Interesting facts about SPB

During the WW2 the only way to bring food into besieged St. Petersburg was in winter time, over the frozen Ladoga Lake, the so called "Road of Life".

St. Petersburg was renamed several times: the original name was Saint-Petersburg, then it was renamed to Petrograd, in 1924 it became Leningrad, and finally Saint Petersburg in 1991.

With the population of 5 millions, St. Petersburg is the Top3 city in Europe, and the largest European non-capital city. It is the biggest northern city in the world.

The first building of Saint-Petersburg is Peter and Paul Fortress; it was built as a defensive readout to hold the strategic spot - Neva river's delta.

It took 40 years (1818 - 1858) to build St. Isaac's Cathedral. Its weight equals 300 000 tons, its dome is covered with gold and haven't seen any renovation yet.

The total area of Hermitage is 233345 sq.m., the exhibition area is 66842 sq.m.; if one stops for 1 minute at each Hermitage exhibit, it will take 8 years to see them all.

St. Petersburg is traditionally strong in sports: FC Zenit and HC SKA are based here. Both teams compete for the championship in their respective national and European leagues.

During the times of Russian Empire, Peter and Paul Fortress used to be a gaol, and many rich and famous persons were held there; no one has ever escaped it.

The fountains of Peterhof operate without any pumps - they only use gravity and brilliant engineering schemes.

Russians tend to use short names like "SPB", "Piter" [peetyer], or simply "Petersburg" for Saint-Petersburg.

While being city's marvel, bridges of St. Petersburg are also a nuisance for drivers: main crossings gather huge traffic jams during rush hours.

St. Petersburg metro is the deepest in the world. Of the 67 stations, 50 stations are located at the depth of 30 meters minimum. 8 stations are UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Around 10% of Saint-Petersburg is covered with water.

The Hermitage Cats are officially appointed vermin hunters of Hermitage, their history starts in 1724 with Vasiliy, a cat brought by Peter I from Netherlands.

Saint-Petersburg is known for its dull overcast, especially in non-summer time. There's a meme in Russia that St. Petersburg citizens discern 50 shades of gray :)

There are around 700 pubs, night clubs, and bars in St. Petersburg Russia; city holds the title of night life capital of Russia over even Moscow

St. Petersburg is known as 'Russian Cultural Capital': there are over 70 Theatres, 300 Museums, 200 Temples in St. Petersburg; Also, city hosts a lot of Russian and international cultural events every year.

The State Russian Museum holds over 15000 pictures. It also have 4 facades built in different styles for the puprose of matching different streets architecture.

During the WW2 Peterhof Grand Palace was razed to the ground by German army; The palace was rebuilt, but statues of Fountain Cascade are originals - they were hidden in Grottos.

By 2017 St Petersburg saw 288 floods during its history. Statistically, floods occur in 90% of years. To mitigate flood risks, a giant Dam's construction was finished in 2011.

Saint-Petersburg is the tramway world capital: the length of tram rails is over 600km, it is recorded in Guinness World Records!

In 2017 St. Petersburg was visited by 7 million tourists. It is for the good reason, hurry to join them!

There are 15 Saint-Petersburgs in the world; Don't mix it up!

St. Isaac's cathedral is the largest cathedral in Russia and Top4 in the world. Its dome offers a beautiful vista of the city centre and it is open for tourists.

The Bronze Horseman, a monument to Peter the Great and a symbol of St. Petersburg, is actually made of iron.

The Admiralty is crowned with the gilded ship on the ball. There's a legend that the ball holds immense treasures, but in fact it holds the spire restoration reports.

There are 342 bridges of various size and design in Saint-Petersburg: 22 of them are drawbridges - they are drawn nightly during the summer navigation period.

Saint-Petersburg was founded at the Swedish territory: in 1703 Russia and Sweden were engaged in Northern War. After the war that land passed to Russian Empire.

St. Petersburg is nationally renowned for citizens' affection for coffee: there are lots of coffee shops throughout the city; no other Russian city may boast anything similar.

Nevsky Prospekt is the main avenue of St. Petersburg. It goes 5km through the historical city centre and holds a lot of magnificent sights.

White Nights of St. Petersburg Russia last for around 2 months: from mid-May till mid-July. During the peak of that period night lasts for 5h 12m, with almost no darkness at all!

The world-famous Amber Room was stolen from Catherine's Palace during the WW2. It was fully reconstructed after the war; the original room's items were never found.

Alexander's Сolumn, which stands at Palace Square's centre, has overall height of 47,5 meters and weights 704 tons; it stands by its own weight only, without any fix to the ground.

After WW2, St. Petersburg (Leningrad at that point) was granted the title of "Hero City" along with other 11 Soviet cities for citizens' feats and valor during the war.

Mariinskiy Theatre is one of the two famous Russian theatres (along with Moscow's Bolshoi). Mariinskiy is named after Empress Maria, wife of Alexander II.

The Siege of Leningrad during World War 2 lasted for 872 days; with almost 500000 military and 650000+ civil casualties, most of civils starved to death. The city was never captured.

Church of our Saviour on Blood was constructed at the site of Emperor's Alexander II assasination. Alexander lived through 5 attempts; 6th had been lethal for him.

Aurora Battle Cruiser might be the most renowned ship in Russian Navy. It lived through many naval battles, started the Revolution of 1917, and nowadays it is a museum.

The State Hermitage is one the TOP3 world museums. State Hermitage's collections include more that 3000000 items from all over the world. The total distance to walk is around 20km.

An equestrian statue of Emperor Nicholas the First at St. Isaac's Square is a unique monument in its kind: it uses only two points of support; it is the only such statue in the world.

St. Petersburg Everyday Life 2-Day Shore Tour for Cruise Passengers

Pricing
Party Size	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Cost Per Person	$540	$460	$390	$350	$330	$320	$300	$290	$280

Visa-Free: No Russian Visa required to join this tour!

Private Tour: it is conducted exclusively for your party - no other persons on the tour!

All admission tickets are included!

Tour includes Rivers and Canals boat trip

No queues: Fast track access to all places of interest!

All Taxes and fees are included!

Comfortable A/C vehicle on the tour!

You will be guided by a Proficient and Highly Experienced Guide!

We provide Bottled Water for everyone on this tour!

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Description:

Saint-Petersburg is a truly magnificent city, with all its marvelous avenues, cathedrals, museums, palaces and parks. But it is also a place where 5000000 people live their lives: they use metro, get stuck in traffic jams. go to offices, industry hubs, schools, universities, markets, restaurants, and attend to dozens of everyday activities all people across the globe do. If you want to know more of everyday life of St. Petersburg citizens, of their realities, customs, and their way of life, this tour is for you. We gathered all people-related activities in this package; you will also have a unique opportunity to have a lunch with a common St. Petersburg family in their place!

Inside Visits:

Catherine Palace, Amber Room, Metro, Church of Our Savior on Blood, State Hermitage Museum, Peter and Paul Fortress, Kuznechny food market

Duration

2 Days

Activity Level

Moderate

Maximum group size

Your Private Party

Lunches

Included for 1st Day

Itinerary

Route