Ready to answer your questions about Saint- Petersburg, city I live in...

I live in Saint-Petersburg. I've noticed many questions about my city, tours, guides, tour companies. So perhaps I'll be able to answer some of your questions, if you have any...

Hi, I will be visiting St Petersburg in mid July. What kind of clothes do you suggest that I bring? I am from Texas so we are accustomed to very warm weather. Should I bring long sleeve shirts and jackets? Would sandals be appropriate to wear in the city? I am excited about visiting your city.

Betty, it will not be as warm as in Texas. If you are lucky, temperatures reach 25°C and it will be sunny - in other words: like San Antonio in December. In this case, short sleeve shirts will be perfect.

If not, it will be raining with temperatures around 17°C. Dress flexibly - onion system. A light rain jacket and/or umbrella (here in Europe we have those super-light, super-small umbrellas which are perfect for travelling) is always wise. In case of rain, a short sleeve shirt + jacket might work even better than a long sleeve shirt.

In any case, wear comfy shoes - Sankt Petersburg requires quite a bit of walking to explore the city and the sights.

One of my favourite experiences in Sankt Petersburg is a performance (opera or ballet) at the Mariinsky Theater. You can order your tickets online. www.mariinsky.ru/en/

The locals dress up for the performance. An evening in the theater is very stylish.

Everything, mentioned above is true. July is the warmest month here. July is the time when we can finally start wearing sandals and short sleeve shirts.But it's always wise to take some rain jacket.

It's also very important what time you go out. In the morning it's quite chilly. And what is more important is where you go. For instance if you go to Peterhoff (it's 10 minutes from the Gulf of Finland), there it can be really windy, even stormy sometimes, but usually not in July.

Unfortunately the weather is very unpredictable here. You never know, what it will be like.It can be sunny and in 10 minutes it can be rainy.

Last summer was terrible. In July the highest temperature was 12°C in the sun, mostly it was 7-8°C. But July was warm. In my opinion, it's the best time to come here.

Besides they promised hot and very dry summer this year ( what is rather untypical for us, as it's usually very humid, damp here, this city was built on swamps, all in all we have only around 60 sunny days a year here, and of course most of them are in summer).

As for shoes I absolutely agree with Echnaton.
It's a big city. It takes much time to get from one place to another. Comfy shoes are vitally important.

Thank-you for all of the info. Very helpful.

Will the ballet in St. Petersburg be performing in July? We will be visiting St. Petersburg the 3rd week of July. This is after the White Nights Celebration. Is is possible to buy tickets after we arrive in St. Petersburg?

I just checked the internet. The White Nights Celebration is through July 19. We will be in St Petersburg that weekend.

I don't know how long you are going to stay here...But usually it's not a problem to buy tickets after you come to St.Petersburg, if you stay here for 3 days at least and book tickets on the first one.

To have good seats and to get tickets for the good ballet I think it's better to book five or four days in advance.

You can try even later maybe even one day in advance as in summer not so many people go to the theatre, but at the same time it means, that they have not so many really good ballets, as a lot of our best ballet dancers move abroad in summer and have performances there. Thus I would recommend you to check the programmes of such theatres as Mariinsky thetre : http://www.mariinsky.ru/en and in Coservatoire (thier web-site has some problems now). Usually the ballets take place there.

In summer they always organize some extra ballets for the tourists, sometimes in some other theatres.

You can ask the managers at your hotel to book the thickets for you , they will do it, or the guide, if you are going to have one.

Russian Folk shows are also very popular here, with traditional Russian folk dances and songs. I would recommend thу Cossacks' Folk Show. They have gained great popularity for the last 4-5 years.

I'm not sure that I've given an answer to your question in full measure, so please don't hesitate asking me again

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Nights_Festival

IMHO the fold shows are a complete bore. the first dance is fine - but all the others look the same and after 30 minutes your head is ready to explode.

We bought ballet tickets from the box office for about $7 each (a hotel concierge or guide will charge you at least $60). Speaking only English is not a problem - and there are programs in English. I can confirm that the locals do get all gussied up. We had box seats for Anna Karenina - the first 2 in the box - and there were two local women of a certain age in the 2 rear seats (we were also of a certain age - but in my experience American women of more than 40 look about 15 years younger than russian women - we haven;t had such very hard lives growing up.. They had on brightly colored sateen dresses - obviously their best and had been to the hairdresser and were wearing about a ton of some very fragrant perfume. We nodded and smiled - but none of us had more than a few words of the other's language - so communication was limited, but the experience charming just the same.

Of cousre if you buy tickets by yourself at the ticket office or through internet, it will be much cheaper. It's always like that, everywhere in the world.

As for the folk show, you were just unlucky. The show, I've been several times to, is excellent. It's really exciting!

Just wondering?? What kind of adapter do I bring to use electricity in St Petersburg? Is it the same as Europe?

Electric adaptors seem to be the same as most of Europe look here:
http://www.kropla.com/electric2.htm

Most of us now use european adaptors. Usually in the hotels they also use them, if not (as far as I know, it can be in some inns),you can ask for it at the reception, they must have some other special adaptors to let you use electricity.

Hi, I will be arriving the last of May & be there the first few weeks of June. Any clothing recommendations? It was suggested to me that I bring shoes for rain-what do you think? Also, will be a single woman traveling alone needing transport from the airport to my river cruise. I emailed someone recommended on this board but no reply. Any suggestions for a driver,pls? Thx in advance!

As for shoes for rain will never be out of place here.It often rains. And yoy never know, what the weather will be like tomorrow, hope not snowy...
As for transport, I dont know, if i've understood you right,...so you need a driver, do you? Here is my e-mail: [email protected] would you please write and I'll sent you a telephone number, name and e-mail of an English-speaking driver.

HI maybe you can help
We are visiting SP in June 2010 and I am struggling to get information on doing canal trips by boat. I only find very expensive private tours. Where do the boats depart from and how much does it cost say for 1 hour? Can you do it on your own or must you go through a tour agency?
Thanks

Good day Kseniya - t.u. 4 volunteering to help us tourists get around; if u'd like info on vancouver, canada, i'd be glad to help u out. So, can a middle aged fit couple 'do' St. Petersburg on our own re: accomodations, tickets to Hermitage, tours, etc. or is a tour a necessity to avoid getting bogged down w/5 hr waits to get in somewhere, etc. Have read that mini hotels are great places re: $$ & food, etc. True? Also read that tourists can book evening tours of Hermitage. True?