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.
Swimming pools in St Petersburg without a membership: single-session prices and the medical certificate rule
Which St Petersburg pools sell single sessions, what they cost, where a medical certificate is demanded before every visit, opening hours and what to bring.
Pharmacies and doctors in St Petersburg: what a visitor needs to know
The organisational side of healthcare for visitors to St Petersburg: emergency numbers, home visits via 122, walk-in trauma centres, paid versus insured appointments and prescriptions.
Breakfast in St Petersburg: who opens at seven and who stops serving at noon
There is no citywide breakfast hour in St Petersburg. A hotel dining room starts at 7:00, an independent coffee shop at 9:00, a bakery inside a shopping centre at 10:00. What the venues publish themselves, with prices and museum opening times.
St Petersburg MFC public service centres: what a visitor can actually get done
How the city‘s My Documents centres work for visitors: extraterritorial services and the exceptions, health policy rules, passport timelines, booking and queue tickets.
Working from St Petersburg for a day: coworking desks, libraries and pay-by-the-minute cafes
Day passes at St Petersburg coworking spaces cost 1,000 to 1,900 roubles, trial days go for 500, and the city runs free desks — with opening hours and the small print.
Cinema tickets in St Petersburg: how to pay 200 roubles instead of 400
Monday screenings at 200 roubles, concessions at 150 at the box office only, cheaper morning shows, free city screenings and how to pay without a Russian bank card.
Food delivery in St Petersburg: locked courtyards, hotel rules and refunds
Ordering food to a rented flat in St Petersburg is easy until the courier calls from a locked gate. What the address field must contain, where delivery legally stops, how hotels and hostels differ, and how refunds work.
Cycling in St Petersburg: 5990 roubles a season, 65 roubles on the train, and the park that turns you away at weekends
A season pass with the city bike-sharing service costs 5990 roubles, parking outside a designated point costs 500, and a bicycle on a suburban train is 65 roubles - or free with a season ticket. Elagin Island refuses bicycles on Saturdays and Sundays.
Where to watch the sunrise in Saint Petersburg in autumn and winter
Sunrise times in Saint Petersburg from September to January, how the sunrise moves from east to south-east, viewpoints with addresses and metro opening hours.
Working with a Laptop in St Petersburg: Free Reading Rooms, 500 Roubles an Hour and the Socket Trap
Library reading rooms are free but need a card and a passport, coworking starts at 500 roubles an hour, and cafes send silent signals about whether you can stay.
Long Walks in St Petersburg: Four Routes of 2 to 4 Hours, 200 Roubles for a Park at Weekends
Four walking routes that start and end at a metro station, with the coffee stops, the only free toilets on the way and an honest list of what turns slippery in autumn.
Luggage on the St Petersburg metro: 120 cm free, 150 cm for 95 roubles, bigger not allowed
The metro charges by the sum of three dimensions, not weight. Up to 120 cm is free, 121-150 cm costs 95 roubles per piece through turnstile No. 1, and anything over 150 cm is refused.