A 'Great' time in St. Petersburg, Russia

The Peter’s and Paul’s Fortress is located on Zaichy Ostrov, and the complex is open from 10 a.m. - 10 p.m. Phone 7-812-230-0329 or go to  www.spbmuseum.ru/peterpaul for more information. Admission to the grounds is free, though you will encounter charges for admissions to the museums and cathedral within the fortress.

Peter and Paul Cathedral is located within the Fortress and keeps the same hours. Admission is roughly $4.

To walk atop the southern walls you’ll pay a bit less than $1 to the attendant stationed at the stairway.

Sightseeing cruises are available from a number of companies. For an inexpensive cruise, try Vodokhod (Dvortsovaya Naberezhnaya, phone 812/380-9011). Russian Cruises (Dvortsovaya Naberezhnaya, phone 812/974-0100; http://www.russian-cruises.ru/) however, has an English speaking staff guiding the tours. Prices vary by length of tour and destinations covered.

A blini at a Teremok hut should cost about $3. You’ll find these stands all over St. Petersburg but the one closest to the Hermitage is in front of 29 Italianskaya Street.

The State Hermitage Museum, 1 Palace Square, phone 812/110-9079; http://www.hermitage.ru/. The main museum is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays and Russian holidays from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Be careful: the ticket office closes an hour before the museum does. Admission to the Hermitage Museum is $13 adults, $3 students with ID, free for those under 18. You can purchase a museum tour for up to 5 people for an additional $55. Admission to other buildings in the Hermitage collection is $7.50 for each one, or you can buy a $25 ticket that allows entrance to the main museum and three others of your choice over the course of one day.

Grand Hotel Europe, 1 Mikhailovskaya Ulitsa; phone 800/426-3135, 812/329-6000; www.grandhoteleurope.com.

Dvorianskoe Gnezdo, 21 Ulitsa Dekabristov, phone 812 312-32-05.

Mariinsky Theater, 1 Teatralnaya Sq, phone 812/114-5264; www.mariinsky.ru/en.

Cynic, 4 Antonenko Pereulok, phone 812/312-1526. 

FishFabrique, 10 Pushkinskaya Ulitsa, phone 812/164-4857.

Liverpool, 16 Ulitsa Mayakovskaya, phone 812/279-2054; www.liverpool.ru.

Pauline Frommer is the creator of the new Pauline Frommer guides in bookstores now. Her book, Pauline Frommer's New York, was named Best Guidebook of the Year by the North American Travel Journalists Association.

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