A small Russian town near Lake Ladoga with wooden Art Nouveau buildings from the 1900s, Finnish-built granite train station, and traditional Karelian crafts.
In Sortavala, a small town on Lake Ladoga's northern shore in Russian Karelia, you can walk past 1900s Finnish-designed buildings, explore underground marble caves, and take boat trips across the lake to ancient monasteries. The town's location between Saint Petersburg and Petrozavodsk makes it a practical stop to experience Russian Karelia's architecture, landscapes, and traditional food.
Getting to Sortavala
Trains run regularly from Saint Petersburg to Sortavala, with the journey taking about 5 hours. The railway station sits 1.3 kilometers from the town center. Buses connect Sortavala with both Petrozavodsk and Saint Petersburg, stopping at the central bus station on Kirov Street. If you're driving, the town is 270 kilometers from Saint Petersburg and 240 kilometers from Petrozavodsk.
Exploring Ruskeala Mountain Park
You'll find this former marble quarry 30 kilometers from Sortavala, with its dark emerald water surrounded by marble cliffs. Workers extracted marble from here for many Saint Petersburg buildings. Take a trolley ride over the quarry, walk the eco-paths, or venture into the underground mine shafts. In winter, you can ice skate on the cave's bottom or try dog sledding in the surrounding area.
Architecture Along Karelskaya Street
Walk along Karelskaya Street to see stone buildings from the early 1900s, built in Northern Art Nouveau and neoclassical styles by Finnish architects. Look for the 1915 Bank of Finland building, the 1905 United Bank building, and wooden Empire-style houses from the mid-1800s. The wooden Town Hall from 1885 remains one of the oldest structures in Sortavala.
Local Art and Museums
Visit the Kronid Gogolev Museum on Komsomolskaya Street to see detailed 3D wooden carvings showing daily life in Karelia and scenes from the Kalevala epic poem. At the Regional Museum Center of Northern Ladoga on the Ladoga Flotilla embankment, you can learn about the area's history and culture through local artifacts and exhibitions.
Food and Local Specialties
Try Karelian salmon in traditional fish soups like lohikeitto, or sample it marinated or salted. Look for kalitki - small open rye pastries filled with potato, rice, or fish. Local restaurants serve berry-based drinks made from cloudberries and cranberries, along with other northern specialties like mushroom pie and whitefish dishes. Most restaurants serving traditional food cluster around the town center.
Boat Trips to Valaam
During navigation season, boats leave from the main wharf (350 meters from Kirov Square) to Valaam Island. The journey to reach the Valaam Monastery takes several hours, passing through the rocky Ladoga Skerries archipelago. The monastery complex includes several churches and chapels spread across the island's forest landscape.
