Useful Information
I. General Information and Emergency Contacts
Welcome to St. Petersburg
Welcome to Saint Petersburg, the second largest city of the Russian Federation. Founded by Tsar Peter the Great on May 27, 1703 as a "window to Europe", it served as the capital of the Russian Empire for more than two hundred years. St. Petersburg ceased being the capital when the government moved to Moscow after the Russian Revolution of 1917. With about 4.8 million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, Saint Petersburg is Russia's second-largest city, Europe's eleventh largest metropolitan area, a major European cultural center, and the most important Russian port on the Baltic. The city has a total area of 1439 square km, which makes it the second biggest city in terms of area among cities with over a million inhabitants in Europe, after London.
Whereas Moscow intimidates….St Petersburg enchants. Residents feel affection for their city and call it simply "Piter". Ongoing reform and transformation are giving the city a facelift that's almost 80 years overdue.
Among cities of the world having populations of over one million people, Saint Petersburg is the northernmost. The city center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Russia's political and cultural center for 200 years, the city is impressive even today, and is sometimes referred to in Russia as "the Northern Capital" (severnaya stolitsa). It is the administrative center of Leningrad Oblast (itself a separate region) and of the Northwestern Federal District
Location and climate
St. Petersburg is located in the northwest region of Russia in the Neva River delta on the eastern coast of the Gulf of Finland. (59° 57' Latitude North / 30° 19' Longitude East Pulkovo Meridian). The city is located on 44 islands formed by the Neva River and 90 other rivers and canals.
Neighboring countries are Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany and Denmark. All are known as the Baltic Region. The neighboring Russian regions are Leningrad Oblast, Novgorod Oblast, Vologda Oblast, Pskov Oblast, Kaliningrad Oblast and Republic of Karelia.
Distances to the nearest European capitals are:
Tallinn - 330 km (205 mi),
Helsinki - 383 km (238 mi),
Stockholm - about 700 km (435 mi).
The only unpleasant factor of the city's location is the climate. Indeed, some part of the year, especially in winter, the weather is far from nice. Saint-Petersburg lies in the temperate continental climatic zone. The weather is so much fluctuating that in a day the bracket may reach 25°. The average year temperature is +4,1°, the average index in January is - 8° and that in June is +17°. But the numbers are useless because the season temperature is so changeful that winters, for example, may range from frosty ones with the temperature reaching -30° to an extremely warm periods when the temperature does not fall beyond +1°. The same with the summer. The temperature ranges from +35 C° to +5 C°. The truly poor feature of the Saint-Petersburg climate is its high cloud. The average total amount of sunny days is only 75 days per year, most of them fall within summer.
Average weather in St. Petersburg:
| Month | Average temperature | Month | Average temperature | ||
| Fahrenheit | Centigrade | Fahrenheit | Centigrade | ||
| January | 18 | -8 | July | 63 | +17 |
| February | 18 | -8 | August | 61 | +16 |
| March | 25 | -4 | September | 52 | +11 |
| April | 39 | +4 | October | 41 | +5 |
| May | 48 | +9 | November | 30 | -1 |
| June | 59 | +15 | December | 23 | -5 |
Adjustment issues
Changing a place of living is tough. Being an expatriate is a challenge. One has to adjust not only to the new climate and environment, but also to the new customs, traditions, lifestyle and patterns of behavior. This all creates stress that may cause medical problems.
Some ways to avoid stress are:
- Try to stay busy at all times. See new places and meet new people.
- Be aware of local medical issues, i.e. epidemic hazards, illnesses common to residents of St. Petersburg.
- Remember a proverb "When in Rome do as the Romans do".
Emergencies
In case of an emergency the first person you should call is any Russian-speaking person who is responsible for your stay in Saint-Petersburg: tour leader, group leader, the one, responsible for expatriates in your company, your host-family member, your Russian friends, ect.
You can also call state emergency services:
01 - Fire
02 - Militia (State police)
03 - State ambulance
Please take into consideration that only one employee of thousand speaks any other language besides Russian. If you are not sure you will be able to speak and understand Russian please do not use these numbers.
II. Consulate Contacts
III. Pharmacies
There may be a Russian "Apteka" in your neighborhood. Depending on that particular Apteka, it may or may not be well stocked and carry the drug you use. Some drugs are produced locally under a licensing agreement with a parent company. Others are produced abroad either in other European or Asian countries (like India) and imported. The drugs produced in such countries as India are more widely available here due to their affordability. The best advice is to check with a physician before purchasing any substitute for the medication you are taking.
Many Russian medications are herbal based. They can come in the form of teas, drops and tablets. Depending on your personal beliefs, they may or may not be effective in treating your symptoms. As in other developed countries, herbal medications are sometimes not regulated and recognized as a true pharmaceutical. Quality standards, effectiveness or toxicity are sometimes unknown and unpredictable. Again, checking with a reputable medical source is the best advice.
IV. Main Hotels
V. Transport
Your Route from the Airport Pulkovo
BUSES TO THE CENTRE OF THE CITY
Comfortable Scania buses ply between Pulkovo 1 and Pulkovo 2 terminals and "Pushkinskaya" metro station round-the-clock every 20-30 minutes (the trip takes 30-40 minutes). Tickets can be bought from the driver right in the bus. The price is 70 roubles/ 2 Euro for an adult, 50 roubles/ 1,5 Euro for children and retired.
Bus stops:
- Pulkovo 1 terminal (the stop is opposite the exit from departure hall 1)
- Pulkovo 2 terminal (the stop is in the central part of airport land side)
- "Moskovskaya" metro station
- "Tekhnologichesky Institut" metro station (request stop on Zagorodny prospect opposite the entrance to the metro station)
- "Pushkinskaya" metro station (departure from the city from Podyezdnoy lane, 3a) www.airportexpress.ru can provide you with full information about timetable, service price and extras
Inquiry bureau: +7 (812) 388 00 55; 000 (round-the-clock)
CITY BUSES
In Pulkovo 1 the city bus #39 stop is opposite the exit from the arrival hall #1, which is on the ground floor of the terminal. The bus runs between Pulkovo 1 terminal and "Moskovskaya" metro station every 20-30 minutes from 6.30 a.m. till 11.30 p.m. The trip takes 15-20 minutes.
Opposite the central building of Pulkovo 2 terminal there are two bus stops for city bus #13, going to:
- "Moskovskaya" metro station (bus stop is closer to arrivals terminal)
- to Aviagorodok (bus stop is closer to departures terminal)
First bus:
- 5.36 a.m. on week-days
- 6.06 a.m. on week-ends
Last bus:
- 0.47 a.m.
The bus plies every 5-15 minutes
The trip takes 15-20 minutes
Price - 14 roubles/0,40 Euro (baggage ticket - 14 roubles/0,40 Euro).
SHUTTLE BUSES
Shuttle bus # 39 constantly runs between Pulkovo 1 terminal and Ladozhsky railway station:
Pulkovo 1 terminal - Pulkovo highway - Moskovsky prospect - "Moskovskaya" metro station - "Park Pobedy" metro station - "Elektrosila" metro station - "Moskovskie Vorota" metro station - Ligovsky prospekt - "Ligovsky prospekt" metro station - Moscovsky railway station - Nevsky prospekt - "Pl. Alexandra Nevskogo" metro station - Zanevsky prospect - "Novocherkasskaya" metro station - "Ladozhskaya" metro station - Ladozhsky railway station
Price:
- To "Moskovskaya" metro station - 17 roubles/0,50 Euro
- To Moskovsky and Ladozhsky railway station - 30 roubles/0,85 Euro
The shuttle bus stop is opposite the exit from domestic flights Arrival zone of the sector "B".
To get to the city from Pulkovo 2 terminal one can take shuttle buses #3, #13, #113. Their stop is closer to arrivals hall. The stop which is closer to departures hall is for the buses to Aviagorodok.
Shuttle bus #13 goes along Pulkovo highway from the airport to "Moskovskaya" metro station, the price is 15 roubles.
Shuttle bus #3 has the following route:
Pulkovo 2 terminal - Pulkovo highway - Moskovsky prospect - "Moskovskaya" metro station - "Park Pobedy" metro station - "Elektrosila" metro station - "Moskovskie Vorota" metro station - "Frunzenskaya" metro station - "Tekhnologichesky Institut" metro station - "Sennaya pl." metro station
The price is 15 roubles/0,42 Euro.
Shuttle bus #13 goes from the airport through "Moskovskaya" metro station to "Kupchino" district. The price is 15 roubles/0,42 Euro. Shuttle buses start when all the seats are occupied. Passengers buy the ticket from the driver in the shuttle-bus.
TAXI
You can use city taxi to get to any location in the city.
Peterburgskoe Taxi 068
Gorodskaja sluzba taksi +7 (812) 972 33 33
Evrotaksi +7 (812) 740 13 13
New Yellow Taxi +7 (812) 600 88 88
Taksi dvukh stolic +7 (812) 740 60 64
Taksi 7 millionov +7 (812) 700 00 00
Taksi modern +7 (812) 265 24 60
Fortuna Taxi +7 (812) 322 00 00
CAR RENTALS
In Pulkovo Airport car rent service is represented by AVIS, HERTZ, EUROPCAR companies.
on-line rent www.hertz.ru
www.avis-rentacar.ru
www.europcar.ru
Pulkovo 1 terminal Sector V
Tel.: +7 (812) 324 32 42
Pulkovo 2 terminal Arrivals hall Tel.:
+7 (812) 324 32 42 +7 (812) 327 54 18 +7 (812) 703 51 04
Having rent a car in advance, you can address the corresponding company and draw up the necessary documents on arrival.
PARKING
Pulkovo Airport offers several parking facilities. Opposite Pulkovo-1 terminal one can find both paid and free parking lots. At the Pulkovo-2 terminal land side there is a paid parking lot for 350 cars, working according to automatic car park system. Furthermore, you can use multi-storey parking housing 365 cars.
Any vehicle can easily drive onto the territory of the airport for passenger to get off and in and stay there for 15 minutes for free.
Free parking lots
Together with chargeable parking lots near Pulkovo 1 and Pulkovo 2 terminals there are free non-guarded parking lots. Pulkovo 1 offers 350 free car places, Pulkovo 2 - 136.
Multi-storey parking
Parking is very close to Pulkovo 2 terminal. To get there you need to get to the airport land side using the rightmost entrance.
Parking is connected with the parking on the airport land side by a united computer system of parking tickets and houses up to 365 passenger cars. All the storeys except the 5th are covered, which is essential in winter.
The territory of the parking is monitored round-the-clock and serviced by qualified employees to guarantee safety of vehicles.
The price is 250 roubles/7 Euro a day. One pays through special machines within parking territory. After you pay, you will have to leave the airport land side within 15 minutes.
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