Urban Historian
Author and journalist at Piter Pass. Shares travel tips, attraction guides, and insider knowledge about Saint Petersburg to help visitors make the most of their trip.
General Staff or Winter Palace: which Hermitage building when you have one visit
The two Hermitage buildings are two museums with separate entrances and tickets. Who should pick the Winter Palace and who the General Staff: with children, for the Impressionists, for the state rooms. How long to allow, which entrance is on your ticket, and the rules visitors trip over.
Yusupov Palace on the Moika: tickets, opening hours, the private theatre and Rasputin's rooms
How to visit the Yusupov Palace in autumn 2026: entrance from 21 Dekabristov Street, ticket office open 09:30–18:00, tickets from 950 ₽ on the official website. How the routes differ, how to see the Rasputin murder exhibition and the private theatre, how much time to allow and what to see nearby.
The Russian Museum in St Petersburg: tickets, opening hours, free days and a two-hour route
The Russian Museum is five buildings in the centre of St Petersburg, and each has its own ticket. We explain what is where, how much tickets cost in October–November 2026, when you can get in for free, how to see "The Last Day of Pompeii", Repin and Malevich in two hours, and where "The Ninth Wave" is on show from 16 October.
The Peter and Paul Fortress in autumn 2026: what is free, ticket prices and a three-hour route
Entry to the grounds of the Peter and Paul Fortress is free; you pay for the cathedral with the Romanov burial vault, the Trubetskoy Bastion Prison, the Commandant's House and the "Neva Panorama". We explain ticket prices in October and November 2026, when everything is open, where the noon gun is now fired from and how to see the fortress in 2–3 hours.
Mikhailovsky Theatre: how to buy tickets, what's on in November 2026 and visitor rules
The Mikhailovsky Theatre stands at 1 Arts Square, near Nevsky Prospekt and Gostiny Dvor metro stations. We explain how to buy tickets without a mark-up on the official website, when you can return them, what's on in November 2026 (including Nacho Duato's new Raymonda), which seats to choose and what to know about late arrival and the cloakroom.
Mariinsky Theatre: how to buy tickets on the official website and what's on in November 2026
The Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg has three stages: the historic one on Teatralnaya Square, Mariinsky II and the Concert Hall. We explain where each one is, how to buy a ticket on mariinsky.ru and at the box office, when you need a passport, how much you get back when returning a ticket and what to see in November 2026.
Saint Petersburg wants to raise the unpaid parking fine to 5,000 roubles: what applies now and where to leave your car
So far it is only a bill: the fine for unpaid parking in Saint Petersburg is currently 3,000 roubles. How much an hour costs in the centre, when parking is free and how to get to the centre without traffic jams or fines.
Marlen Khutsiev's last film premieres on 18 October at the Avrora cinema: how to get in
Nevechernyaya, Khutsiev's unfinished film about Tolstoy and Chekhov, now completed, is shown once: 18 October at 18:10 in the main hall of the Avrora cinema at the Message to Man festival. Where to buy a ticket and what else to see at the festival, 16–24 October.
Free things to do in St Petersburg, October 12–18: 16 events
16 free events for October 12–18: talks, screenings, open mics, clubs and TV filmings.
What's on in St Petersburg and Leningrad Region, October 12–18: 48 events
48 events for October 12–18: plays, matches, stand-up, talks, workshops, clubs and day trips.
Savely Schleifer exhibition at the Peter and Paul Fortress: a forgotten avant-garde painter
From 16 October 2026 to 28 March 2027 the Ioannovsky Ravelin shows more than 50 works by Savely Schleifer of the Union of Youth, close to everything that survives.
Kresty Museum in Saint Petersburg: What Is Planned and Where to See the Ensemble Now
The owner of the former Kresty complex has approved a museum concept with role-based routes and a lecture hall. No opening date yet and the site is closed, but Tomishko's red-brick ensemble is best seen from across the Neva.