Going out in Saint Petersburg

You can get a good meal at Laima bistro at 30/16 Canal Griboedova.  Good prices, and a chalkboard menu helps you order in Russian or English.  Most seats require a long walk up a flight of stairs with your tray.  You can ask that it be carried for you.  Lots of students and travellers here!

The theatre, museums, and other sights can be inexpensive if you shop around and aren't spotted as a foreigner and told to pay more. The quality of the interiors along with the art are noteworthy.  Try the Bolshoi Zal for excellent symphonies.

Mayakovsky Library is fabulous if you crave books in English, and other languages, too.  It is at 46 Fontanka, with the entrance in the back of the first courtyard southeast of Nevsky Prospect.  Also the bookshops Anglia and Parsons are both at 38 Fontanka.

Dom Knigy is the landmark bookstore on Nevsky.

Walking along Nevsky, the Broadway of St. Petersburg, you can get a good feel for the city.  Also, take note of the various forms of transit, especially the metro with its Stalin era stations.

Climb to the top of the dome of St. Isaac's Cathedral to get a bird's eye view of the old center city... This place is a good start for identifying and visiting tourist spots.

Try to visit these famous locations...

    The Russian Museum

    The Hermitage

    Peter and Paul Fortress

    Finyandsky train station

    The ship Aurora

    The Summer Garden

And take a few day trips to

    Pushkin and

    Peterhof

This is just an overview of hundreds of interesting places, museums, and restaurants. If you have the energy and curiosity you'll be busy for days, weeks, why even years!