Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Modest Charm of the Bourgeoisie (Skromnoye Oboyaniye Burzhuazi)
This compact hall is the favored “preparty” spot of Moscow clubbers. It features
lounge music in a mellow atmosphere to get you in the mood before the real party-
hopping begins. It's open daily 24 hours.
24 Bolshaya Lubyanka.
&
095/923
-
0848.
Metro:
Lubyanka.
Propaganda
House, trance, and techno, popular with students, expats, straights,
gays, artists, and young capitalists. Try to get a table upstairs for a little more space and
a perfect people-watching angle. Open daily from noon to 6am.
7 Bolshoi Zlatoustinsky
Pereulok.
&
095/924
-
5732.
Cover Sat only, $3. Metro: Lubyanka or Kitai-Gorod.
Shtolnaya
With beer taps at nearly every table, this is a fun but dangerous drink-
ing hole. The taps are metered, but you always end up drinking more than you
intended.
6 Zatsepsky Val.
&
095/953
-
4268.
Metro: Paveletskaya.
4 St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg is Russia's principal port, and its geography and history make it imme-
diately distinguishable from Moscow. St. Petersburg did not grow gradually from
provincial backwater to major metropolis like its southern rival—this city was built up
from the bogs, fast and furious, to be an imperial capital. Museums, palaces, and bal-
let and opera houses are where St. Petersburgs's strengths lie.
VISITOR INFORMATION
The
St. Petersburg City Tourist Office
at 54 Sadovaya Ulitsa (
&
812/453-2121
)
does not have much more to offer than most hotels, but is worth a visit to find out
about festivals or special events. An easy-to-read and detailed
map
is the bilingual “St.
Petersburg Guide to the City.” Look out for the twice-weekly
The St. Petersburg Times,
and
Afisha Petersburg,
which is the best weekly magazine for entertainment, dining,
and shopping advice. See also “Visitor Information” in section 2 of this chapter.
The best tours of St. Petersburg are those done by
boat.
The smaller boats that
cruise the canals give a closer view of the city's insides than the ferries that go up and
down the Neva River. You can pick up a canal tour on Griboyedov Canal just north
of Nevsky Prospekt, and on the Fontanka River just north of Nevsky Prospekt; prices
run $3.50 to $7 (£2-£4) for a 1-hour tour.
GETTING THERE
BY PLANE
International flights into St. Petersburg land at the renovated
Pulkovo-2
Airport
(
&
812/104-3444;
http://eng.pulkovo.ru), 16km (10 miles) south of the city
limits or about a 30-minute ride to the center of town. You can arrange a taxi in advance
by calling the
official airport cab company
at
&
812/312-0022.
Public bus no. 13
takes you to Moskovskaya metro station for a few rubles.
BY TRAIN
Trains from Moscow arrive at Moskovsky (Moscow) Station, on Nevsky
Prospekt and within walking distance of several hotels. From Helsinki, the trip ends
at Finland Station (Finlandsky Vokzal; 6 Ploshchad Lenina). Other European trains
arrive at Warsaw Station (Varshavsky Vokzal; 118 Naberezhnaya Obvodnogo Kanala).
BY BUS
A few tour companies offer bus tours to St. Petersburg from Scandinavia
on top-class Finnish coaches. Buses arrive at
St. Petersburg Bus Station
(
Avtobusny
Vokzal;
36 Naberezhnaya Obvodonovo Kanala;
&
812/166-5777
).
