Alone in St Petersburg: dinners with strangers and other ways to find company
Convium seats 4–6 strangers at one restaurant table: 1,500 ₽ for the matching, food paid separately, no friends allowed. Who it suits, what an evening really costs and free alternatives.
Taxi trouble in Saint Petersburg: when you do not have to pay extra
The app price is a contract term, and the aggregator is liable for a car missing from the official register. Pulkovo touts, raised bridges at night and where to complain.
A tour of a working confectionery factory in St Petersburg
The K. Samoylova factory, founded in 1862 as Georges Borman, takes visitors into its workshops on weekdays, children from six. Schedule, price, rules and a second factory in Gorelovo.
Free in St Petersburg: 14 events for the week of 14 — 20 September
Concerts, talks, exhibitions and festivals in St Petersburg with free entry for the week of 14 — 20 September. With dates, times and addresses — and a note on where "free" really means "by registration".
Phone stolen in Saint Petersburg: what to do in the first hours
Block the SIM and your cards first, then lock the device, then report it. What the police must give you, the legal deadlines, and where thefts happen most in the city.
Saint Petersburg beyond Nevsky: seven districts worth the trip
A village with a wooden church inside the city, towers on concrete legs, a glass pavilion above the gulf, free workshops and parks only locals use. Seven addresses with metro stations.
Falling ill in Saint Petersburg with an OMS policy from another region: where to go and what is free
A Russian compulsory medical insurance policy issued anywhere in the country works in Saint Petersburg. What is covered, the waiting times you are owed, how to register with a clinic and who to call if refused.
Pumpkin Spice Latte in Saint Petersburg: Where to Find It and How to Order
The season opens in September. What is actually in the cup, where to look for it in the city, how to ask for a less sweet version and how long it stays on menus.
Saint Petersburg Parks Without Tourists: Where Locals Actually Walk
Sosnovka, Udelny, Piskaryovsky, Murinsky, Polyustrovsky, the 300th Anniversary Park and Shuvalovsky: seven city parks that never make the guidebooks. Addresses, how far from the metro, and what to expect in autumn.
Saint Petersburg in the Rain: Where to Go When It Pours
Rain here is a steady drizzle that lasts half a day. Covered museums with hours, the free waiting halls of Vitebsky station, arcades on Nevsky, a central route that keeps you indoors, and what the rain actually cancels.
The Museum Is Closed and You Are Already There: Sanitary Days, Unscheduled Closures and Refunds
The Kunstkamera closes on Mondays and the last Tuesday of the month, the Peterhof fountains stop on 18 October, and any museum can shut without warning. What happens to your ticket, how refunds work and where to go instead.
Vanishing Detail: What Saint Petersburg Is Losing and Rebuilding Right Now
Six addresses where the argument is happening today: windows reshaped on the Sysoev mansion, chimneys removed on Chernyshevsky Avenue, a concrete shell the city cannot demolish. What is changing, how to check a building's protected status, and what to see before it changes.