Year of foundation-1703
Number of Universities-43
Population-5.5 million people
Subsistence minimum-12600 rubles (126 euros)
Average temperature: -5 degrees Celsius in Winter and +17 degrees Celsius in Summer
Average cost of dormitory-7000 rubles (70 euros)
Average cost of one-room apartment rent- 21,000 rubles (210 euros)
For two centuries Petersburg was the capital of the Russian Empire. Nowadays the city is called the second or “Northern” capital of Russia, as well as “Northern Venice”, thanks to the number of canals and bridges, as well as unique architecture. Saint-Petersburg in common with Venice due to the number of bridges and canals: in St. Petersburg bridge number surpasses 300. In addition, some of these bridges are movable. Many tourists come to see the navigation period. In total in Petersburg 21 drawbridges, 24 pedestrian and 297 transport bridges.
It is worth considering that during the navigation period it is necessary to plan in advance your route so you will have time to move to the other end of the city before the bridges are divorced. The city is also called the Cultural capital of Russia. No wonder St. Petersburg has such a name as it houses a lot of world famous museums, theatres, cathedrals and fortresses. In total, there are 8464 objects of cultural heritage in the city. Also in the city there are more than 200 museums. In addition, the entire historical center of Petersburg is under the protection of UNESCO. In this city lived great Russian writers such as Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Brodsky and other representative of Intelligentsia. Until now, the spirit of these great men and their activities can be felt by walking through the city.
St. Petersburg is within six hours from such the European capitals as Helsinki, Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius. Petersburg residents have a unique opportunity to travel to Europe on weekends by any type of transport. In addition, the city itself is very similar to Europe: in every part of it you can recognize Prague, Paris, Budapest or Milan. Palace and park assemblies of suburbs of Petersburg are also included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, which means that Petersburg residents always have a place to go for walks: Pushkin, Vyborg, Pavlovsk, Kronshtadt, Gatchina, Oranienbaum, Peterhof, Strelna - all these cities are less than an hour from the city. These towns are worth a visit.
Also Petersburg has another name - the bar capital of Russia. The city has many atmospheric and inexpensive bars where residents gather every weekend. Rubinstein Street is the main bar street of Petersburg. Petersburg inhabitants come here and have fun all night, moving from the bar to the bar and trying different and interesting drinks. In contrast to Moscow, bars in Petersburg are more atmospheric, each bar has its own peculiarity and prices are very affordable. Also Petersburg is the birthplace of Russian rock: it was here that the Leningrad Rock Club first started its activity in the 1990s, which gave rise to such groups as «Picnic», «Aquarium», «Kino», «Alisa» and others.
Petersburg is the only city that does not get dark at night between the end of May and July. This unique natural phenomenon is called «White Nights». At this time there are the brightest summer events of the city, for instance, a holiday for graduates «Scarlet Sails» which brings here thousands of people and graduates from different cities and even countries.
Petersburg inhabitants do not lag behind Muscovites in love with sports: the city has many sports facilities, stadiums, sports palaces, swimming pools and much more. In addition, there are several bike paths in the city. It also has one of the oldest physical education universities in the world, the Lesgaft National State University. Lesgaft which was founded in 1896. Also in Petersburg is based one of the most famous football teams of the country - «Zenit». In 2018 the city hosted most of the matches of the World Cup.
If Moscow is famous for its beautiful metro stations, then Petersburg is known for the depth of its metro. The Petersburg subway is considered to be the deepest in the world, because the stations run under the Neva river. Most stations are 50-80 meters deep, the city’s deepest station is 86 meters in depth and the deepest escalator is 150 meters deep.
The climate in Saint Petersburg is not suitable for everyone: from the end of October to the end of March it is the coldest, wettest and darkest days of the year. The light day is very small in this period, it is windy and always rainy outside.
Petersburg is considered as an educational center of the country: it was here that the first university of the Russian Empire - Saint Petersburg State University was opened. In total, there are 88 higher education institution in the “Northern Capital”. Moreover, the city is considered one of the largest scientific and educational centers of the country. According to the statistics, more than 350 scientific organizations are concentrated in Petersburg, 70 of them are organizations of the Russian Academy of Sciences. One of the main ways of city budget income is tourism: about 8 million people visit the city annually. As a result, the city has a well-developed service sector, hotel and restaurant business. In addition, in 2016 Saint Petersburg received the prestigious World Travel Awards as «Tourist Capital of the World» 2016.
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