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.
Saint Petersburg suburbs without a car: a 65-rouble train to Peterhof
Suburban trains and buses to Peterhof, Pushkin, Pavlovsk, Lomonosov, Kronstadt and Gatchina: official 2026 fares, where to buy tickets and when the last trains leave.
St Petersburg in November: sunset at 16:06 and the last bridge opening on 30 November
The city loses 2 hours 9 minutes of daylight over November. Exact sunrise and sunset times, the final bridge openings, Peterhof fountain dates and which viewpoints still work.
Bookshops of St Petersburg: Dom Knigi until 23:00, the book fair closes at 18:00
Three floors in the Singer building, independent shops on Liteyny, Nekrasova and the Fontanka, second-hand books on Nevsky and 250 stalls at the city book fair: addresses, opening hours and how to get the books home.
Ice rinks in St Petersburg: mid-November openings, 450-rouble rental and a 6,000-rouble bill for broken skates
New Holland opened its rink between 11 and 26 November in each of the last four seasons, always announced a week or two ahead. No 2026/27 date yet. Prices, rules, indoor arenas and why a thaw cancels sessions.
Free concerts in St Petersburg: admission costs nothing, but you still need a ticket
In St Petersburg free admission comes in three different forms. Where to hear music and lectures for nothing — the Conservatory, the National Library concert hall, bookshop lecture halls and churches — and how registration really works.
Museum ticket refunds in St Petersburg: 100 % ten days ahead, nothing two days before
The federal 100/50/30 refund ladder plus the separate rules of the Hermitage, Russian Museum, Peterhof and Tsarskoye Selo.