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 |  | Destination Guide : St Petersburg |
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| | | Russia's most attractive city? |  | Why go on holiday to St Petersburg?
Arguably Russia's most attractive city, St Petersburg is often dubbed the Venice of the north. Visitors can admire the palace-lined waterways and grandiose architectural relics of the tsarist era.
How much does it cost?
Direct flights with British Airways, taking three hours and 15 minutes from London Heathrow, start from £300, or even less on Russian airline Aeroflot. Bargains can be found if you choose connecting flights via other European cities. Hotel prices range from £250 per night for a double room in the 300-year-old Eliseev Palace Hotel, to £170 per night for a double room in the historic city centre five-star Radisson SAS, to £16 for a small room in the family-run Hotel Vilma.
When should I go?
St Petersburg is a year-round destination with long days in summer and long nights in winter. Its climate can be milder than its northerly latitude would suggest. January temperatures average -8°C (17°F) but temperatures can plummet as low as -15°C (5°F) and it can get extremely blustery so pack some thermal underwear and a warm hat and coat. Summer is pleasant but seldom baking hot and snowfall isn't uncommon in late April. Between June and August temperatures reach 20°C (68°F) but if it's a suntan you're after, you've come to the wrong place.
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| | | Dance the night away |  | What should I do when I'm there?
Soak up the culture. First stop should be the city's Champs Elysees, the famous Nevsky Prospekt; essentially a boulevard of Russia's rich and famous through the ages with former residents including Gogol, Tchaikovsky, Turgenev and Dostoevsky. A morning's stroll will take in the statue of Catherine the Great, Stroganov Palace, the Communist Party's former district headquarters the Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace and the statuesque Gostiny Dvor department store.
What museums are must-sees?
Apart from the unmissable Hermitage Museum — see below — the Museum of Decorative and Applied Arts is a treasure trove of breathtaking artefacts from medieval handcrafted furniture to rare Russian tiled stoves. And don't miss the Kremlin-style Terem Room.
What's the heart of the city?
Palace Square, for 200 years the centre of the Russian Empire. Lined with elegantly colourful edifices and dotted with monuments celebrating Russia's victory over Napoleon, it witnessed Bloody Sunday in 1905, the Bolsheviks' grab for power in 1917 and all-night vigils for democracy in 1991. At the heart of the square is the white and gold rococo fantasy of the Winter Palace, the largest part of the world famous State Hermitage Museum and home to a formidable collection of jewels and art treasures.
What else should I see?
Take a visit to the Peter and Paul Fortress, the oldest building in the city, constructed in 1703 under the watchful eye of Peter the Great, the founding visionary behind the city. Among the famous names incarcerated in its cells were Gorky, Trotsky and Lenin's older brother Alexander Ulyanov.
Other attractions to put on your itinerary include the Russian Museum, St Isaac's Cathedral, the Versailles-like Summer Garden and Vasilevsky Island in the mouth of the river Neva with its Sigmund Freud Museum of Dreams.
What are the main festivals?
Celebrations peak during the last 10 days of June when night never falls. Locals often stay out all night rejoicing in the White Nights Dance Festival with events from folk dancing to ballet. Also popular is the Winter Festival from December 25 to January 5 and the Goodbye Russian Winter Festival from late February to early March with troika (horse-drawn sleigh) rides, folk shows and performing bears. Other dates on the St Petersburg cultural calendar are the Music Spring in April or May and the November international jazz festival Osenie Ritmy.
What's off the beaten track?
To see how St Petersburg's elite escape the urban buzz, visit the beautifully sedate Kirovsky Islands. History buffs should head 9km south of the city to see the Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad, a bronze homage to the pivotal Second World War blockade of Leningrad (as the city was known then). To experience Peter the Great's most ostentatious fantasies see the Petrodvorets gardened palaces 30km west of St Petersburg.
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| | | Soak up the culture | | Where's good for nightlife?
For a cultural night out, St Petersburg is impossible to beat in Russia. Top draw for drama is the Maly Theatre; for ballet and opera book early for the Mariinsky Theatre (home to the famous Kirov Ballet). The city has also got a thriving club and live music scene with dozens of jazz bars and smaller performance venues. Current hot spot is the laid-back Griboyedov.
What's the food like?
There's a decent choice of places to eat in St Petersburg from authentic Caucasian and Georgian restaurants to carefully designed Russian restaurants to trendy chill-out cafes and budget fast-food outlets. A Russian speciality is blini, tasty pancakes usually served with a home-made jam or cottage cheese filling. Expect to pay about £8 to £11 per person in a decent restaurant and just £2.75 to £5.50 in a budget place. Many restaurants also operate 24 hours a day.
What should I buy?
St Petersburg has a growing number of stores offering a variety of goods and services including everything from hand-made arts, crafts, and souvenirs to fresh fruit and vegetables. Shopping along the city's festive main thoroughfare, Nevsky Prospekt, makes you feel more like a native Piterbyrzhets (Petersburger), and offers the best variety of stores in the city. Bolshoi Prospekt on Vasilyevsky Island also offers a comparatively good selection of stores.
What is there for children to do?
Kids probably won't want to sit though an adult ballet or opera but they'll love the vast choice of puppet shows available. The Bolshoi and the Demmeni Marionette are the leading two. Circus is also huge in St Petersburg with the St Petersburg State Circus is among the most celebrated in Russia.
Tourist office
There is no official tourist office in the UK. You should be able to get information from the Russian Travel Centre on 020 7224 4678.
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