Visitor Information in St. Petersburg

The staff members of the City Tourist Information Center (Gorodskoi Turistichesky Tsentr Informatsii ot Soveta po Turismu) are generally friendly, although they have a tendency to thrust maps and booklets at you in the absence of any great ideas themselves. The center has a database on cultural and sports events, hotels, major tourist attractions, and so on. You may also consult the St. Petersburg Tourism and Excursions Council (Soviet po Turismu i Ekskursiyam). You can also call the Infoline 24 hours a day; the operators may not have the answer to your question, but they will tell you so nicely.

Your best bet for information and assistance is your hotel, for virtually all of the hotels have established tourist offices for their guests. These offices, which provide many services, can help you book individual and group tours, make restaurant reservations, or purchase theater tickets. Even if you're not a hotel guest, you're usually welcome to use these facilities, provided you are willing to pay the hefty fees for their services.

If you plan on spending a great deal of time in the city, it might be worthwhile to invest about $5 in the Traveller's Yellow Pages for Saint Petersburg (www.infoservices.com), a compact telephone book and handbook written in English, with indexes in several languages, including English. You can pick one up at most of the bookstores that carry English-language books.

Tourist Information

City Tourist Information Center (14 Sadovaya ul., City Center. 812/310-8286 or 812/310-2822. www.spb.ru/eng. Weekdays 10-6. Metro: Sennaya Ploshchad). Infoline (812/325-9325). St. Petersburg Tourism and Excursions Council (3 Italianskaya ul., City Center. 812/110-6739; 812/314-8786 office; 812/710-6690 foreign section. 812/710-6824).