St. Petersburg Life and Visitor Travel Tips

(St. Petersburg, North-Western Federal District, Russia)

Tourists are always well catered for when visiting St. Petersburg and during the peak season, the city's tourist trade plays an important part of local Russian life. However, as visitors to the city, it is quite usual that you will be expected to pay more for sightseeing, souvenirs and boat trips than the local Russians, since many of St. Petersburg's locals would simply not be able to afford the prices if it wasn't for their discounts.

Just because you are a tourist in St. Petersburg, you may well be able to negotiate 'local rates' in some situations, such as at markets, particularly if you are able to speak a little Russian. Otherwise, you are likely to simply pay a whole lot more, just because you are a tourist, although prices are rarely extortionate.

View of the Neva riverfront

Useful Contact Details

Those looking for leaflets, brochures and maps of St. Petersburg will find the City Tourist Information Centre on the Sadovaya Ulitsa are home to a small team of English-speaking staff, who do their best to help. A further branch lies along the Dvortsovaya Ulitsa, which consists of a glass kiosk directly outside of the Hermitage. Many tourists find that the best information can be found in the various travel agencies within St. Petersburg, where you can book accommodation, train travel, air tickets and guided tours.

St. Petersburg City Tourist Information Centre
Address: Sadovaya Ulitsa, St. Petersburg, Russia, RU
Tel: +7 0812 310 8262

American Express (Travel Agency)
Address: Malaya Morskaya Ulitsa 23, St. Petersburg, Russia, RU
Tel: +7 0812 326 4500

Infinity (Travel Agency)
Address: Hotel d'Angleterre, Bolshaya Morskaya Ulitsa 39, St. Petersburg, Russia, RU
Tel: +7 0812 313 5085

Ost-West Kontaktservice (Travel Agency)
Address: Nevsky Prospekt 105, St. Petersburg, Russia, RU
Tel: +7 0812 327 3416

Palladium
Address: Hotel Rus, Ulitsa Artilleriyskaya 1, St. Petersburg, Russia, RU
Tel: +7 0812 279 6584

Sinbad Travel (Travel Agency)
Address: 2-ya Sovetskaya Ulitsa 12, St. Petersburg, Russia, RU
Tel: +7 0812 332 2020

Vasilyevsky Island (Travel Agency)
Address: Philological Faculty Building, Universitetskaya Nab 11, St. Petersburg, Russia, RU
Tel: +7 0812 324 0880

Further view of the Neva River

Language and Dialect

The official language of St. Petersburg is of course Russian and this is generally spoken with a strong accent. Written Russian is filled with strange characters and accents, making it very difficult for Westerners to read and pronounce. Since most locals in St. Petersburg don't even know one single word of English, bringing a Russian phrase book and learning a few phrases will prove invaluable. Here are some simple Russian phrases.

Hello / Goodbye - Do-bree dzhen / da pa-ba-chen-nya
Please / Thank you - Ka-lee las-ka / dzya-koo-uee
Do you speak English? - Gavaritye pa anglisski?
Do I have to pay? - Nuzh-na pla-tit'
I need a baby's seat - Ya kha-chu dyet-ska-e sid-yen'-e
Do you accept travellers cheques? - Vi pri-ni-ma-e-te a-pla-tu da-rozh-nim chye-kam
How do we get to...? - Kak da-brat'-ska k...?
Where is ...? - Gdye ...?

Dos and Don'ts / Tourist Traps

Airport Taxis - those flying into Pulkovo Airport will discover that the taxi prices are bordering on the extortionate. It is possible to book your taxi prior to your arrival and far more cheaply, or phone a local taxi company rather than use one of the many taxis queuing up outside. Alternatively, simply use a bus, which are cheap and generally quite reliable
Exchanging Currency - most people head to the many banks to obtain their Russian Rubles, such as Sberbank, which usually offers a good rate, although can be exceedingly slow when busy. Under no circumstances should you consider exchanging any money on the street whilst in St. Petersburg
Free Admission to Museums - on the first Thursday every month in St. Petersburg, the Hermitage Museum and related museums all offer free admission for the day. However, arrive early, as the queues can be huge with people keen to get something for nothing
Prices - it will soon become apparent that for many goods and services, St. Petersburg operates a dual-pricing policy, for locals and tourists, where the latter can expect to pay more. If you have befriended some local Russians, get them to book your theatre tickets and enjoy the saving
Souvenirs - a highly touristy area filled with gift shops is based around the Gribeodova Canal and on a slow day, it will be possible to haggle effectively for matryoshka dolls and other traditional, mass-produced souvenirs