maritime Victory Park are free and open around the clock. Krestovsky is an ordinary part of the city — there are no gates or ticket desks. You only pay for the rides at Divo Ostrov, a stadium tour, boat hire or food.

Divo Ostrov’s wristbands are valid until 20:00. Stadium tours run on set dates, not every day, and never during a match. The metro runs from roughly 5:40 until about 0:30.

On match days and big concert nights at the Gazprom Arena, roads near the stadium close and tens of thousands of fans fill the metro and the avenues. Check the fixture list before you go — a quiet park walk and a Zenit home game don’t mix.

Divo Ostrov amusement park: prices

Divo Ostrov sits at the eastern end of the park, at Krestovsky Prospekt 21, a few minutes from the metro. The park says it has more than 40 rides — from big thrill rides to toddler carousels.

Official prices: single rides 250–2,000 ₽. The priciest are the Booster (2,000 ₽), the Catapult (1,850 ₽) and the Rocket (1,800 ₽). The big Ferris wheel is 700 ₽ (3,500 ₽ for a private cabin), the small one 450 ₽. Kids’ rides are mostly 250–450 ₽.

The Universal wristband costs 8,000 ₽ for anyone 1.10 m and taller, lasts until 20:00 and excludes the Catapult, Booster, Rocket and pedal boats. Tickets are valid only on the day you buy them, and wristbands aren’t refunded if rides close for bad weather. Our take: the wristband only pays off if you plan a dozen or more rides; for a few spins with a child, buy single tickets. Bring cash — foreign cards won’t work.

Maritime Victory Park

Primorsky Park Pobedy — Maritime Victory Park in English guides — was planted by volunteers on 7 October 1945 to mark the victory in the war and opened in 1950. A triple lime-tree avenue runs about two kilometres east to west, from Divo Ostrov to the stadium, with ponds on both sides.

The Second Northern Pond, known as Swan Lake, has a swan nursery and is the park’s favourite stop with children. Look out for the post-war statues — the Black Sea Sailor, the Baltic Sailor and the Girl Greeting the Victors. In summer there are boat and pedalo hire, playgrounds and coffee kiosks.

It’s the best free reason to come: an unhurried 60–90 minutes from the metro to the gulf.

Gazprom Arena stadium tour

Zenit’s home ground stands on the western tip of the island, on the site of the old Kirov Stadium. Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa designed it — the project was nicknamed “the Spaceship” — with a retractable roof and a pitch that slides out. It hosted its first official match on 22 April 2017, then the 2017 Confederations Cup final, seven 2018 World Cup games and Euro 2020 matches.

Outside match days you can go inside on a guided tour of about 1 hour 15 minutes: VIP boxes, the press area, dressing rooms, the players’ tunnel and pitch side. Tours are sold by several operators at different prices; sales close 24 hours ahead and you need your passport.

If football isn’t your thing, skip the tour — the stadium’s best side is its silhouette from the gulf embankment, and that’s free.

What to see on Krestovsky Island

• Maritime Victory Park — the lime avenue, Swan Lake and post-war sculptures.
• Gazprom Arena — the stadium from the waterfront; inside only on a tour.
• Divo Ostrov — rides and a big Ferris wheel looking over the park.
• Yakhtenny footbridge — high over the Bolshaya Nevka, with the stadium, the gulf and the Lakhta Center in one view.
• Yuzhnaya Doroga — the Malaya Nevka riverside path, busy with joggers and rollerbladers.
• Belosselsky-Belozersky summer palace — built in the 1840s by Andrei Stakenschneider and rebuilt in the 2000s; outside only.
• Dynamo stadium and the monument to the 1942 Siege Match.
• The footbridge to Yelagin Island, next to the metro, if you have energy for one more park.

A short history

The island is older than the city’s name for it: Finnish maps called it Ristisaari, “cross island”. Nobody knows why for sure — a chapel with a tall cross, a cross dug up by builders and a cross-shaped lake are the three stories told.

From 1803 to 1917 it belonged to the Belosselsky-Belozersky princes, whose family names still label the streets. In the 20th century it turned into the city’s sports island: Dynamo stadium (1929), the Kirov Stadium and the victory park after the war, and the Gazprom Arena and Yakhtenny footbridge in 2017.

Krestovsky Island vs Yelagin Island vs Summer Garden

Krestovsky and Yelagin make one easy outing from a single metro station. Short on time? The Summer Garden is right in the centre, next to the main sights.

St Petersburg by the water, compared

St Petersburg’s waterside places rated by YesGo. Tap a column heading to sort.

Nearby — add to your day

36

Yelagin Island

St Petersburg, Russia

1 h 30 min · Free weekdays, 200 ₽ at weekends · 13 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Yelagin Island

How to do it right

• Free in 90 minutes: Krestovsky Ostrov metro → Swan Lake → the lime avenue → the waterfront by the Gazprom Arena → back from Zenit station.
• With kids, do Divo Ostrov first while they still have energy, then the swans and boats.
• Avoid match days — the metro, the avenues and the cafés fill with fans.
• Pair it with Yelagin Island: the bridge is about 10 minutes from the metro.
• Back to the centre on Line 5 — Admiralteyskaya for Nevsky Prospect in about 15 minutes.
• First time in the city and torn between Krestovsky and Peterhof? Go to Peterhof; save Krestovsky for a relaxed day.

Questions