St Petersburg is Russia's 2nd largest city and the fourth largest city in Europe (after London, Paris, and Moscow). The population is almost 4.7 million people. The city was founded by the Tsar Peter I of Russia in 1703. In 1924 Petrograd/St Petersburg was renamed Leningrad. The city was later renamed St Petersburg in 1991.
WHITE NIGHTS
Darkness at night is never complete secondary to a late sunset and an early sunrise.
Normally from June 12th to July 2nd. There will be city festival during this time.
Present in St. Petersburg secondary to its northerly location.
Temperature
June average high is 67 and the average low is 51 F
July average high is 72 and the average low is 57 F
Currency: Ruble Universal Currency Converter
1 Ruble = 0.03 USD 1 US Dollar = 31.8 Rubles (June 8, 2010)
Time: EEST (UTC/GMT+3) - for reference London is UTC/Greenwich Mean Time
Calling Code: 7
Day 7&8 of Cruise - Fri/Sat (1st cruise), Wed/Thurs (2nd cruise), Mon/Tues (3rd cruise), Sat/Sun (4th cruise)
Places of Interest:
Palace Square (Dvortsovaya Ploschchad)
City's main square
Bordered by the Winter Palace (on the north)
The State Hermitage Museum Winter Palace
Is comprised of 6 buildings in the heart of the city with 3 million works of art
Alexander Column - in the middle of the square, named after Emperor Alexander I (1801-1824)
Built to commemorate victory over Napoleon, erected in 1834
Nevsky Prospect - main avenue in St. Petersburg
Tikhvin Cemetary - Dostoyevsky & Tchaikovsky
The Bronze Horseman
monument to Peter the Great, the founder of the city, built by Catherine the Great
Peter and Paul Fortress
Cities oldest section, filled with museums and cathedrals (including Cathedrals of Saints Peter and Paul)
St. Isaac's Cathedral
Elaborate church - the largest in St. Petersburg - completed in 1858, that is now a museum
Closed Wed (will affect 2nd cruise) Hours 11:00-19:00
Church of the Savior on the Spilled Blood
- on the embankment of the Griboyedov Canal
Russian Museum
Art museum - Russian exhibits (400,000)
Pavlosk
Summer Palace that Catherine the Great built for her son Paul I
16 miles south of St. Petersburg (outside Pushkin)
St. Petersburg Circus
Russian Museum of Ethnography
kid crafts Sunday
Kuznechny Market
Excursions:
Peterhof Palace (Petrodvorets) /Summer Gardens
"the Russian Versailles" - vast complex of buildings with 120 fountains
18 miles west of St. Petersburg on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland
The best way to get here is by hydrofoil (40 minutes from the Winter Palace) www.russian-cruises.ru
Hours 9:00-17:00 Closed on Mondays and the last Tuesday of the month
Palace of Catherine the Great
In the town of Pushkin (approximately 12 miles from St. Petersburg)
Amber Room - sometimes called the "8th wonder of the world" - rebuilt and opened in 2003
FOOD
Teremok
large chain of street stands
Bliny - thin pancake stuffed with meat or sweets
SHOPPING
Decorative Glass
Faberge Style Eggs
Nesting dolls
Russian Shawls
Russian Standard Vodka - distilled in St. Petersburg, #1 premium vodka consumed in Russia
Russian Tea -Princess Noori
Other Information Sites
http://www.europeportreviews.com/St.Petersburg.htm
