Cheap Car Hire & Rental St Petersburg, Russian

St Petersburg

St Petersburg is the second biggest city in Russia with a population 4.7 million, although culturally and historically it is the most significant. The city is located on the eastern tip of the Baltic Sea and sits astride the Neva River. For this reason and the fact that the city has a Western feel from its cosmopolitan architecture, it has been dubbed the Venice of the North.

Founded by Peter the Great in 1703, the city was constructed from scratch, with the great Russian empresses of the 18th century inviting architects from all over the world to build palaces. Until it was bombed and besieged in the Second World War, St Petersburg was the centre of culture and politics in Russia. After the First World War it was renamed Petrograd, and then Leningrad in 1924 after Lenin. The city has since regained its original name, but not its role as the seat of Russian politics.

St Petersburg is serviced by Pulkovo Airport 17 kilometers south of the city and from there to the city you can travel by bus. Every eight minutes the buses leave for the Moscovskaya metro station: bus line 39 from terminal 1 and line 13 from terminal 2. The journeys take 15 to 20 minutes and cost 21 rubles one way. You can also choose to travel by taxi. A fixed fare price of 600 rubles applies for the journey to Nevsky Prospect but because of heavy traffic it may take you up to 2 hours to get to the city by taxi.

The city’s big tourist attractions include the Hermitage Museum and Winter Palace complex that features over 3 million pieces of art, the city’s palaces and churches, including the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood.

If you can speak Russian, you can usually get better transport arrangements. Otherwise you are better off dealing with an online service like Anycarhire.com while making your travel plans. With this service you get the best deals on car hire in St. Petersburg before getting into town, and the cars will be waiting when you arrive.