On the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland, between St Petersburg and Peterhof, the old road runs past a string of palaces and estates that the Russian elite built in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to be near the sea and the court. Among them, near Strelna, stands the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage, a monastery founded in the eighteenth century as a dependency of the great Trinity Lavra of St Sergius near Moscow. It is part of the wide UNESCO listing of St Petersburg's historic centre and the monuments around it.
The monastery's churches, with their domes, bell tower and pastel-coloured walls, stand in grounds that run down towards the sea, and the complex has been restored since the end of the Soviet period, when it was used for other purposes. Many famous figures of Russian history are buried in its cemetery. Nearby, the Konstantin Palace at Strelna has been rebuilt as a state residence, and Peterhof, with its fountains and golden statues cascading down to the sea, is just a short ride further west. In summer, the gardens of these estates are full of flowers, and the light lingers late into the evening during the white nights.
The road along the gulf, the Peterhof highway, is busy, especially on summer weekends when city dwellers head for the palaces and the beaches. The surface is mostly good but traffic can be dense and impatient, and speed cameras are common. Further west, the coast road towards Lomonosov and beyond becomes quieter, with views across the water to Kronstadt and the long dam that protects St Petersburg from floods, which carries a motorway across the gulf. Winters are long, dark and icy, and the riding season runs roughly from May to September.
Before planning a visit, check current travel advice, as many governments advise against travel to Russia and there are significant practical difficulties for foreign visitors. Fuel stations are common along the main roads, and Strelna and the surrounding towns have shops and cafés. Russian cuisine offers hearty options such as borscht, pelmeni dumplings and blini pancakes with sour cream or caviar, and a stop for tea is never a bad idea after a day on the road.