Check for blackout curtains before booking White Nights
- Saint Petersburg, Russia
- Posted on
About this trap
From May to July the nights never get fully dark, and light at three in the morning can look like day. Before you book, check that the room has blackout curtains or blinds, and pack a sleep mask. One resident says that even thick curtains and a mask do not stop early waking, so ask for a room away from the street and keep late evenings calm.
Where
Check for blackout curtains before booking White NightsHotels and apartments in the center during White Nights
Open in Google Maps(opens in a new tab)More Tips & Traps in Saint Petersburg
19 posts from Local Friends and travelers who know the city.
TipSleepStay in Admiralteysky, not right on Nevsky
Saint Petersburg, RussiaAdmiralteysky is as central as the Tsentralny district but calmer, with St Isaac Cathedral and the Mariinsky Theatre close by. Guides advise against booking right on Nevsky Prospect because of traffic noise, so look for a side street or courtyard room. Staying on the same bank as the Hermitage also keeps you clear of…
TipEventsVisit Peterhof when the fountains switch on in spring
Saint Petersburg, RussiaThe Peterhof fountains are shut off and covered in winter, then run again from late April. The opening festival is usually held in mid-May, with music and a show at the Grand Cascade. Check the museum-reserve site for the year schedule. Go by hydrofoil from the piers near the Hermitage, though strong wind can cancel…
TipEventsTime a May visit for the Yelagin tulip festival
Saint Petersburg, RussiaEach May the park on Yelagin Island holds a tulip festival, with large flower beds, a music programme and exhibitions in the palace rooms. It usually runs for a week or two in mid to late May, and organisers mark the first weekend as peak bloom. Buy entry on the park website, go on a weekday morning for fewer people…
CH TipMusic & NightlifeCatch a jazz night at the Jazz Philharmonic Hall
Saint Petersburg, RussiaThe Jazz Philharmonic Hall on Zagorodny Prospekt has presented jazz since 1989 and holds concerts most evenings except Monday. The big hall has a bar, a dance floor and two or three sets, while the small Ellington Hall is an intimate room of 45 seats. See the programme on the hall website before you go, buy tickets at…
TipMusic & NightlifeHear the orchestra in the Philharmonia Grand Hall
Saint Petersburg, RussiaThe Grand Hall of the St Petersburg Philharmonia, in the former Noble Assembly building on Mikhailovskaya Street, has been the home of the Philharmonic Orchestra since 1921 and is known for its acoustics. Premieres by Borodin, Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky and others took place here. Check the programme on the Philharmonia…
TipShopBrowse Dom Knigi in the Singer House on Nevsky
Saint Petersburg, RussiaDom Knigi occupies the former Singer sewing machine company building at Nevsky 28, a six-storey Art Nouveau landmark with a glass-globe tower that is lit in the evening. Browse the shelves of fiction and travel writing on several floors, then have coffee in the second-floor Singer cafe, whose windows face Kazan…
TipShopBuy meat and dairy at Kuznechny Market stalls
Saint Petersburg, RussiaKuznechny Market stands in a lane near Vladimirskaya Square, in a historic hall where farmers from the Leningrad and Pskov regions sell beside permanent stallholders. Locals head for the meat and dairy rows, where you can ask for the exact cut, and in autumn the stalls fill with grapes, plums and melons. Prices at…
TrapPhotography & ViewsBook the Lakhta Center deck only on the official site
Saint Petersburg, RussiaThe Lakhta Center observation deck, around 365 metres up, sells tickets only on the official Lakhta Center website, so avoid resale sites. Tickets are for a fixed time with no open dates, and you must arrive no earlier than fifteen minutes before and no later than fifteen minutes after the start, or the ticket is…
Know Saint Petersburg well?
Share a tip, or warn travelers about a trap. It only takes a few minutes.