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Price of a cup of coffee
Ranging from € 1.50 to € 4
Tipping
Not required. Still if you decide to tip, it is common to leave 10% of the bill.
Experiencing Saint Petersburg for free
Saint Petersburg offers great options for any kind of traveller. Many of the greatest places can be visited completely for free. Our guide how to see Saint Petersburg for free shares local tips on how to truly experience the city on the Neva without spending a single euro.
Tap water
The tap water in Russia is not drinkable. Bottled water is cheap and widely available.
Restaurants and cafés
St Petersburg has a great amount of restaurants and cafés to choose from, often offering good quality of food and service for small prices. If you are looking for cheap options, but with traditional Russian food, try столовая (stolovaja), a Russian cafetaria.
Alcohol in supermarkets
After 22h, it is not allowed to sell alcohol in supermarkets. Fortunately, there are many great cafés, often open till late.
Public transport
You can find all means of transport in St Petersburg: buses, trolley buses, tramways and metro. All of them start at 5:30h and work until 00:00h. Find here the working schedule of the metro. It is also very useful to download the Yandex Metro app to get up-to-date information, all the metro lines, the arrival times, and your shortest route.
In buses you can simply enter and pay the conductor directly with cash, in the metro you can buy coins at one of the machines or at the ticket windows inside the stations.
Podorozhnik card
A better option could be to buy a special transport card called Podorozhnik at one of the ticket windows, the price of the card is around € 1. This card can be charged with money. When using the card, one metro ride costs around € 0.50.
From Pulkovo Airport (LED) to Saint Petersburg
Public transport
After you receive your baggage and leave the airport, you will find a bus stop of bus number 39, the only bus that goes to the airport. It will take you to the nearest metro station Moskovskaya. After you can use the metro to the station that is near your place of staying.
Taxi
The best option is to use a taxi app, like Yandex or Gett. There is also an official taxi desk in the room where you receive your baggage. Don't pay attention to the drivers offering their service outside the gate: these taxis are not official and the price will be high.
Find more information about Pulkovo Airport on the official website.
From Saint Petersburg to Moscow
The most comfortable way to get to the capital of Russia is the Sapsan high-speed train, taking less than 4 hours to the centre of Moscow. Trains leave from Moskovskaya railway station. There are also overnight trains, which are slower but cheaper. For tickets, we recommend to use the official page of the Russian Railways.
Get a sneak preview of a ride on the Sapsan with our article High-speed from Moscow to Saint Petersburg with the Sapsan.
Events in Saint Petersburg
Victory Day
Victory Day is celebrated in the entire country on 9 May, commemorating how the Red Army and the Soviet people defeated Nazi Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. The day starts with an impressive military parade over Nevsky Prospect, and is ended with a Salute near the walls of Peter and Paul Fortress.
The City Day
Peter the Great founded the city on 27 May 1703, and named it after the apostle Saint Peter. The date of birth of St Petersburg is connected with the establishment of Peter and Paul Fortress, as the first building of the city. Nowadays the day of 27 May is traditionally celebrated by a carnival parade on Nevsky Prospect (during this day free from traffic), a water show and fireworks.
Scarlet Sails festival
Scarlet Sails is the biggest festival for school graduates in the world, with concerts and marvelous fireworks all night long. The festival is held every year in the last week of June.
Why is this festival called 'Scarlet Sails'? On this day the boat with scarlet sails reaches the Winter Palace after navigating down the Neva river, representing the end of childhood and the beginning of maturity – just like in the 1922 book Scarlet Sails by Alexander Grin.
The Navy Day
The Navy Day is celebrated annually, on the last Sunday of July. During the day you can visit warships that are moored on the Neva River.
New Year and Christmas fairs
From the second half of December, St Petersburg gets ready to celebrate one of the most popular holidays of the country. Please note that Orthodox Christmas is celebrated much later, so the streets are usually not decorated before 20 December. On NYE, the beautiful Nevsky Prospect is reserved for pedestrians only, and Palace Square is the place to see the biggest and most popular concert and fireworks.
Local pages
Banya
Russia without banya is hard to imagine. If you want to feel the real Russian spirit and relax, there are several good options.
Yamskie bathhouse is among Saint Petersburg’s most historic and popular places (find it at Ulitsa Dostoevskogo 9 – get directions).
Mytninskie Bani (Ru) was among the first public bathhouses in St Petersburg (find it at Ulitsa Mytninskaya 17-19 – get directions).
Degtyarnye bathhouse first opened half a century ago and since then has become one of the most prominent venues for weekend leisure (find it at Degtyarnaya Ulitsa 1 – get directions).
Bus tours
We can suggest two bus tours which offer a good introduction to Saint Petersburg and its history: City Sightseeing and City Tour.
Canal cruise
As a historical city full of rivers, canals and islands, St Petersburg is also known as Venice of the North. Canal cruises offer a different and interesting way of seeing a city. Among the many tours that are being offered, we can recommend Astra Marine Company.
Drawbridges
If you've never heard about this attraction in St Petersburg: now is the time! The city is well known for being on a very interesting geographical position that allows people to admire the so-called 'white nights'. And white nights in St Petersburg isn't only about magical evenings full of light, but you will also see that all the drawbridges are being raised (which may complicate transport between the islands in the evening!). So imagine, white nights, raised drawbridges – true romance! Look here to see at what times the particular drawbridges are expected to be raised.
Loft project Etagi
Loft project Etagi (Ru) is a creative space on the territory of a former bakery. It is a place of exhibition halls and galleries, accompanied by a huge terrace, a retro-bar 'Sever', a café 'Green Room' and even a hostel. Get directions.
Taxi
Taxi apps like Gett and Yandex.Taxi work very well in Saint Petersburg.
Tourist office
Tourist offices can be found across the city centre as well as at the airport and seaport. They are happy to provide you with lots of information in various languages. More information can be found on their official website.
Trains
For searching and booking train tickets in Russia, we recommend to use the official page of the Russian Railways.
Udelny flea market
The largest flea market of St Petersburg is located at the metro station Udelnaya and best known by local name 'Udelka'. It can offer you rare Soviet vintage items, vinyl, jewelry, and much more. Open in weekends from 9h till 19h. Get directions.
Vodka museum
When people hear 'Russia' they hear 'vodka'. But do you really know everything about it? Welcome to the first museum dedicated exclusively to the most famous liquor: Vodka! See their website for more info. Get directions.
Walking tour
If you have only short time to explore the wonderful Saint Petersburg, consider going for our free 3-hour walk, during which you will get acquainted with the most colorful, gorgeous and unforgettable places in the heart of the city.
Getting to Grand Peterhof Palace
To arrive at one of the most picturesque palaces in the world, you can use either public transport or a special hydrofoil boat.
For public transport, you need to reach metro station Avtovo and take one of the commercial minibuses with number 424, 224 or 424а.
To take the hydrofoil, you need to go to the 'Pier with Lions' on the Dvortsovaya embankment in front of the Admiralty building – get directions. There you will find a ticket office. Hydrofoils works from April till October. The price is around € 15 one way and it will take you around 30 minutes to get to the palace.
Getting to Catherine Palace
To get to this magnificent palace, you can use either the train or a commercial bus.
The train departs from Vitebsky railway station, near metro Pushkinskaya. You will need to take the train to Tsarskoe Selo (name of your stop), a ride which usually takes around 20 minutes.
Buses depart near metro Moskovskaya. Bus numbers 286, 287, 342, 347 and 545 take you to the palace in approximately 40 minutes, depending on the traffic.
Getting to Kronstadt
To get to Kronstadt (on the island Kotlin) you can use either the bus or a hydrofoil boat.
Bus 101 leaves for Kronstadt from metro station Staraya Derevnya (the stop is in front of the entrance of the metro station). Alternatively, you can also use minibus 405 from metro station Chyornaya Rechka (the stop is located on Savushkina Street). The trip takes about 40 minutes, and with both means of transport you need to get off on the last stop.
To take the hydrofoil, you need to go to the 'Pier with Lions' on the Dvortsovaya embankment in front of the Admiralty building – get directions. There you will find a ticket office. Hydrofoils work from April till October. The travel time is about 30 minutes.
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