CITY GUIDE

Hotels

The city on the Neva River can be called one of the world's busiest "crossings". In terms of number of people visiting the city daily, Saint-Petersburg can probably leave Moscow behind. The "Northern capital" of Russia attracts tourists, business-people, students and other visitors from all over Russia and many other countires of the world.

The most common short-stay accomodation choice is a hotel, of course. Saint-Petersburg has always been famous for its variety of hotels, which are always ready to offer you various levels of service. Mini-hotels are also popular among visitors, due to their comfort, homeliness and ability to meet client's individual needs.

The majority of large and small hotels are located in the historical center of Saint-Petersburg, just a short stroll away from the most spectacular architectural sights. However, you can find a place to stay uptown or on the outskirts of the city, which would be much more cost-effective.

You can easily get confused by this diversity of hotels, expensive or cheap, large or small, luxurious or simple. Any Saint-Petersburg yellow pages listing includes dozens of pages devoted to hotels. The administration of "Northern Forest" recommends the guests to take advantage of the optimal accomodation choices in Saint-Petersburg, where the competition will begin, and near the competition base camp. For the detailed information on accomodation choices for the guests of baja "Saint-Petersburg's Northern Forest" please check Accomodation section of this web-site.

If you prefer to find a place to stay individually, we strongly recommend you to search Internet resources for Saint-Petersburg hotels, for example, www.petersburgtravel.ru or www.hotels-spb.ru.

Restaurants and traditional cuisine

Russian cuisine is extremely popular all over the world. It is famous for different exotic soups, among which shchi (cabbage) and borscht (beetroot) are the most popular. Most of the traditional Russian recipies include mushrooms and fish meals, cereals, vegetables, wild berries and herbs.

Many traditional Russian meals don't have equivalents in other cuisines of the world. Most of the foreigners typically associate Russian cuisine with blini (pancakes), caviar and pelmeni (Russian ravioli). Kvas is the most traditional of all Russian drinks.

Saint-Petersburg offers you an array of restaurants and cafes under different price categories, serving different types of cuisine.

More information about city restaurants

Car rental services

In Saint-Petersburg you can rent a vehicle of any class. Car rental reqirements differ among companies, however, driving license (held for no less than 1 or 2 years) is a must, minimum age requirements also apply (you must be aged 23 or over to rent a car). When renting a car you have to make a refundable deposit.

More information on car rental options