Useful Information

Currency, shops, restaurants, taxi

The traditional Russian currency is Rouble. One Rouble is equal to 100 kopecks.

The official exchange rate:                     

In the Russian Federation, all cash payments must be done in the national currency (restaurants, shops, taxi, etc.). It is better to change money not in the hotel or airport but in numerous official currency exchange offices scattered around the city (only on Nevsky Prospect there is more than a dozen of such offices) or in banks. Currency exchange offices are usually open from 10:00 to 20:00 (there are also some working 24hrs a day). Money is exchanged only upon presentation of a passport.

There are a lot of Automated Teller Machines in the metro stations and in the streets. The major credit cards are accepted by the larger shops and better class of restaurants.

The main restaurants and cafes are located on Nevsky prospect, the main street in the city, are open daily from 11:00 to 24:00. An English menu is available in most restaurants. Tips are usually not included.

Front desk clerks at hotels, personnel of airline ticket offices, travel agencies and some big restaurants usually speak English.

Current weather in St. Petersburg:                   Today

Getting around

The metro is a cheap & effective means of getting around the city. It is best to buy a card allowing you multiple journeys, meaning you’ll avoid the tiresome queues for zhetons (tokens). Metro stations are beautiful – marble festooned, boasting statuary & art depicting Russian history.

Travelling in a marshrutniy taxi (minibus) is a fairy quick way of getting up & down Nevsky Prospect.

As far as taxis are concerned, travellers should keep an eye on the metre, on the rare occasion a taxi driver chooses to switch it on. Taxis can be found waiting in front of hotels, at the airport, train/bus stations as well as cruising the streets. There are state/public companies which can be providing taxi services: They can be contacted by dialling:  068, 327 2400, 242 2022.

Orientation

St. Petersburg straddles the mouth of the Riva Neva at the easternmost spur of the Baltic. Peter the Great town planning bestowed a grid-like legacy of wide boulevards dissected by canals. The earliest settlement is marked by the gold spire of the Peter & Paul Fortress on a delta of islands in the Neva.

The main commercial zone is clustered around the artery of Nevsky Prospect on the south bank of the Neva, with the tourist centre of the Winter Palace & Admiralty a little to the north. Nevsky Palace is divided by three canals & many of the tourist attractions are along these beautiful canals. They are (from the Hermitage end): the Moika, the Griboedova & the Fontanka canals.

What to see

Peter & Paul Fortress: This fortress on the bank of the Neva was one of the first structures in the city & marks the spot where Peter the Great conceived of St. Petersburg as a window on the West. Built between 1703 & 1733 to protect the new settlement from attacks by the Swedes, it is dominated by the soaring spire of Petropavlovsky Cathedral (122m tall). The Cathedral is the burial place of Peter & all his successors.

The Hermitage: This ranks alongside the Louvre in Paris & the Prado in Madrid as one of the world’s greatest museums. Just glancing at each of the 3 million exhibits would take nearly a decade. The vast collection includes Russian art, works by Da Vinci, Raphael, El Greco & French Impressionists. Admission $10.

St Isaac’s Cathedral: This massive structure is one of the most prominent features of the St. Petersburg skyline & sports the third largest cathedral dome in Europe (after St Peter’s in Rome and St Paul’s in London). The Mariinsky Palace on St Isaac’s Sq., now the home of St Petersburg Legislative assembly, & the legendary Bronse Horseman on the Neva are other points of interest. Admission $8, plus $3.20 for the colonnade.

The Summer Garden: This elegant garden is laid out in rambling English style, surrounded by water & adorned with 80 baroque statues. In the northern corner is the Dutch-style Summer Palace of Peter the Great, the third oldest building in the city.

The Russian Museum: Though not as vast as the Hermitage, the Russian Museum provides the visitor with more than enough art to digest. As well as the Icons, painted by medieval monks, the art lover can sample the Russian avant-garde of the early XXth century. Admission $6.50.

The Church of the Saviour on Blood: This church is a striking edifice, given its architectural departure from the very European Petersburg norm. With its onion cupolas, the Church stands alone as the city’s one example of real Russian architecture. This almost exactly opposite Kazansky Cathedral, very much of the Petersburg style.

If you want to feel the lifeblood of St. Petersburg you should take the long walk down Nevsky Prospect. Start from the bustle of Ploshchad Vosstania & head straight towards the Admiralty, whose golden steeple will gradually begin to dominate the view. You’ll cross over the three canals, Fontanka, then Griboedova, then Moika, & should stop a moment at each to savour the unique St Petersburg views they command.

A quieter alternative is to turn south off Nevsky Prospect onto Naberezhnaya Moiki & turn left into Palace Square where the Winter Palace stands, then head towards the River Neva behind the palace. Any direction you now walk along the embankment will provide glorious sights.

 

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