St Petersburg souvenirs & insider tips

Porcelain of Lomonosov Imperial Porcelain Factory

A good souvenir to bring with is porcelain made at the Lomonosov Imperial Porcelain Factory which is based in St Petersburg. The factory was established in 1744 and initially produced porcelain wares exclusively for the Romanov family and the Russian Imperial court. Nowadays the factory produces different items from figurines to full tea sets, which everybody can buy. Especially popular are tea sets with cobalt-colored nets.

Fabergé eggs replicas

Real Fabergé eggs produced by the House of Fabergé you can see at the Fabergé museum in St Petersburg. Real Fabergé eggs are very expensive. But you can purchase replicas of Fabergé eggs which can be a good souvenir or a gift from St Petersburg. You can use them as jewellery boxes.

Ballerina dolls

St Petersburg boasts an exciting theatre scene. Here the Mariinsky Theatre is located. It is one of the oldest and greatest ballet opera theatres not only in Russia, but also worldwide. So, a good souvenir in connection with St Petersburg can be a small decorative ballerina doll. They are usually made of porcelain and copy the costumes from famous shows. You can find also small ballerina dolls in the form of Christmas decorations.

Textiles of Uzor Factory

You can bring home from St Petersburg as a souvenir textiles from the Uzor factory located in the suburbs of St. Petersburg. These can be tablecloths, napkins, pillows. The factory gained its fame thanks to its tapestry miniatures, which depict city landscapes and portraits of celebrities.

Zenith Football Club Merchandise

St Petersburg boasts its famous in Russia football club “Zenith”. There are many shops in the city offering Zenith merchandise. Among them, you can purchase sports outfit, various accessories, stationery. The most popular souvenir from St. Petersburg is the blue and white Zenith scarf.

Baltic amber

Though the main amber factory producing jewelry and souvenir items made of amber is located in Kaliningrad region, there are many shops in St Petersburg that offer items of Baltic amber. A small piece of amber jewelry would be a great way to remember your visit to St Petersburg. Moreover, amber is a useful souvenir, as it can make a lovely fashion accessory.

Chokolate

This confectionery factory is one of the oldest enterprises in St. Petersburg. It was established by merchant Borman in 1862 as a small confectionery located on Nevsky Prospekt. Nowadays the factory produces over 100 product brands including, chocolates, marshmallow, halva, waffles, biscuits etc. Especially beloved by citizens are sweets “Vostochny Sheikh” (“Orient Sheikh”).

Baltika Beer

The headquarters and one of the main breweries of Baltika Brewery Company is located in St Petersburg. It is one of the leading companies in the Russian beer market and is a part of the Carlsberg Group. Baltika Brewery produces different beer brands, but the most known and associated with St Petersburg is Baltika. There are different beer types of this brand including lager, ale, wheat and non-alcoholic beer.

Magnets and other Souvenir Items with Symbols of St Petersburg

As a tourist brand St Petersburg has its own symbols. One of the most recognizable symbols is the monument to Peter the Great built under the reign of Katherine the Great. Other symbols of Saint Petersburg are the weather vane in the shape of a small ship on top of the Admiralty’s golden spire, the golden angel on top of the Peter and Paul Cathedral and the Palace Bridge drawn at night. You can find many souvenir items with these symbols depicted on magnets, plates, mugs etc.

Avoiding International Economic Forum

During the International Economic Forum that takes place annually in St Petersburg beginning June some frequent visited places in the city get limited access for tourists and hotel rates zoom up. If you want to visit the sights you have planned to and you don’t want to spend two or four times more money for hotels, avoid the visit to St Petersburg during the International Economic Forum.

Drawbridges

St Petersburg is known in Russia as the city of drawbridges. There are 12 bridges in St. Petersburg which can be raised. This procedure is usually conducted during the navigation period (from late April to November). The most popular with tourists are the centrally located Palace and Trinity bridges. The best way to watch the raising drawbridges is from the boat during a boat trip passing under these bridges. But you can also watch the bridges from embankments. When choosing from which embankment to watch the bridges beware that you can get stuck for some hours at the embankment if your hotel is located on the opposite bank of the Neva River. So, watch raising drawbridges at night from the same bank where your hotel is located.

Attending Scarlet Sails Festival

Only graduates and their guests can enter by invitation the main festive venues and for them are reserved the best observation points to watch the passage of the Scarlet Sails and fireworks on the waters of the Neva River. Other citizens and guests of St Petersburg gather in crowds on the embankments and bridges. You can book a hotel or a table at a restaurant in the city center facing the Neva River and watch the culminating event of the Scarlet Sails Festival from your hotel or restaurant window. The best restaurants to watch the event are those located on ships (DoZari, Scarlet Sales, Volga-Volga, Letuchy Gollandets) and the best hotel to watch the event is St Petersburg.

Umbrella is a must

St Petersburg is known as a rainy city. The weather can be unpredictable throughout the day. Even on a sunny summer day you should be prepared for possible rain. When leaving your hotel take an umbrella with you just in case.

Visiting churches and functioning monasteries

We kindly pay your attention to observe regulations and traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church when visiting functioning churches and monasteries. Visiting of churches and functioning monasteries in shorts and t-shirt is not permitted. Ladies visiting Russian Orthodox functioning monasteries should have skirts below the knee and head scarfs.

Eating out

St Petersburg is considered to be not only the cultural, but also the gastronomic capital of Russia. There are many different cafes and restaurants for everyone’s budget. If you are on a budget you can visit one of the numerous cafés of Russian home-made food with self-service called stolovaya, e.g. “Stolovaya #1”, “Tarelka”, Frikadelki etc. If you are ready to spend more money on your dining you can visit good centrally located restaurants such as “Troika”, “Russian Empire”, “Usoff”, “Legran”, “Mesonin”, “Art Caviar”, “Birch” etc.

As for dishes here you can find in St Petersburg different dishes typical for Russian cuisine such as bliny (pancakes), pirozhki (patty-cakes) with different fillings, pelmeni (dumplings) etc. But there are some dishes typical for St Petersburg. One of these dishes is koryushka (smelt fish) which is caught near St Petersburg. The fried fish is served with different sauces. There is also a dessert beloved by citizens of St Petersburg called pyshka (donut). Pyshka is covered with powdered sugar and is served with a cup of coffee. There is also a cake called “Leningradsky”. The cake consists of several shortbread cakes, smeared with cream, and watered with fondant on top, decorated with a cream pattern and walnuts. This and many other delicious cakes you can try at the confectionery “Sever” located in Nevsky Prospekt, which is one of the oldest confectioneries in St Petersburg (1903).