St. Petersburg

Weather

In June and July in St. Petersburg you can expect a good warm weather and to experience the beauty of famous white nights. The temperature may vary between 15-30 degrees C. Rainy days may occur.

Online weather forecast on this site

Online weather forecast on petersburgcity.com

Some practical advices

In St. Petersburg some (usually expensive) shops and restaurants accept payment by a credit card. You can also find a lot of bankomat machines in the city. Normally, you can pay only by cash in rubles. In particular, in a suburb (where it is planned to hold the conference) you can pay anywhere only by cash in rubles, and there are no bankomat machines. It is advised to take with you some cash in US dollars and credit cards and to take the cash and change dollars into rubles in St. Petersburg. Travellers cheques are also accepted in banks. There are a lot of exchange offices (in the airport, also in the centre of the city, e.g. at Nevsky prospect). Exchange rates do not differ a lot, but usually the best rate is at exchange office at the corner of Liteiniy and Nevsky prospects (Nevsky 78). You can also change at Nevsky 78 any kind of currency, but usually you lose more on difference in rates for European currencies than for US dollars. USD and EURO are accepted at any exchange office of the city.

St. Petersburg is a relatively safe city, for instance, more safe than Paris or some other capitals. However, you should be aware of pickpockets. Please keep in mind that you, as a foreigner, will be considered by them as a “rich person”. If you walk after midnight in the city, it is better to be in the company of another participant. However, please remember that the subway is closed after midnight, and ask in your hotel when if it is open during the night.

The simplest way to travel in St. Petersburg is to take the subway. The price for one ride is 8 rubles ($1 is approx. 29 rubles). Please find here map of the subway and the intaractive map of the city.

Useful links

Images of St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg is called Venice of the North, and in fact it is "cultural capital" of Russia. The magnificent Hermitage and Russian Museum can give a flavour of the cultural image of the city, where you can find a numerous theatres and the famous Russian ballet. For someone more inclined towards nature, the Russian czars residences, for example Pavlovsk, Peterhoff, and Pushkin, can offer a pleasant hostage; or alternatively one can take an unforgettable boat trip through river Neva and the city channels.

Here you can see some images, which give a shadow of St. Petersburg's beauty.

Photos
(Neva river; Nikolsky cathedral; St. Peter and St. Paul church; Smolny cathedral; St. Isaac cathedral; Troitsky cathedral; cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky Abbey):

More photos of St. Petersburg at "Wandering Camera"

More photos of St. Petersburg at "Photoline":
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Russian ballet: "Gizelle" and "Swan Lake" in Mariinsky Theatre

Here is a small part of one of numerous collections of Hermitage:
Titian. Danae. 1446-1453.
Leonardo da Vinci. Madonna Litta. 1490.
Raphael. Madonna Conestabile. 1503.

In Russian Museum you can see Russian art from antique icons to the modern paintings:

	Unknown author. The Mother of God of Tenderness of Belozersk. First Half of the 13th Century.
	Repin. Cossacks Write an Answer to the Turkish Sultan. 1880-1891.
	Aivazovsky. The Ninth Wave. 1850.
	Vrubel. A Six-winged Seraph. 1904.

More paintings from the Russian Museum