shopping in St Petersburg

[bjay3]

We were on a Baltic cruise back in 2004 and wondering how certain things have changed. Last time we found the best buys for souvenirs in St. Petersburg were in the market at the Church of the Spilled Blood. The stores were a lot more expensive, I understand there is now shopping in the cruise terminal. Is that any better?

 

Also, last time we found they were happy to take American dollars. Is that still true or do they now prefer euros?

[hehny]

We did a private tour in st Petersburg. We were warned that the market stalls were notorious for fake goods..that's why they were so cheap. Additionally, that is one of the top stops for pickpockets.

 

We were not impressed with the cruise ship terminal shopping, there isn't much.

 

Your best bet is going to museums..the hermitage shop was amazing. And be prepared to spend money. There are no cheap examples of Russian crafts. If it is handmade, you should expect to lay for it. But if you don't mind having a matryoshka from China, the market stalls are fine.

 

Technically, the only legal currency are rubles. Shops may accept dollars/euros but they are not supposed to. Restaurants/taxis won't

Edited April 20, 2014 by hehny

[alcpa1]

You will not believe the changes in St. Petersburg! My two trips were 9 years apart and the city and its people have made incredible strides.

The vast market across from the church, which is now a concert venue, is almost nonexistent. There are some small shops near St. Isaacs that are more moderately priced than the Hermitage shop. I can't vouch for authenticity however. The street merchants that remained still took US dollars in 2012.

Send an e mail to your tour operator for specifics, and do ask if they plan a stop at a modestly priced place.

[John Bull]

You will not believe the changes in St. Petersburg! My two trips were 9 years apart and the city and its people have made incredible strides.

.

 

My two trips were fifty years apart.

And yes, things have changed. :D

First trip (schools' educational cruise) there were no shop windows, you couldn't see the difference between shops & offices. And each shop had no more than a dozen different items for sale.

 

This time round, at the beginning of day two our Alla tour took us to a souvenir shop , which she used as an office to collect payments while we browsed the store. Doubtless more expensive than the market or street traders, but very reasonable prices & lots of advantages:

- a wide selection, from tourist tat through to high quality.

- browse without being pestered, which is probably the worst thing about looking at stuff the street traders offer. But staff on hand for any questions.

- everything priced in euros, no haggling. Sometimes haggling is fun, but sometimes you just want a quiet life. ;)

- euros & cards accepted, don't recall if USD or GBP are accepted.

- IIRC, free coffee

- all-in-all, a very relaxed & efficient way to shop.

 

I believe several other tour operators do something similar, possibly at the same shop.

 

JB :)

Edited April 21, 2014 by John Bull

[bjay3]

Thanks folks, some interesting observations! We are also going with Alla so hopefully we go somewhere reasonable. It will be interesting to see the difference in 10 years.

[Giantfan13]

Several of the tour companies do not want you to shop at the vendor's carts as they want you to spend your money at the local places they bring you too. If you are looking for inexpensive gifts and you can get to any of the vendor's carts, they are much cheaper than any other place. I can't vouch for their authenticity, but same can be said for any other place. We bought a Russian music box at a street vendor for $25.00 (we hondled them from $35.). That EXACT same music box was selling on our ship for $99.00, and at the store where they took us to for $60. So YOU do the math.

Again, I wouldn't make any major purchase from them, but you CAN get a bargain and they do take US dollars.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[GreenValleyDogWalker]

My two trips were fifty years apart.

And yes, things have changed. :D

First trip (schools' educational cruise) there were no shop windows, you couldn't see the difference between shops & offices. And each shop had no more than a dozen different items for sale.

 

This time round, at the beginning of day two our Alla tour took us to a souvenir shop , which she used as an office to collect payments while we browsed the store. Doubtless more expensive than the market or street traders, but very reasonable prices & lots of advantages:

- a wide selection, from tourist tat through to high quality.

- browse without being pestered, which is probably the worst thing about looking at stuff the street traders offer. But staff on hand for any questions.

- everything priced in euros, no haggling. Sometimes haggling is fun, but sometimes you just want a quiet life. ;)

- euros & cards accepted, don't recall if USD or GBP are accepted.

- IIRC, free coffee

- all-in-all, a very relaxed & efficient way to shop.

 

I believe several other tour operators do something similar, possibly at the same shop.

 

JB :)

 

 

Can you tell me if there were "Russian fur hats" for sale there ? - We are going with Alla Tours also - maybe I should just tell them that is what we are shopping for ?

 

THANKS !!

[John Bull]

Can you tell me if there were "Russian fur hats" for sale there ? - We are going with Alla Tours also - maybe I should just tell them that is what we are shopping for ?

 

THANKS !!

 

Errrrr ......... I bought a hat there :)

Soldier's cap' date=' covered with badges.

Could have bought a wide-rimmed officer's hat (army or navy), or a fur Ushanka hat with ear-muffs, white, brown or black, or several other alternatives.

 

No worries :cool:

(Well, I think it's :cool:, my GF thinks it's :p)

 

[b']JB[/b] :)

[GreenValleyDogWalker]

GREAT !! Thank you

 

That is the ONE thing that my DH says he wants to buy while in St. Petersburg !

[John Bull]

GREAT !! Thank you

 

That is the ONE thing that my DH says he wants to buy while in St. Petersburg !

 

Green Valley' date=' south of Tucson, eh?

Max daytime temperature 101deg Farenheit, minimum night-time temperature 38deg Farenheit

 

Is he sure he really wants one of those hats? :D

 

[b']JB[/b] :)

[GreenValleyDogWalker]

Green Valley, south of Tucson, eh?

Max daytime temperature 101deg Farenheit, minimum night-time temperature 38deg Farenheit

 

Is he sure he really wants one of those hats? :D

 

JB :)

 

 

 

ha ha ha ha....well - we DO travel (including to England !)

 

and - once - a few years ago - we had snow on the ground for a few hours !!

[nybumpkin]

Can you tell me if there were "Russian fur hats" for sale there ? - We are going with Alla Tours also - maybe I should just tell them that is what we are shopping for ?

 

THANKS !!

When we went with Alla last year these hats were for sale in the shop where we paid for our tour. This link will take you to a photo of my then-13 YO with the hat: It's his favorite souvenir, authentic or not.:p And it came in very handy this past winter when he was shoveling snow, and just last week when his history project was to make a video of a WWII event.:cool:

[GreenValleyDogWalker]

when we went with alla last year these hats were for sale in the shop where we paid for our tour. This link will take you to a photo of my then-13 yo with the hat: It's his favorite souvenir, authentic or not.:p and it came in very handy this past winter when he was shoveling snow, and just last week when his history project was to make a video of a wwii event.:cool:

 

 

thanks !!

[John Bull]

The vans in the background of the bumpkin's photo https://www.flickr.com/photos/baxted...6586/lightbox/ are the ones used by the independent operators - Alla, TJ, SPB et al.

16-seaters, mainly Mercedes & VW.

 

JB :)

Edited April 29, 2014 by John Bull