2006-06-08 A pleasing and informative guide

As the most beautiful city I have ever visited (indeed, perhaps the most beautiful city in the world), many guidebooks do not do St. Petersburg justice. Instead they choose to focus on a country in economic and political turmoil and a city with decaying buildings from a former era. Whether you believe these judgements or not (personally, I think the buildings in central St. Petersburg are in excellent condition), they do not exactly fill you with excitement about seeing the city's wonders (of which there are many) and make you feel like it was worth shelling out all that money to come on holiday here.

This guide, however, is different. It refrains from this gloomy picture of the city and instead paints a St. Petersburg that is full of history, culture and wonder (which I believe to be true and which surely the average holidaymaker would rather hear). Detailed pictures and photographs of monuments and buildings are accompanied by fascinating historical facts. The pictures and photographs mean that it is easier to look sights up (unlike in other guidebooks where you may have to pore over blocks of text and maps first).

The book is divided into handy sections of what to see in various parts of the city. All the main sights are accounted for and it also details what to see in particular if you have limited time (such as which sections of The Hermitage to visit). It also has sections about the various out-of-town palaces that are worth a look, as well as a section on Novgorod. What it does not do well, however, is include an adequate section about nightlife, Internet cafes etc in the city (although the tourist could rely on the free newspaper The St. Petersburg Times for this, particular as these things are always changing in a rapidly developing city such as St. Petersburg). Also the map in the back of the book is far too small (although the main tourist sights are on it, it does not, for example, include the whole of Vasilevskii Island) and is in English (which is not particularly helpful when asking directions). The book also fails to account for the pleasures of taking a local suburban train into the countryside and enjoying a swim and picnic Russian-style. Nevertheless, I thoroughly recommend this guide.