ST PETERSBURG FACTS
Saint-Petersburg
is the second largest city in
It was
founded on 27th May 1703 by the emperor Peter the Great on
the marshy lands where the main river Neva flows into the
The climate is humid.
Saint-Petersburg
occupies the territory of 17.4 million sq km and is situated on 40
islands on the north side of the
The city
has an amazing history. It had been a capital of
Built on
water, Saint-Petersburg offers beautiful sceneries: palaces which once belonged
to the richest families of St.Petersburg and now turned into museums are
reflected in the waters of the
Other
sightseeing places include St.Isaacs Cathedral, the Cathedral of Our Lady of
Kazan, Peter and Pauls Fortress, Church on Spilled Blood, Mariinskiy Theatre, Kunstkammer. In
any of the 221 museums or 80 theatres there is always something to see.
Saint-Petersburg
has got 342 bridges and many watercannels along which you can make a
tour and get acquainted with the city and its 304-year history. Especially
wonderful it is during the White Nights when the the sun does not descend below
the horizon enough for the sky to grow dark. During this period Stars of the
White Nights, Classical Music Festival takes place (in late June) with
first-class opera, classical music and ballet concerts performed at all major
venues. Leto Travel can help you choose and organize a personal tour for you.
Guests and
citizens of the city do the shopping in the city shops, markets and
large department stores. Most shops are concentrated around the Nevskiy and
Bolshoi prospects. At the central Apraksin market there is wholesale and retail
sales of clothes. Souvenirs one can find at the open-air market near the Church
on Spilled Blood which offers the cheapest souvenirs including matryoshka
dolls, T-shirts, watches, fur hats. At Kuznechny market you can find flowers,
fruit and vegetables, hand-made cream cheese and honey. And of course everyone
should explore the oldest and largest shopping centre Gostiny dvor. In front of
it there is Passazh store and not far from Nevsky prospect Style-Moderne DLT -
House of Leningrad Trade.
If you
need express, courier and postal services, choose WestPost company. But
there is also a DHL office at Nevsky prospect.
To travel
around St.Petersburg one can choose buses, trolleybuses and commuter buses/marshrutka.
The ordinary price is 14 R, ranging from 14 to 20 in commuter buses. Usually
they go along convenient routes and make stops around the city, but very often
overcrowded. Another option is to take a taxi either private cabs or belonging
to companies. There are water taxis - similar to private motorboats which hold
4-20 people. One needs definitely to experience a trip by metro/underground. It
is safe, with beautiful stations and runs until midnight.
There are
three English-language newspapers in the city: twice weekly St.Petersburg Times with international and sporting news and coverage
of local events, monthly Pulse, and
the
In
Saint-Petersburg more than 200 international films were shot, including 1997 production of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina with Sophie Marceau and
Sean Bean, GoldenEye (1995), Midnight in St.Petersburg (UK, 1996), Onegin (1999, with Liv Tyler, Ralph
Fiennes and Lena Heady), Russkii kovcheg/ Russian Ark (Alexander Sokurov 2002).
Among famous
St.Petersburgers are: a prima ballerina at the Mariinsky Theatre Anna
Pavlova, the novelist and write of Crime
and Punishment Fyodor Dostoevsky, the poet Alexander Pushkin, world-famous
composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky, scientist Michail Lomonosov, chemist and compiler
of the Periodic Table of Elements Dmitriy Mendeleev, artist Kazimir Malevich,
choreographer Marius Petipa.
In the
museums and palaces of suburbs (Peterhoff, Pavlovsk, Pushin, Gatchina) one can see personal belonging of the tsars and walk in the same parks they
used to walk.
Find more
information on Saint-Petersburg at www.wikipedia.com,www.lonelyplanet.com.