For Free - St Petersburg - page 45

overgrown beauty of the gardens at the Alexander Nevsky Monastery ( CLICK HERE
) and the spacious and pleasant Tauride Gardens ( CLICK HERE ) in Smolny - all free
and perfect on a sunny day.
Money Saving
Try to get the Russian price wherever possible - if you have a local friend, go along
with them and keep quiet at the ticket office. If you'll use the metro a lot, buy a mag-
netic card (R30) and buy trips in bulk to save money. Eat business lunches (biznes
lanch) in restaurants, which are great value and very filling. Book in good time for the
ballet to get the best choice of seats and not to be limited to the most expensive.
Cheap Frills
Even though there's relatively little for free in St Petersburg, there are plenty of sights
that are very reasonably priced. Try the Hermitage's other branches, each of which
can be visited for a reasonable R60, or the Mendeleev Museum ( CLICK HERE ; R30),
Stieglitz Museum ( CLICK HERE ; R60) and Kirov Museum ( CLICK HERE ; R90),
all excellent value for money.