General Facts about St. Petersburg

What Is It? Saint Petersburg the second main city of the Russian Federation after Moscow (athough the people in St. Petersburg won't agree with that :). It takes the space of more than 600 sq. km and there are about 4730000 people living there officially. Now it is the most northern city with population more than 4 millions people.
It was founded by Peter the Great, the impreror of Russia (beginning of 18th century) in 1703 on a swamp, to become one of the most powerful and beautiful port city in Europe.
It is considered to be the most "westernized" Russian city, and is quite touristic.


Where Is It? In the North-West of Russia, 2 hours by car from Finland or Estonia, and about 4 to 8 hours by train from Moscow.

Orientation. There are three things that you should know to be able to make your way in St. Petersburg: 1) Learn Russian alphabet to be able to read street names; 2) All streets numbering starts from Nevsky Prospekt; 3) The odd numbers are on the right-hand side of the street, the even numbers are on the left-hand side of the street.
The city is situated on the banks and islands of Neva river and Finsky bay. There are many natural and man-made canals and islands. City center is well organised, all the streets are perpendicular. As it was built after the model of Amsterdam, it reminds it slightly, though the streets are bigger.
The main and the oldest street in St. Petersburg, is called Nevsky Prospect, there's the main railway station in city on this street, a lot of shops, cafes, hotels, and tourist sights. The street is 4.5 km long.
The area around Nevsky Prospekt is much calmer, and is a great place to walk around too. There are many museums, beautiful sights, little cozy cafes and restaurants, and hotels.
Vasilievski island, which is to the west of Nevsky Prospekt street, is a quiet residential area. On this island there are located St. Petersburg State University faculties and campus, so there are many places to walk around and inexpensive places to eat.


Climate in St. Petersburg. St.-Petersburg is located at the seashore of Baltic sea, that's why the climate here is damp and rainy. It's cool there in winter and warm in summer, the weather is changing often. There's no especially a rainy season, but in August there are many rains. Probably, the most interesting period is the "White Nights" in the end of June, when there is no darkness in the night, but the sky is light and you don't want to sleep. It is very beutiful, but be prepared: there are no special night movements over the city, just the same nightclubs, so it's more about witnessing a natural miracle, calm walking and thinking, rather than parades and street energy.
Average weather in Piter (celsius): January -8 | February -8 | March -4 | April +4 | May +9 | June +15 | July +17 | August +16 | September +11 | October +5 | November -1 | December -5

Practicalities. For practical information about St. Petersburg (accommodation, city guides, business travel, shopping, health and much more) see the Practicalities section of our site.