On the north shore of the Neva Bay, at the edge of the modern city, lies Lakhta, a district that was a village of Finnish and Ingrian farmers when Peter the Great first built his capital. By the nineteenth century the waterfront was dotted with country estates for the St Petersburg aristocracy, and the Steinbock-Fermor family held one of them, a park of old trees and lawns with a manor house by the Gulf of Finland. The estate park, shaded and quiet, is the kind of place where the city's dacha culture began.
The coast here has changed beyond recognition. Looming over the old shoreline is the Lakhta Center, a glass tower finished in 2019 and, at about 462 metres, the tallest building in Europe. It has a twisting form, said to echo a flame or a spire, and it can be seen for miles across the flat land and water. The contrast between the low wooden villas and the huge tower is the strongest impression of the district, and the long beach below it is where the city's families go for a swim in July.
The landscape is a flat, sandy shore of pine woods, reed beds and shallow water, with the gulf freezing solid in winter and anglers drilling holes in the ice. The smell is of pine and brackish water. At midsummer the nights are never fully dark, and a stroll along the shore at eleven in the evening is possible in a pale, silver light.
Riding in Saint Petersburg is a matter of patience. Roads are wide but crowded, with trams, fast taxis and deep potholes after winter, and the surface can be hard on a motorcycle. The coastal highway is a better option for a stretch, and the ring road is useful for crossing the city. Early morning on a Sunday is calm. Fuel is easy to find, with several stations in Lakhta and Olgino, and Untolovo and the neighbouring districts have shops and cafés. Entry rules and conditions for foreign visitors can change quickly, so check before planning a trip. May to September is the best season, though the white nights of June are the high point.