Don’t Leave St. Petersburg Without ...

L’Europe in the Belmond Grand Hotel Europe is the gastronomic version of The State Hermitage Museum. The iconic restaurant opened in 1896, with original interiors dating to 1905. Russian aristocracy loved the place. So did Rasputin, Tchaikovsky, and George Bernard Shaw. (Servers told me that Elton John and Prince Charles dined here, too.) The extravagant menu is unforgettable, such as caviar and blini, Kamchatka crab (highly prized giant king crab from the Bering Sea), and beef stroganoff (prepared according to a baroness’s 19th-century family recipe). Heads up: You’ll need individual visas (rather than ship-secured) obtained before the cruise to explore St. Petersburg solo. But it’s so worth it for the culinary rewards.