Vyborg
Vyborg (Russian: Вы́борг; Finnish: Viipuri; Swedish: Viborg) is a city in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, near the Finnish border. It was Finland's second-largest city until World War II, when it was handed to the Soviets as war reparations.
Get in
Seeing Vyborg is possible as a day trip from Saint Petersburg or Lappeenranta, or as a stopover on the Helsinki–Saint Petersburg train line. From Finland you need a visa, except on some organised cruises.
By plane
Saint Petersburg has good plane connections.
By bus
- Bus excursions depart St. Petersburg's Gostinyy Dvor on weekend mornings and cost about 700 руб, returning to St. Petersburg in the evening, a total of about 10–11 hours.
- International coach lines connect Vyborg to Helsinki, Turku, Lappeenranta and Jyväskylä in Finland. More information from Matkahuolto, Savonlinja, Ecolines, Busvbg and Northpalmira.
By train
Check the website of the Russian railway operator RZD for up-to-date timetables.
- By train from St. Petersburg, express trains and local "elektrichka" trains depart from the Finlandskiy station. Express trains cost 182 руб each way, and tickets can be purchased in advance or at windows 27-30 at the Finland station (not in the main hall) on the day of departure. Beware of long lines if you're attempting to purchase tickets shortly before the train departs. Elektrichka tickets are slightly cheaper for a longer ride and can be purchased in the main hall at Finlandskiy station on the day of travel only.
- Express trains (with upholstered seats and a restaurant car) run between 5 and 10 times per day, and take around 1¼ hr.
- Elektrichkas (with wooden bench-seats and few amenities) run more or less as often as express trains, but take 2¼ hr.
- The major international trains to Helsinki stop in Vyborg, although they are relatively expensive. The high-speed Allegro train travels between St. Petersburg and Helsinki a few times per day, stopping in Vyborg. The journey takes 55 min.
- 1 Vyborg railway station.
By small cruiseliner
In the summer there are daily cruises from Lappeenranta in Finland down the Saimaa Canal to Vyborg operated by Saimaa Travel. If you are arriving and leaving Russia by ship from the same port and staying less than 72 hours you do not need a visa.
By yacht
- See also: Saimaa Canal, Boating in Finland#Gulf of Finland, Boating on the Baltic Sea#Boating in Russia
You can make the same journey by small craft. As the town lies in the Vyborg Bay of Gulf of Finland, it is easily reachable by small craft also from the sea. With small craft you need visa and certain documents; check requirements in advance and follow procedures strictly. Coming from Finland (or the Schengen in general) you need to visit customs also on exit. The customs on the inner fairway is at Santio near the border, the nearest customs by the open sea is on the island Haapasaari off Kotka.
By car
Vyborg is on the highway between St. Petersburg and the Finnish border and you can visit the city if you are driving by.
Get around
Vyborg is compact and walkable. Local buses are available. Those in a hurry can take local bus #12 from the train station to the castle. City maps of Vyborg can be purchased at bookstores in St. Petersburg, at news kiosks at the Vyborg train station, and are sometimes sold at the Vyborg market ("rynok").
See
A walking tour of the major sights of the city can be done in about three to four hours, with 1 Vyborg Castle being the highlight of the tour.
From the train station, walk down Leningradskiy Prospekt and turn right along the embankment of the Salakka-Lakhti Inlet. See the 2 Market Square (Рыночная площадь). on the left at the end of the quay, where one can see the Market Hall or "Rynok" and the 16th-century 3 Round Tower (Круглая башня).. Walk past the Round Tower to the Lutheran 4 Peter and Paul Cathedral. in the park. Cross the street to see the blue-painted 5 Transfiguration Cathedral (Соборная площадь)., then walk up Vyborgskaya Ulitsa past the 6 Council House Tower (Башня Ратуши). along the remnants of the old city wall, then head up the street (this is the least picturesque part of the walk through the Stone City) to see the Clock Tower tucked in among the apartment buildings. Before the Castle Bridge, see the Statue of Torgils Knutsson, the Swedish knight who founded the city in the 13th century. Look across the gulf to the Statue of Peter the Great in the park opposite.
Cross the bridge to Vyborg Castle which was built in 1293 by Swedes, captured by Peter the Great in the 18th century, served as a Finnish prison in the 19th century, and passed between the hands of the Soviets and Finns multiple times during World War II. The castle has several different exhibits, each with its own entry fee, and one can climb to the top of the tower for a nice view of the city. (Tickets for the tower cost 80 руб from the museum cashier.)
Cross back over the bridge and walk up Krepostnaya Ulitsa through the town, turn left on Suvorovskiy Prospekt, see the Alvar Aalto Library and the Statue of a Moose in the park, then proceed to 7 Red square (Красная площадь). and the 8 Statue of Lenin. before heading up Vokzalnaya Ulitsa back to the train station.
Do
Buy
Visit the market hall ("Rynok") and the market square outside, where one can find Karelian knits and woolen clothing, as well as tablecloths and lace among the fruits, vegetables, shoes, and other sundry items. There is a public toilet available in the market, but it is very basic indeed.
- 1 Rynok (Центральный рынок).
Eat
- 1 Slavyanskaya Trapeza (Славянская Трапеза), Ulitsa Yuzhnyy Val, 4/2 (Just across the bridge from Vyborg Castle, in the buildings basement), ☏ +7 813 789-32-99. Serves moderately-priced Russian food, including excellent Chicken Kiev for about 200 руб.
- 2 U Borkharda (У Борхарда), Ulitsa Podgornaya, 10, ☏ +7 931 336-63-63. Quite an extensive menu, including an excellent solyanka. Moderate to high prices in this rustic restaurant with kitsch decorations.
- Restaurant NiKa at the Hotel Atlantik (Ul. Podgornaya 9). Prices are moderate to high.
- Kruglaya Bashnya, a Russian restaurant inside the Round Tower. Not as expensive as you might expect for its prime location, but service is slow.
Drink
Sleep
- 1 Hotel Atlantik, ul. Podgornaya 9 (close to the castle off a main street), ☏ +7 81378 2-47-76. Quiet, clean mid-range hotel with friendly and young English speaking staff. Breakfast included.
- 2 Bat Hotel, ul. Nikolaeva 3 (between Park Lenina and the Salakka-Lakhti Inlet), ☏ +7 81378 3-45-37. Known as "Letuchaya Mysh" in Russian is a mid-range hotel in the same class as the Atlantik.
- 3 Druzhba Hotel, ul. Zheleznodorozhnaya 5. Imposing pyramid structure on the inlet.