Frommer's Favorite Experiences

Experiencing White Nights in St. Petersburg: Two weeks of festivities in late June celebrate the longest day of the year, when the northern sun never dips below the horizon. The White Nights are more than just a party; they're a buoyant, carefree attitude of summer-ness liberated after the city's long hibernation. Watch at midnight as residents picnic with their kids or play soccer in the courtyards. Then take a nighttime boat ride through the canals as the sunset melts into a languorous sunrise, and you'll never want to go south again.

Steaming Your Stress Away at the Banya: Thaw your eyelashes in January or escape snow flurries in May in the traditional Russian bath house, something between a sauna and a Turkish hammam. Watch expert banya-goers beat themselves with birch branches, plunge into icy pools, exfoliate with coffee grounds, and sip beer while waiting for the next steam.

Watching the Drawbridges Open Along the Neva River: An unforgettable outing during White Nights, or anytime, involves perching yourself on the quay very early at 2am to watch the city's bridges unfold in careful rhythm to allow shipping traffic through the busy Neva. Just be careful not to get caught on the wrong side of the river from your hotel.

Taking Tea at a Luxury Hotel: A cup of steaming tea from an antique samovar is a treat for anyone, and even those on tight budgets should find something affordable at top-end hotels. To accompany the tea, try jam-filled bliny (thin Russian pancakes), fruit- or meat-filled pirozhki (pies), or caviar on toast.

Sampling Wild Mushrooms: Mushroom-picking in the countryside is a national pastime, and homemade mushroom dishes are heavenly though not without risks. Restaurant-approved mushrooms are nearly as good and much safer: succulent cepes in soup; chanterelles sprinkled on pork chops; or zhulien, any wild mushroom baked with cheese and sour cream.

Eating Fresh Fish: The spare stone arches of St. Petersburg's Staraya Tamozhnya evoke the building's history as an 18th-century Customs House, but its elegant lines and French chef keep things thoroughly modern. The unobtrusive salad bar offers marinated Russian specialties. The fish is so fresh you can forget any fears and indulge.

Feeling the presence of the Literary Greats: Just a small streetlight above the entrance marks the bohemian basement cafe Idiot, named after a Fyodor Dostoyevsky novel. Mulled wine warms visitors in the winter months; lightly fermented kvas cools you in July. Pick a book in English from the cafe's eclectic library to peruse while you sip.

Viewing St. Petersburg from Strelka: If you stand on this spit of land on Vasilevsky Island, you'll get a panorama of nearly every major landmark and monument in St. Petersburg, while the Neva River laps at your feet. It's also a window onto the classical conformity of the city's architecture.

Admiring the Architecture of Palace Square: The Russian baroque Winter Palace looks across this square -- the stage for the Russian Revolution -- toward the Alexander Column (celebrating the victory over Napoleon) and the curved facade of the General Staff building. Though its parts were erected at different times, Palace Square demonstrates the ensemble architecture that gives this planned city its consistency.

Wandering through the State Hermitage Museum: The museum holds one of the world's best and biggest collections of fine art, from Egyptian carvings to Rembrandt to Impressionist masterpieces. A controversial hall holds so-called trophy art seized from the Germans after World War II. The museum is located in the Winter Palace, stormed in 1917 by revolutionaries arresting Czar Nicholas II's government.

Exploring Peter and Paul Fortress: This island fort holds the cathedral where the remains of Russia's last royal family are interred, as well as a former mint and several small galleries. It was here that Peter the Great started his project to build this northern capital.

Bringing home Russian Goodies: The best gifts to bring home are delicately embroidered linens, ornate lacquer boxes decorated with images from Russian folk tales, top-quality vodka, rare stones from Siberia, and nesting dolls. Matryoshka dolls can be tacky or tasteful, and kids love them. Adults like the political ones portraying Russian or U.S. leaders stacked inside each other.

Seeing Scientific Oddities at Kunstkamera: Peter the Great's museum of 18th-century scientific curiosities is not for viewing after lunch. Among exhibits of the foremost technical developments of his day, the museum boasts pickled animals and human heads.

Eating Russian Fast Food: Yolki-Palki is a Russian chain with basic sit-down service in a country kitchen setting. It's also kid-friendly, a rarity on Russia's otherwise up-to-date dining scene.

Sailing Up to the Petrodvorets Palace: The dense forests along the Baltic shore suddenly part and the gilded palace emerges, atop cascading fountains and sculpted gardens. Any boat from St. Petersburg to the imperial summer residence offers this vista. Hydrofoils leave from the Winter Palace/Hermitage in the warmer months.