Things to Do in St. Petersburg in September

September is the month the Hermitage stops being a queue and starts being a museum. The summer cruise-ship increase has cleared out. But the building hasn't yet entered the dark winter rhythm where you race daylight. Cool 15°C (60°F) weather outside makes the five-hour marathon through the Winter Palace, Small Hermitage, and General Staff Building sustainable. The Rembrandt Hall and the Gold Rooms, notorious bottlenecks in July, open up by mid-month. Space to breathe.

September happens to be the sweet spot at Peterhof. The Grand Cascade and all 64 fountains still operate, since the seasonal shutdown isn't until mid-October, but the summer hydrofoil crush from St. Petersburg's city pier has eased considerably. The Lower Park's chestnuts and lindens turn copper and amber. The gilded Samson sculpture glows against autumn sky rather than competing with sunburnt crowds. The smell of damp leaves replaces sunscreen on the gravel paths. Cool temperatures around 14°C (57°F) make the long walk from the Marine Canal to the Monplaisir Palace pleasant rather than gruelling. Take your time.

Pushkin, about 25 km (15.5 miles) south of central St. Petersburg, is the imperial summer estate where Catherine the Great held court. The Amber Room is the reason most travellers come. In July the wait to enter that single room can stretch to two hours. In September the queue typically shrinks to thirty or forty minutes. The surrounding Alexander Park looks better in autumn anyway. The canals reflect the yellow-and-rust birches and the smell of woodsmoke drifts from the gardener's outbuildings. Bring a camera.

The Mariinsky's autumn season opens in September, which is when St. Petersburg's actual cultural year begins. The summer programming aimed at tourists yields to repertory work, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Rimsky-Korsakov staged the way the company means to stage them. The historic Mariinsky Theatre on Theatre Square (operating since 1860) and the modern Mariinsky II across the Kryukov Canal both run nightly. Mariinsky II's acoustics arguably suit opera better, though most visitors default to the historic hall for atmosphere. Choose carefully.

St. Petersburg earns its nickname Venice of the North only when you glide beneath its bridges. The Moyka, Fontanka, Griboedov, and Kryukov canals were engineered for boat-level views. September delivers the last reliable weeks before operators pull boats for winter. Diesel mingles with wet stone on the cool air. Granite embankments glow in late-afternoon light. Bank Bridge's gilded griffins photograph best under soft autumn cloud, not flat summer glare.

Peter the Great founded the city on Zayachy Island in 1703. The cathedral within the fortress entombs every Romanov tsar from Peter to Nicholas II. September walking tours shine here. Summer's Neva wind that torments crowds turns into a clarifying 13°C (55°F) breeze. The noon cannon fires daily from the Naryshkin Bastion. It's louder than you expect. Stand on the ramparts for the full effect.