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GoRail goes Tallin to St Petersburg in spring

GoRail opens its Tallinn-St Petersburg train route in spring; the exact date when travels will begin as well as the time of the train’s departure are unclear yet. According to GoGroup’s communication manager Silvia Parmann, the train will probably depart in the mornings so that it can arrive in St Petersburg by afternoon. Travel will take six hours. The new train holds 250 passengers; the price of one-way ticket will be EEK 300-350. The train will make only one stop in Narva.

More Instant Availability on InstantStPetersburg.com

Live prices are now posted on our www.instantstpetersburg.com website, as well as on www.selectrussia.com for all dates in 2007. Prices offer huge discounts from published prices. We believe that this is the widest selection of instant availablity for St Petersburg on any website - and the lowest prices - check it out!

Our websites are linked to our own database of instant availability - unlike many of our competitors! We have a wide range of hotels offering instant booking options - but if you cant find what you want, just email, call or chat with us online. When you book online, you will receive immediate confirmation of your booking. We look after tens of thousands of visitors to St Petersburg every year and our aim is to give personal service to each and every one!

We have added a link to the cost of airport transfers, tours - and loads of useful information ranging from airport maps, metro maps, museums and restaurants, lists of overseas consulates for visa processing. In addition to this, simply click on the live chat button and talk directly to our offices in St Petersburg and Moscow for the latest in up to date travel advice and support. If we are missing anything that you think would be of assitance, please do tell us - maybe use our Russia Travel Forums to share your experiences or thoughts with others.

Welcome to St Petersburg!

Images of Russia Now Online!!

We have a large stock of brochure-quality photo images for tour operator client websites and brochures...these are of Moscow, St Petersburg, Ekaterinburg, Irkutsk, Baikal and beyond. Email us for login and password. These images are available to our clinets and are unique to us - we do retain copyright of all images but invite all partners to use them free of charge!

New Form of Transport Hits City Streets

In sync with the worldwide trend, St. Petersburg has adopted a new mode of transportation. Since the end of May and continuing through the summer, cycle rickshaws have been rolling the streets of St Petersburg and Petrodvorets.

Tourists to be Saved By City�s New Angels

Foreign tourists may have less trouble on the streets of St. Petersburg now when an “Angels Service” begins to patrol the city, according to City Hall.

Having spotted Angels in “I Can Help” T-shirts, tourists will be able to approach them and receive qualified help on how to get to places, where to shop and what to do in emergency situations.

The project is part of the St. Petersburg 2005-2010 development program, on the completion of which the city hopes to receive 5 million visitors every year, said Nana Gvichiya, deputy director of the city’s tourist information center.

Ibis Hotels come to St Petersburg!

Two new Ibis Hotels are due to open in central St Petersburg - one in 2007 and one in 2008. Prices are expected soon. Both hotels have good central locations and will provide a great boost to tourist class hotels in the city, as well as stiff competition for the older 3 star hotels in the city.

More news soon.

'St Petersburg soil on sale'

St. Petersburg soil will soon be on sale to the public. A new line of small and colorful souvenirs — red and blue velvet bags — are full of soil from both St. Petersburg and the USSR and decorated respectively with the emblem of the city’s open bridges and the Soviet crest.
The project “Soil of St. Petersburg” follows on from another line of souvenirs called “Air of St. Petersburg” that was launched by the entrepreneur Sergei Luchnikov during the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg in 2003.

At a cost of 300 to 350 rubles for a bag of soil and 200 to 380 rubles for a bottle of air, the souvenirs are aiming to occupy the niche of exclusive “representative” gifts. They will probably be among the presents given to the VIP guests at the G8 summit held in St. Petersburg in July. “More than 270 bottles of St. Petersburg air have recently been bought by the president Vladimir Putin’s administration,” said Luchnikov.

Moving pictures

Last Thursday the State Hermitage Museum opened perhaps the most “dynamic” exhibition ever held at the museum.

“Experiments in Visual Kineticism” features around 50 works of “kinetic” art in which motion or the appearance of motion is incorporated into the work. Although the genre has roots in the modernist 1920s, the heyday of kinetic art was the 1960s and 1970s with an example of it winning the first prize at the Venice Biennale in 1968.

Mariinsky Theatre to Close for Restoration

The Mariinski (formerly Kirov) Theatre will close for repairs from January 2007 to spring 2008. Performances will continue in alternative venues throughout the period...but the traditional theatre will undergo extensive repair and reconstruction."

New Ambassador Hotel

Try out a great new hotel in St Petersburg. The ambassador Hotel opened in October 2005 and has rapidly gained a great reputation for good service and great facilities. Its aim is to create a unique hotel with all the traditions of the city.

The hotel has a restaurant Vernissage with great service and spectacular views over the skyline of the city. Complete with its own heli-pad, this is a great new base for leisure or business travellers!