Saint Petersburg General Tips by emilienoelle

Favorite Thing: Our Russian guide in St. Petersburg told us that there are more than 60 canals throughout the city. It's easy to believe because it seems that there is another one everywhere you turn. Because of this, the city has aquired the name "The Venice of the North" among locals. The canals and rivers once served the purpose of allowing barges full of goods and raw materials in from the Baltic Sea up to the Neva River and eventually to Moscow and parts of interior Russia. Today, barges still use many of these waterways to transport goods. Each night after 11 PM the drawbridges crossing the Neva are raised to allow ships to pass. Driving or walking over these bridges after this time is impossible until they are lowered again in the morning, so be sure that you don't get stuck!


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Favorite Thing: The Russian currency is rubles which are broken down into kopeks. The exchange rate for rubles to US $ or Euros is very good, however you will find that many shops that tourists frequent charge either US $ or Euros for their goods. This is pretty much a rip-off because you can likely get the same items at a less touristy shop for about half the price. However, many museums and attractions also charge admission in US $, and there is nothing you can do about it. If you want to exchange US $ or Euros into rubles there are many places you can do so, but you will need to show your passport.


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Favorite Thing: Soviet era art is still found in abundance throughout St. Petersburg. In a historical sense, I found it to be fascinating, it being one of those things that I have only seen in books. This art was, or course, used by the Soviet government to serve as a constant reminder to the people of who and what was important, though today it is largely ignored for the most part. I particularly liked the style of most of the work as it was done in the 1930's art-deco style which I love.


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Favorite Thing: The City of St. Petersburg is located at roughly the same lattitude as southern Alaska, something which I never realized. Because of this, during the summer months it never gets completely dark there. I was amazed the first night I spent in St. Petersburg when I woke up at 1 AM and the sky was bright with streaks of pink and gold. It was beautiful. The people of St. Petersburg refer to these bright summer nights as the "White Nights" because in the middle of the night everything takes on an almost lunar, white glow. The locals consider these summer nights to be very romantic and you can often find lovers roaming the streets at 3AM or people sitting in cafes (which are open all night in the summer) until the wee hours.


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Favorite Thing: Today St. Petersburg is loaded with American businesses, mainly chain restaurants. They seem to be popular among the locals, but they are expensive so I am not sure how well they do.


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