Saint Petersburg Shopping Tips by Canadienne

Name of Shop: Yeliseev's

The interior of this food store, design in 1902, is stunning. Stained glass windows, ornate chandeliers, gold trim on the ceiling and marble counters. . .all in the curving, sweeping (and always graceful) Style Moderne form of design.

Oh yeah. . .there's food in there as well. . .

What To Buy: I picked up packages of Russian chocolate bars here, wrapped with scenes from Moscow and St. Petersburg (great souvenirs for co-workers). They also have a wide selection of vodka & other drinks, delicatessen-style foods, sweets and pastries.

What To Pay: With the exception of a few unique items, you can get most of the food at the other Nevsky groceries for a bit less.

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Theme: Food and Drink
Address: Nevsky Prospekt 56
Directions: Metro: Gostinyy Dvor

Name of Shop: Souvenir Stalls

Souvenir stalls set up along this stretch of the Griboedova canal each day, making a convenient stop for tourists (Russians and foreigners alike) visiting the Church on Spilled Blood.

We took a quick peek at the items on offer ~ Matryoshka dolls, palekh boxes, shawls, etc., but decided to wait for Moscow before buying anything. The sooner you buy it. . .the longer you have to carry it.



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Theme: Other
Address: Nab. Kanala Griboedova
Directions: Just a few feet south of the Church on Spilled Blood. . .

Name of Shop: Mini-Mall

The Passazh mall entrance is located on Nevsky, although you can also enter off of Italyanskaya ulitsa.

It's a 180-metre long mini-mall, with a glass roof. There's a decent cafe on the second floor and a good grocery store in the basement. The other stores are largely a mix of mid- to upper-price clothing shops, none of which we entered.

What To Buy: The grocery store carries everything from paper plates to alcohol, plus all the food items in between.

What To Pay: Bread and yogurt were less than at home; cheese cost more. Other items varied. . .

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Theme: Department Store
Address: Nevsky Prospekt 48

Name of Shop: Department Store

We were honestly a bit confused by Gostinyy Dvor. . .the structure is quite different from malls at home and it took us a few minutes to get our bearings.

It is a department store, but each "functional" section of the store has its own cash and staff. . .it was also hard to tell where you could enter into it from outside. However, once we got that down, we did pop in for a very brief look around.

What To Buy: We stopped in the souvenir section to buy a few postcards, then ended up picking up 2004 calendars for ourselves. There is a fantastic series called "View from Above" with aerial shots of St. Petersburg. . .I think it cost a couple of dollars.

Once we finished that bit of shopping, we trekked upstairs, discovered massive sections of high-end clothing and escaped outside. . .there is an external arcade that runs the length of Nevsky Prospekt, with a small cafe at one end. We people watched from above for a while, then left the mall entirely.

What To Pay: The calendars were quite inexpensive.

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Theme: Department Store
Address: Nevsky Prospekt 35