St Petersburg (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

I just returned from three months in St. Petersburg, and I found this book to be mostly useful. The maps and descriptions of museums and major historical sites are quite good. The sections on food, drink and gifts are well done, but very brief. The recommendations for travel outside of St. Petersburg are also good, Repina is particularly beautiful in the summer. As a student, one major problem I had with this book was the restaurant section. For the most part, the establishments recommended were either foreign run or clearly catering to foreigners, and rather pricy for a student on a budget. I could have found phoney western food on my own, I would have appreciated more native choices in town. I found it worthwhile to combine this book with the Lonely Planet travel guide, as that book gave more complete background information on more varied places, including better places to eat. In short, this is an excellent book for a casual traveler, but it needs a suppliment for a longer stay.

I just returned from three months in St. Petersburg, and I found this book to be mostly useful. The maps and descriptions of museums and major historical sites are quite good. The sections on food, drink and gifts are well done, but very brief. The recommendations for travel outside of St. Petersburg are also good, Repina is particularly beautiful in the summer. As a student, one major problem I had with this book was the restaurant section. For the most part, the establishments recommended were either foreign run or clearly catering to foreigners, and rather pricy for a student on a budget. I could have found phoney western food on my own, I would have appreciated more native choices in town. I found it worthwhile to combine this book with the Lonely Planet travel guide, as that book gave more complete background information on more varied places, including better places to eat. In short, this is an excellent book for a casual traveler, but it needs a suppliment for a longer stay.

Just returned from nine days in St. Petersburg. Utilized three guide books while there. This book was by the far the most useful. Given the significant language barrier, the maps and pictures were a tremendous help. The cross-referencing very worthwhile.

I have not utilized this publisher for guide books in the past, but certainly will again. Highly recommended!

I studied at Novgorod State University, somewhat outside St. Petersburg, last summer and needed a really good guide to the city to map out where to go during my limited off-time (hmm... that would be what a travel guide is generally used for, eh?) I did a LOT of browsing in stores and was really enchanted with Eyewitness. Their guides are usually the best ones, but I especially enjoyed this one. Reading it before I left really excited and prepared me for what to expect, and is still interesting to look through.

One of the best features, in my opinion, is a "what to buy in St. Petersburg" section, which includes pictures and ideas of neat Russian stuff to buy and give as gifts (or keep for yourself). This was helpful to think of things ahead of time to give to people, or even let them choose themselves. Also a great feature is the section on Russian food, which includes pictures, so you know what the stuff actually looks like. There's naturally a detailed guide to the city and sections devoted to museums and shopping. It's very simple to navigate through, if you're looking for specific references, e.g. bookshops or anything pertaining to Tchaikovsky. There's notes on historical spots and significances, as well as a detailed street and metro map, accomodations and dining guides (with prices and directions), information and tips on traveling to other spots in Russia, day trip ideas, basic safety info (pictures of Russian police officers and cars, codes to street signs, etc), Russians terms and pronunciations, as well as any other pertinent information and "Stuff you'd never think of but really need to know" about travelling in a foreign country.

This guide probably costs a little more than most (I actually bought mine for full price in the store, I liked it so much) but it is TOTALLY worth it. This is the perfect companion to plan a dynamite trip in St. Petersburg.