Rosalinda

Can't quite figure out how to spend time in St. Petersburg and in Denmark. Most tours, arrangements go through Helsinki and Stockholm. Also, we REALLY like to hang out in art museums and don't want to be rushed through the Hermitage. Any suggestions on how to manage this?

Marc David Miller

There are countless ways of covering both cities, but you will have to make arrangements in both cities (I don't know of any tours that visit just Copenhagen and St Petersburg as that makes little geographic sense).

Carson

I was at the Hermitage last week and did not really feel like anyone was pushing me to get through it. Seems like if you wanted to stare at the Rembrandts, Picassos, etc all day no one would come and suggest you leave.<BR><BR>Finally, here is a HUGE endorsement for the guide services of Olga Stepanova. I learned of her from this site and I can tell you she was a godsend during my time there. She is knowledgeable, passionate about the city, and has limitless energy. I highly, highly recommend her to anyone that wants a great, bi-lingual guide to see the city.<BR><BR>[email protected]<BR><BR>Trip report to follow soon.

Marc David Miller

Carson, I am happy that you liked my recommendation of Olga. Everyone else has told me how wonderful she is, and I can't wait for my tours with her in the middle of June-early July.<BR><BR>Rosalinda, depending on what you are doing you might want to hire Olga for a day or two (or more, depending on your needs) as she is licensed by all of the museums and can really help you see both the highlights and the more esoteric sights. Often what I did (and will do) is hire her for the day and ask her to make arrangements with the museums (especially smaller msueums or those that I had a great interest in) to have their curator show me around (with Olga simultaneously translating).

robinphill

Marc and Carson - I'm in communication with Olga Stepanova for my trip in May. Sounds like she is great! Did you mostly walk around with her, take the metro, or drive? Did she spend whole days with you? I am hoping that she will want to do some walking - our hotel in St. Pete is pretty central.

kiki

Hi all,

Just found out about the &quot;Olga&quot; recommendation for St. Petersburg. Can any of you share what her fees are, etc.? Thanks,

Kiki

Tuni01

We just returned from St. Petersburg and used the guide services booked through Pallidium. They were great. The guide spoke excellent English and was very good. We toured the Hermitage and took at trip to Catherine's Palace with her and a driver. I had emailed with Olga but decided not to use her. I found her a little pushy and questioned my agenda (we wanted to spend a lot of time in the Hermitage). I can't say enough good things about Pallidium. They were so friendly and answered numerous questions I had. They purchased air and train tickets for us also. You can contact them at: [email protected] or http://www.palladium.spb.ru/tours.html

abram

Palladium got a little huffy with me when I asked some questtions. We are booked with Red october. the prices were very similar, but RO was much more accommodating.