A plan for Saint Petersburg

History

Saint Petersburg was built by Peter the Great in 1703 on the Neva River, on the land he had just conquered from the Swedish Empire, outside the area then populated by the Russian people. Pre-planned almost from the very beginning, the city, called by Peter "my window on Europe", was designed to look European rather than Russian, was designed by many European architects. As the capital of the Russian Empire from the early 18th century to the early 20th century, the city grew steadily, saw many crucial events of the Russian history, and was a major cultural center. Many world-famous artists, scientists, writers and composers, such as Mendeleev, Dostoevsky and Tchaikovsky, lived and worked here.

In 1917, the city came under communist rule after the Russian Revolution. The significance of Saint Petersburg has declined somewhat after the transfer of the Russian capital to Moscow in 1918, but this allowed its cityscape to remain largely intact to this day. During World War II, the city was besieged by the Wehrmacht for 872 days, resulting in more than a million deaths, mainly from starvation. It remains the deadliest siege in world history.

The city has undergone several name changes since its founding. Due to the German origins of the name "Saint Petersburg", its name was changed to the more Russian-sounding "Petrograd" in 1914 in the wake of World War I. Subsequently, its name was changed to "Leningrad" in honour of the founding leader of the Soviet Union, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. In 1991, after the breakup of the Soviet Union, the original name was restored, though the surrounding area remains known as Leningrad Oblast. During the hardship years of Yeltsin's presidency in the 1990s, much of the city was controlled by the Tambov gang.

Saint Petersburg has almost always been, or at least tried to be a city with strong foreign connections, and this is where its authenticity lies. Don't expect it to be overly indigenous. Matryoshkas and other such souvenirs popular among foreigners have very little to do with its authentic life.

The historic center of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments are UNESCO world heritage, so definitely worth your while.

As the center of the Russian world for 200 years of the Romanov Dynasty, the city reaped the rewards of Peter the Great's impossibly grandiose and tyrannical vision, and the Empire's extreme inequality. The wealth of the wealthy in Imperial Russia was almost unfathomably extreme, and led to the extreme opulence of the palaces and ecclesiastical buildings throughout the city center, as well as the suburban palaces at Peterhof, Gatchina, Strelna, Pushkin, and Pavlovsk. The greatest concentration of sights is found within the huge area of the center inside the Obvodny Canal, along the south embankment of Vasilievsky Island, and in the southern half of Petrogradsky Island.

Highlights

The most important attraction is the Winter Palace on Palace Square (right by the Admiralty and the Bronze Horseman), which houses the Hermitage Museum, and which was the winter residence of the Romanov Tsars and essentially the center of the Russian Imperial government. The Hermitage Museum is easily one of the top five art museums in the world, but even if you don't care about art, wandering around the enormous palace itself is extremely rewarding. The nineteenth century, whimsical Church on the Spilled Blood nearby is another internationally recognized icon of the city, with a spectacular setting on the Griboedov Canal near the Mikhailovsky Garden, and filled—literally filled—with beautiful mosaics.

Strolling the palace-lined banks of the Moika, the Fontanka, and the Griboedov Canal in the historic center is a must. During the summer months, you can also enjoy this magnificent architecture from the boat by joining any of the popular (albeit expensive) "channel tours," or opt for a budget boat trip along the Neva river on a so-called riverbus, which is a tiny boat zooming along the river on several routes that are integrated into the system of public transport.

The Telegram Messenger groups InterNational Events, SPb Couchsurfing, Say Yes Saint Petersburg, Train Your Brain, World Language Cafe, Mafia English Events, and English Meetup Saint Petersburg all contain almost daily events for meeting locals or other foreigners, excursions, or practicing languages.

Opera, ballet and theater

No trip to St. Petersburg is complete without seeing an opera or ballet performance. The Mariinsky is perhaps the most well-known institution for opera and ballet, but it is by no means the only theater in the city. Tickets are sold on each theater's website, at each theatre's box office, and throughout the city at kiosks and shops called Teatralnaya Kassa. Sometimes blocks of tickets sell out at the kiosks but tickets are still available at the theater, or vice versa, so it is worth checking both places if you have your heart set on a particular performance. It is possible to take not-so-small children into some performances if you take a private box, although you will need to ask when you buy your tickets.

Concerts

The music scene in St. Petersburg is diverse, with several classical, jazz, and pop concerts to choose from each week. Tickets are available at the same Teatralnaya Kassa locations as ballet and opera tickets, although tickets to pop concerts – especially US and European stars on tour – sometimes use exclusive distributors. For pop and rock concerts, unless you buy tickets for the dance floor (tanzpol), you are expected to sit quietly in your seat as if you were at a ballet - ushers are vigilant about keeping the audience from standing up, dancing, or cheering (polite applause is allowed, but that's about all).

Several of the ballet and opera theaters also offer orchestral and recital performances. Also, don't forget the many small clubs where up and coming bands play.

Film

Most cinemas in St. Petersburg show Hollywood films dubbed in Russian. Art cinemas like Dom Kino often show independent American or British movies subtitled in Russian.

Annual Message to Man international documentary, short, and animated films festival takes place in October, screening many films in English.

Tasty local offerings for street food/fast food include shawarma (шаверма) and pyshki (пышки). Shawarma is a decidedly Saint Petersburg phenomenon (you won't find much of it in other Russian cities), served mostly by Azeris, and is everywhere—in cafes and on the street. Pyshki are Russian doughnuts, wonderful with coffee, and are strongly associated with Saint Petersburg. Russian chain restaurants such as Teremok (Теремок), Kroshka Kartoshka (Крошка Картошка), and Dodo Pizza are common in Saint Petersburg. Булочные Ф. Вольчека is a chain of many bakeries with slices of cake or small tubs of ice cream for under RUB100.

For restaurant dining, offerings are diverse. A pretty unique place to eat Russian cuisine would be the attractive restaurant on the grounds of the Peter and Paul Fortress. International, Western European, Asian fusion (Russified Chinese food is really good, but requires a culinary dictionary to order), etc. are just as easy to find as Russian, and sushi is very popular. Georgian cooking, despite its obscurity, is one of the world's great cuisines, is common in Saint Petersburg. The Central Asian, usually Uzbek, restaurants are a lot of fun too.

Pubs

Bars in Saint Petersburg generally have the best beer selection of any city in Russia. The main Baltika (Балтика) brewery is in Saint Petersburg, although there is political controversy surrounding the beer after the company was effectively seized by the government in 2023.

Nightclubs

Saint Petersburgers know how to party. There is a wide and excellent selection of great clubs that will satisfy all tourists looking to spend the night out. The city hosts clubs of all music. Rock, pop, jazz, hip hop/RnB, and a lot more.

There are several more popular neighborhoods where is the bigger concentration of nightclubs, one famous one being Dumskaya street (Думская улица) connected with Lomonosova street (улица Ломоносова), the neighborhood which is usually just called "Dumskaya", both right near Gostiny Dvor metro station. Another popular one is Rubinshteina street (улица Рубинштейна), which is closer to Mayakovstaya metro station. Overall, locals usually consider Rubinshteina to be above Dumskaya in terms of quality of clubs and people who go there, so it's recommended to choose Rubinshteina between them. But there are plenty of good clubs all around city center, usually closer to Nevsky avenue (Невский проспект), but not limited to it.

There are also several small, rather dirty gay clubs in the city; Cabaret (Кабаре) has multiple locations.

Bridge draw schedule

Except during the winter, the 9 low bridges in St. Petersburg are drawn during the night to allow for the passage of boat traffic. Therefore, if you don't make it to the side of the river where you are staying before the bridges are drawn and there are no high bridges to cross, you will be stuck until the bridges are lowered. There are "breaks" when some of the bridges are lowered in the middle of the night for approximately 30 minutes to briefly allow everyone to get home. The bridge schedule is particularly noteworthy for those staying on Vasilyevsky Island, which is unreachable at certain times of the night. Seeing the bridges drawn in the middle of the night is a must for all visitors to the city!

The Bolshoy Obukhovskiy Most, 14km south of the Alexander Nevsky Bridge (Мост Алекса́ндра Не́вского), is never drawn, allowing for 24-hour crossing of the Neva River. However, the bridge is out of the way and taxi fares will be higher than a direct route.

The official bridge draw schedule is published online.

The following are the times when the bridges are drawn and will not be able to be crossed:

By public transport

Electronic card "Podorozhnik" debit cards are the easiest and cheapest way to pay public transport fares for metro, bus, and trams. They can be acquired at the metro cash desks, charged at the desks or the automated ticket machines in metro stations and then used to pay metro and bus fare by simply swiping over the readers at buses or turnstiles. Funds or passes can be loaded onto the card. See info boards besides the cash desks for pricing. There is an additional RUB60 deposit for the card which will be refunded when you return it. The cards work for all metro, tram and trolleybus fares in St. Petersburg and many bus routes. Ticket controllers carry a small card reader to verify if the Podorozhnik card was swiped in the bus.

Fares can also be paid by tapping a Russian debit or credit card on the reader, but the fares are usually higher.

The war

Facilities in Saint Petersburg, especially those related to oil processing and oil export, are regularly attacked by Ukrainian drones. Avoid the vicinity of such facilities. The drones do not attack people directly, so treat them as missiles.

Crime

As with most other major cities, do not get into altercations with drunks. If traveling at night, it is recommended to stay on the main sidewalks and avoid any dark alleys or yards. Unlicensed cabs are not recommended under any circumstances, especially those that linger near bars where expatriates and tourists congregate.

The average street policeman cannot speak any foreign language, but if you look like a tourist, you could be a target for bribes. Don't panic! Always ask for a receipt and the names of the officers.

Guards at metro stations require random passengers to show carry items and inspect their backpacks. They may even ask you to boot your laptop or show phone screen.

Take care of money, documents, cameras, mobile phones, and anything of value because of pickpocketing. Especially watch out on the Metro during busy times, as people start pushing at the train doors, and pickpockets are frequent, particularly at Gostinyy Dvor Metro Station. When riding the Metro, keep in mind that robbery can be a real threat; you should constantly watch what is going on around you and who is standing very close to you. Nevsky Prospekt and nearby markets are also pickpocket hangouts.

Theft of photo equipment is really a big problem in Saint Petersburg. Photo bags probably won't save your camera—it can be opened in less than 5 seconds; the straps can be slashed with a knife even more quickly. Cameras should be kept in bags slung across the body at all times, with your hands keeping a firm grip on them, and no watches or jewelry should be visible at all. Quite obviously, do not show in public that you have a lot of money. Robberies are not uncommon, and many foreigners have been threatened at gun and knife point. However, foreigners are not targeted specifically, and robbers will attack both foreigners and natives that carelessly reveal their wealth.