Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
crobreweries and more. In summer months, there is an additional assortment of letny
sady (summer gardens) scattered around town. It's also perfectly acceptable to go into
almost any restaurant and just order drinks.
Nightlife in St Petersburg
Like so many aspects of city life, nightlife in St Petersburg has changed beyond re-
cognition in the past decade. Gone are most of the elitist, flashy and downright tacky
nightclubs that came to be the norm during the late 1990s, and in their place is now a
sophisticated array of live music joints, jazz venues, dance clubs, stylish bars and
busy gay hotspots, all looking very European in comparison to their gaudy forebears.
Undoubtedly the centre of the city's party culture is ul Dumskaya, a side street off
Nevsky pr that has transformed into St Petersburg's unofficial drinking street. Indeed,
after midnight at the weekends, it's a sight to see. The bars on this street and in the
immediate area are the busiest and best known in the city. For more bohemian venues,
head south to Vosstaniya, where you'll find lots of hipsterish bars and clubs in and
around Ligovsky pr.
Finding Out Where to Go
Other than the recommendations in this topic, it's well worth checking the latest re-
views in the St Petersburg Times ( www.sptimes.ru ) and In Your Pocket
( www.inyourpocket.com/russia/st-petersburg ) . If you speak Russian, then
both Time Out St Petersburg ( www.timeout.ru ) and Afisha
( www.afisha.ru/spb ) have full club listings as well as bar reviews.
Face Control
This wonderful piece of Russ-glish came about during the 1990s, when Russia's new
rich started to party and wanted to do so in great exclusivity, thus creating an entire
social class of intimidating doormen whose job was to ensure you were well dressed
enough to enter a venue. It's quite rare these days (though security is nearly always
present), but if you're turned away from a venue, it means your face (and probably the
rest of you) has been controlled and found wanting.
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