St. Petersburg remains one of the most important destinations for business tourism in Russia. In 2021, the northern capital was even awarded the title of “Russia’s Leading Business Destination” in the ranking of the International Association of Congresses and Conferences ICCA. And the business trip destination Moscow – St. Petersburg is among the most popular. Today we will tell you in detail about the nuances of a business trip to the second most populous metropolis in Russia.
St. Petersburg time zone: (GMT+3)
How to get to the city?
By plane: daily flights from 60+ Russian cities to Pulkovo Airport. The flight from Moscow to St. Petersburg takes about one and a half hours. From Pulkovo Airport to the city center you can get by taxi or public transport (buses, minibuses to Moskovskaya metro station).
By train: Basically, railway connections with Russian cities are carried out through the Moskovsky and Ladozhsky railway stations. The average travel time by train from Moscow to St. Petersburg is 8 hours. Also, high-speed Sapsan planes regularly run between the capitals, travel time is 3.5-4 hours.
By car or bus: from Moscow you can get on the M10 “Russia” highway (about 9-10 hours on the road) or along the M11 “Neva” toll highway (5-6 hours on the road, about 2500 rubles for travel).
Best hotels in St. Petersburg
| Name | Room cost per night/1 person, rub.* | Location | Business Services |
| Hotel Helvetia | from 12500 | 2 minutes walk from Nevsky Prospekt and Mayakovskaya metro station | Transfer, conference facilities, concierge |
| Alexander House | from 7800 | embankment of the Kryukov Canal in the historical district of Kolomna | Conference rooms, transfer, visa support, concierge |
| Galunov Hotel | from 4790 | 7 minutes walk from Vosstaniya Square | Transfer , regular guest discount |
| Lakhta Plaza | from 6390 | on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, in the new business center of St. Petersburg | Conference rooms, transfer |
| Center Hotel | from 5600 | 3 minutes walk from Vosstaniya Square | Transfer, visa support, concierge |
| Lotte Hotel | from 14790 | Conference rooms, transfer, concierge | |
| Hotel Astoria | from 15000 | st. Bolshaya Morskaya | Business center, conference rooms, transfer |
| Grand Hotel Europe | from 13200 | on the corner of Nevsky Prospekt and Mikhailovskaya Street | Conference rooms, transfer, concierge |
*Room rates are indicated as of 03/18/22 and are subject to change.
Coworking spaces in St. Petersburg
Coworking is an ideal place to work in a relaxed environment, hold a business meeting or organize business training. Typically, coworking spaces have hourly or daily rates for renting a workplace; you can also rent a separate office or an entire room. As a rule, there are discounts for regular customers.
| Name | Rental cost per hour/per day, rub* | Location | Business Services |
| Pushkin Coworking | 200/800 | m. “Black River” | Meeting rooms, notary, translation agency, office equipment, smart offices |
| Coworking SMART | -/1000 | m. “Pionerskaya” | Meeting rooms, telephone booths, printing area, smart offices |
| RE:WORK | 150/700 | m. “Zvezdnaya” | Negotiations, MFP, registration of legal address |
| Context | -/800 | m. “Petrogradskaya” | Meeting rooms, video studio, printing area |
| -/900 | 9 locations in St. Petersburg | Negotiations, MFP, registration of legal address | |
| Yasnaya Polyana | -/1500 | m. “Petrogradskaya” | Meeting rooms, MFPs, smart offices |
*Rental prices are indicated as of 03/18/22 and are subject to change.
Prices
In order to correctly calculate the daily allowance to St. Petersburg for a business trip, it is important to understand the prices for common goods and services. Here are approximate prices in 2022:
- Breakfast in a cafe for one: 350-500 rubles;
- Average bill for dinner in a restaurant: 1000 rubles and above;
- Average bill for a business lunch: 500 rub.
- Average cost of a cup of coffee: 200 rub.
Transport
You can get to the desired location in St. Petersburg by taxi, metro, ground transport, or use railway transport if the location is located in the suburbs.
Car sharing services are also popular, and in the warm season – rental of bicycles and electric scooters.
- Cost of a taxi ride: from 250 rub. (Comfort+).
- Cost of a trip by public transport: 65 rubles. (metro), 60 rub. (ground transport).
- Car sharing cost: from 6 rubles/min.
If you plan regular trips on public transport, it will be more profitable to purchase a “Podorozhnik” transport card. So, one trip on the metro using this card will cost 45 rubles, and a trip by ground transport – 40 rubles
Restaurants for business meetings
Our selection includes restaurants in the central part of the city with high ratings in different price segments.
| Name | Address | Kitchen | Average check |
| BrickWood | st. Lomonosova 1 | European, street food, Italian | 800 RUR |
| Deda Khinkali | pr. Liteiny 64 | Georgian, Caucasian | 1000 rub |
| La Familia | nab . Kryukov channel 27 | Russian, European | 1400 rub |
| Self Edge Japanese | st. Radishcheva 34 | Japanese, Asian | 2100 RUR |
| Legran | st. Millionth 4/1 | Author’s, European | 2500 rubles |
What to see in St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg is a city with a rich cultural heritage, and there is no shortage of sights and simply interesting places here. Usually the problem is the opposite – how to see as much as possible in a couple of days.
In addition to traditional tourist places such as Nevsky Prospekt, Palace Square, the Admiralty building, St. Isaac’s and Kazan Cathedrals, there are also many slightly less obvious locations.
New Holland
This is a small man-made island in the center of St. Petersburg, where a naval prison used to be located, and now is a fashionable art cluster with many public spaces, boutiques, cafes and restaurants.
Peter and Paul Fortress
The fortress is located on Hare Island and is at once a former prison, a museum quarter and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is curious that the date of the founding of the fortress is also considered the date of the founding of St. Petersburg, so this is the most historical center of the city.
Vasilievsky Island
This is the second largest of the many islands in St. Petersburg. In addition to the spit of Vasilyevsky Island, which is popular with tourists, there is something to see here: the Kunstkamera (Russia’s first natural science museum), Museum of Urban Transport, sphinxes near the Academy of Arts, Lutheran Church of St. Catherine, St. Andrew’s Cathedral.
Grand layout Russia
A museum that you wouldn’t mind spending even three hours on – on an area of about 800 sq.m. Russia is presented in miniature and in all its diversity. From Kaliningrad to Vladivostok and from the Arctic to the southern borders, it’s a pleasure to look at carefully crafted models and dynamic scenes.
Suburbs
Peterhof, Tsarskoe Selo, Pavlovsk, Vyborg, Kronstadt – each of these suburbs is good in its own way. Some people prefer the palaces and fountains of Peterhof, while others want to plunge into the Scandinavian atmosphere of Vyborg.
