St. Petersburg Russia

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the city has been rapidly making up for lost time and is by far the most cosmopolitan of Russia's cities.

Now formally known by its original name again, most Russians call it what they always have, the friendly diminutive Piter.

Festivals in St. Petersburg

During the last 10 days of June, the longest days of the year, St. Petersburg celebrates the White Nights in a cultural extravaganza. Book early as accommodation and transport can be packed during this time.

Travel by by Plane

Pulkovo Airport (LED) serves a wide variety of destinations in nearby countries and within Russia. Terminal 1 serves domestic flights, while Terminal 2 is for international connections. The airport is 17 kilometers from the center.

Taxis infest the airport, but the prices are astounding, working out about 50 euros to get into St. Petersburg. Instead, take a bus to the nearest Metro station, Moskovskaya, which will cost you all of 14 RUR. From there you can get anywhere on the St. Petersburg Metro for a 10 RUR token.

Travel by Train

St. Petersburg is a major train hub. The 5-hour train ride from Helsinki (Finland) is one of the most comfortable ways to reach the city. Trains also connect to destinations in the Baltics and Central Europe. Alternatively, you can head inland to Moscow.

There are five principal stations:

Moscow Station: for Moscow, Novgorod, Murmansk, the Ukraine, Belarus.

Metro: Ploshchad Vosstaniya and Mayakovskaya. Vitebsk Station: for Pushkin (formerly Tsarskoïe Selo), Pavlovsk, Vitebsk, Belarus and large foreign cities.

Metro: Pushkinskaya. Baltic Station: for Petrodvorets (Peterhof), Lomonossov (Oranienbaum).

Metro: Baltiskaya. Warsaw Station: for Warsaw, Berlin, Budapest, the Baltic states (Riga, Tallinn, Vilnius). Nearest metro: Baltiskaya and Frunzenskaya.

Ladozhki Station: luxury express trains Sibelius, Repin and Tolstoi for Helsinki.

Metro: Ladozhkaya. Note: The Finlandskaya station is no longer used by train to Finland!

Travel by Bus

The cheapest way of reaching St. Petersburg from neighboring countries is long-distance bus. Buses from Belarus, the Ukraine, Germany, Finland, the Baltic states and Scandinavia arrive at the bus station. Métro: Ligovskaïa.

Travel by Boat

In summer, cruises from Helsinki and Tallinn sail to St. Petersburg. There is also a regular ferry connection from Stockholm, which arrives at the harbor station. Subway: Primorskaya.

Passenger boats also operate on the inland waterway "Volga-Baltic" which links Moscow, the River Volga and Lakes Onega, Ladoga and Neva.

Gettting Around St. Petersburg

By Subway

St. Petersburg's metro system is second only to Moscow's in size and the best way to get around. Trains are cheap, rapid and very frequent (intervals go as low as 90 seconds in peak hours).

By Tram

A more scenic but slower way to see St. Petersburg is by tram.

Sightseeing in St. Petersburg

The Hermitage Museum

The Hermitage Museum is St. Petersburg's prime attraction, a massive palace-cum-museum showing the highlights of a collection of over 3,000,000 pieces spanning the globe.

Ticketing is complex, but the Hermitage itself is 100 rubles for Russians and 350 rubles for foreigners. Entrance is free on the first Thursday of every month.

Our advice for foreigners visiting the Hermitage Museum: Get yourself on a tour. They're 200 rubles instead of 350, and include the photography fee and a whistle-stop tour of the museum. Don't accept a tour from the numerous touts hanging around the queue. Instead, march past the queue and in through the main entrance, or the exit opposite if the queue's blocking the entrance (don't worry, you're not queue-jumping). Have a scout around for notices with museum tour times in your native language, or in extreme circumstances, ask at the desk. If you find a good candidate, you're all set to go to the Tours Office to book yourself on it. This is where things get slightly surreal.

To get to the Tours Office from the main entrance, go forward past the cashiers, and turn left down the corridor. The Tours Office is in front of you at the end, and may or may not be marked.

Get yourself a place on your tour, collect the bit of paper, go to cashier No. 5 (who is not with the rest of them, instead turn left out of the Tours Office and she's in a box at the end of the corridor), pay, get your paper stamped, take it back to the Tours Office and get it checked, stamped again and muttered over and then you're ready to brave the coat dungeon.

Bags aren't allowed in the museum (and neither are cameras without the appropriate ticket), so stash them in the busy cloakroom.

Our-Lady-of-Kazan Cathedral (Kazansky Sobor). Saver-on-the-Blood Church Saint-Isaac Cathedral Admiralty Smolny The bridges on the Néva, which open 2 times per night to allow boats to pass.

Things To Do in St. Petersburg

There are many things to do in the evenings, for example music, dance, circus, opera. Performances start early (6pm). Do not be put off by the length of an opera at the Mariinski Theatre as there are many intervals. And the language is not an obstacle: the text is translated above the scene.

Eating Out in St. Petersburg

Kafe Tbilisi, Sytninskaya ul., 10, 2329391, Metro Gorkovskaya behind the market. Georgian food. The dishes prepared in pots are excellent.

Acquarel, next to the Birzhevoy bridge, 3208600, Right on the water this restaurant offers Italian food alongside a French/Asian fusion menu. Friendly people, delightful atmosphere, and a wonderful view, Acquarel is a wonderful and delicious dinner option or even a great place to relax and get a drink in their lounge chairs.

Nightclubs

Tunnel. Zverinskaya Ul (Metro: Sportivnaya), [1]

Reputedly Russia's first techno club and certainly its most legendary, Tunnel is back after an extended shutdown. This disused bomb shelter isn't exactly pretty and the crush and "face control" at the entrance when the doors open at 12 midnight sharp are legendary, but the crowd and the DJs are worth it. Entry 250-350 rubles depending on who's playing.

Griboedov. Voronezskaya Ul. 2 (Metro: Ligovsky), [2]

A suitably spaced out place for a club whose name can also be interpreted as "the mushroom eater", the acts here are famously offbeat, especially on weekdays when you're as likely to find a poetry reading as live reggae or a DJ spinning psychedelic trance.

Also hidden in an underground bomb shelter, open daily except Tuesday.

St Petersburg Resources