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Russia Vibes

Independent travel guides: places, food, transport and practical tips, checked and kept up to date.

Latest guides

Shopping

A hypermarket chain founded in Saint Petersburg in 1993, with big out-of-centre stores selling food, household goods and some services.

Shopping

One of Russia's largest chains of neighbourhood food stores, with small shops across Saint Petersburg and a few larger family-format stores.

Shopping

A mid-market supermarket chain from X5 Group, with larger stores than the corner shops and a wider choice of fresh food, bakery…

Shopping

Russia's largest chain of budget neighbourhood grocery stores, with many small shops across Saint Petersburg where the first store opened in 1999.

Events & Holidays

Russia's May 9 holiday for the end of the Second World War, with ceremonies, wreath-laying, a day of remembrance and evening fireworks…

Events & Holidays

A summer concert series timed to the opening of the Neva bridges, with music and laser projections around Palace Bridge.

Events & Holidays

The Russian farewell-to-winter week, with pancakes, folk music, games and the burning of a straw figure in parks and squares around the…

Events & Holidays

The city's autumn festival of light, with 3D mapping shows, lasers and music projected onto historic buildings in the centre.

Events & Holidays

A spring flower festival on Yelagin Island, when thousands of tulips bloom around the palace and along the paths of the park.

Events & Holidays

The yearly farewell to the Peterhof fountains: an evening of music, lights and a show at the Grand Cascade as the summer…