DAY 1
8.30am
Start the day in a suitably ornate atmosphere at Café Pushkin, the closest a 21st-century visitor can get to taking tea at the Winter Palace.
With its 200-year-old harps, leather-bound books and golden grandfather clocks, the wood-panelled room is Tolstoy chic, right down to the drooping moustaches of the waiters who take your order for prostokvasha, a traditional probiotic milk drink, or caviar and blinis.
10am
Take a pretty 15-minute taxi ride across the river to the biggest expanse of green space in the city, Gorky Park, which has been transformed from Soviet utilitarian to hipster chic in the past few years.
Enter through the monumental triumphal arch supported by a forest of columns and wander around the tulip gardens and old-fashioned amusements parks within, or explore the trendy cafes and boutiques that line the park.If the weather is warm, rent a pedal boat and paddle around the lake.
See also: 48 Hours in Bangkok: Rooftop Bars & Gallery Hopping