The St. Petersburg City Tourist Office is quite modest for such a significant city, with not much more to offer than most hotels. Still, it's worth a visit to find out about festivals or special events that you might otherwise miss. The main offices are at 14 Sadovaya Ulitsa (tel. 812/310-2822).
Maps are available free in most hotels, and for a low price at bookstores and newspaper stands, though sometimes they're only in the Cyrillic alphabet. An easy-to-read and richly detailed map to look out for is the bilingual "St. Petersburg Guide to the City." Avail yourself of the numerous free listings magazines at nearly all hotels and many restaurants. Most are in English and Russian and are heavy with ads but are full of information. Pick up a copy of The St. Petersburg Times, a twice-weekly English-language newspaper, for local and international news.
Tips: Don't Drink the Water -- Most hotels have their own clean water supply, or use filtered water, because of St. Petersburg's often bacteria-infected groundwater. It's a good idea to ask before brushing your teeth with tap water. Numerous brands of locally bottled spring water are good cheap sources of clean water. Some safe brands are Saint Springs (Svyatoi Istochnik) and Natalia. Make sure you ask for voda bez gaza -- literally, water without gas -- unless you want the carbonated kind.
St. Petersburg Travel Experiences
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St Petersberg Siteseeing
Today was a full day of sightseeting and entertainment. The day started with a drive around the heritage area of the city, past the old c... Continue reading »
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Russia, Saint Petersburg
31st JulyOur last day in this great town before the long bus ride to St Petersburg tonight. For some reason I was feeling very apprehensi... Continue reading »
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Vacation in St. Petersburg...
Hermitage is a must see... with all the paintings of Remberandt, Picasso and Kivinsky et alPushkin is in the suburbs and the whole trip t... Continue reading »
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Saint Petersburgh
Saint Petersburg was very cold although very beautiful.We had a very keen local guide who took us on a 5 hour city walk instead of 2 hrs.... Continue reading »
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St Petersburg (Day 1)
We are delayed leaving the ship by the local immigration officers. When we do disembark, we discover there is second cruise ship behind u... Continue reading »
Popular St. Petersburg Hotels
- Apricot Hostel
- Rossiya St Petersburg
- Novotel St Petersburg Centre
- St. Petersburg Serviced Apartments
- Rinaldi by the Hermitage
- Hotel Pribaltiyskaya
- Moskva Hotel
- Pulkovskaya Hotel
- Best Eastern Piter Hotel
- Azimut Hotel St Petersburg
Popular St. Petersburg Things to Do
- Dvortsovaia Ploshchad' (Palace Square)
- Edmond J Safra Grand Choral Synagogue (The)
- Ermitazh (Hermitage, The)
- Letnyi Sad (Summer Gardens)
- Griboedov Club
- Titanik (Titanic)
- Peterhof
- Tavricheskii Sad (Tauride Gardens, The)
- Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad
- Petropavlovskaia Krepost' (Peter and Paul Fortress)
