St. Petersburg, Russia
Shore Excursion and Port Information
Night Life in St. Petersburg

Contributed by Stanj

Night life in St Petersburg is about as varied as would be expected from any other world class city of 5 million people but among those variations some fit the time and activity interests of cruisers more than others.  Cruisers normally arrive in the morning and depart 34 hours later so between touring, eating, sleeping and getting back and forth from the ship there is not a lot of time to waste looking for the best spots to get into the social scene in the city.  My suggestions to cut the options down to a manageable number of dance clubs, jazz clubs, erotic clubs and rock/blues venues focus on the usefulness to cruisers.  Note that most of the best clubs are not on the list because they have some feature that is not compatible with cruisers time and transportation options.

As cruiser ship passengers there are two ways of enjoying the nightlight in St Petersburg;1 have an individual visa so you can come and go as you please and 2; booking a night life tour with an authorized tour company, and have a licensed guide with you.  This latter option is the one most used because the guide knows the city and where to find what you want. I recommend contacting DenRus Ltd for reservations at any of the clubs or shore excursions: http://www.denrus.ru

Dance Clubs and Discos:
For the younger set, 18-25, the best choice it Metro Club, a large 3 story complex at Ligovsky prospekt #174 which is packed with teens and young adults most of the time.  It décor is post industrial and obviously consumed tons of cash to remodel into the hybrid of rave warehouse and SoHo loft on steroids. Entrance is about $12 and drinks are a bit pricy for the 18 year olds but the kids who go here are not concerned with price as much as you might expect. This place is big, creatively and carefully decorated in an industrial style and has 3 dance floors, each with a different style of music.

For more typical cruiser ages, two choices are offered, very different from each other.  Triumph and Ostov.  Triumph is a pure Russian Disco, recently remodeled but still gives the impression of being a survivor of the disco era 70s-80s, it has that vibe.  But it is clean, reasonable for drink and entrance prices and filled with normal everyday Russians, but not many visitors, most in the 25-45 age range dancing to the pop-dance and traditional Russian dance songs. There are two complete clubs, one of which is opened at a time depending on the day of the week and the expected size of the crowd.  The Friday-Saturday nights see the large room open which features a larger dance floor and pedestals on either side of the dance floor for go-go dancers. Circling the dance floor are several tiers of comfortable booths, each with an unobstructed view of the whole club. Women get in free and men pay 250 Rubles for entrance. The crowd is fun and unpretentious but well dressed and well mannered. Triumph is located around the corner of the exit of Navska Metro station.

Ostov is different.  Obviously intended for higher end clientele, the attached restaurant is moderate to pricy, with beautiful interior.  If you eat, the disco is free otherwise it costs $12 per person entrance and $6 for each person to have a seat at a table in the disco.  When it opened all the guests dressed to the 9’s and it was a pretty fashionable crowd.  The dress standards changed a lot due to changes in the dance floor.  From the beginning it was a rotating metal hydraulically raised and lowed disc. But soon they added “snow” machines which generate foam bubbles that drift down on the dancers, than they added tubing on the ceiling that circled the perimeter of the dance floor fitted with water jets every 3 inches.  These emit a steady stream of water which collects through grating on the floor just outside the circumference of the dance floor. I know, it sounds weird but in practice it is a blast with a super slick dance floor that is moving up and down randomly while It rotates.  In minutes the dancers are splashing each other and the floor is a mess but there is something about it that makes everyone have a ball. The DJs are good, the décor is up scale and the previously uppity clientele turns out to be the most genial and fun loving of the major clubs once they get a little sloppy.  This soap foam dance is the reason for the less stylish clothing. Another feature that makes Ostov a good bet is their floor show. It is one of the few G-rated floor shows which itself makes it a rarity but the real feature is that it is very good; a dance troupe of 3 girls and 4 boys with real showmanship, inventive costumes and humor that Russian is not needed to enjoy together with highly professional dance skills. Getting there and back is easy before 2:45 am when the bridges open until early in the morning.  Ostrov is located just across the Lt Smidta Bridge west of the Hermitage at 37 Nab. Leytenanta Shmidta  on Vasilevskiy Island (Ostrov is Russian for Island)

Jazz Clubs
Jazz has a long history in St Petersburg and several small underground jazz clubs have sprung up recently to give the more established clubs some competition. If you want to listen to the best musicians in the city, often from Europe or even the US, number one on your list should be JFC Jazz Club.  It only seats about 80 people plus standing room for another 20-30 so reservations are a must since those tables get filled up with fans every evening.  Each performance Is a concert with tickets, normally $5 each. Calling after 3 pm when they start answering the phone will normally get a table reserved. The shows start early, at 8 and go until 10:30 or so which means the jazz concert starts and gets out about the same times the Folkloric and Ballet excursion start and end.  Not many venues open this early so it is a good match to the cruiser schedules. A wide variety of jazz is played but the only common trait is that the musicianship and arrangements are first rate. 

Another well established club is the Jimi Hendrix Blues Club.  It is not really a blues club, occasionally blues is on the playbill but normally it is just about anything including Latin Jazz, rock, electric blues, acoustic delta blues, folk and more.  Unlike JFC Jazz Club, it serves food, and it features local bands of various skill levels.  Like JFC, it is small so again, reservations are normally required to assure getting a table. Eating dinner before the show is the norm, and the food is pretty good, with a partial Armenian cuisine.  The crowd is friendly and laid back, mostly musicians who come every night. Jimi Hendrix shows start about 8 also, and end, like JFC Jazz Club, at 10:30 or so making it compatible with other shore excursion schedules.  It is easy to find at 33 Liteiny Prospekt

Erotic Clubs
This category of club has been around a long time in Russia and is part of night life.  Most dance clubs and restaurants which had shows used to have erotic or strip shows around midnight in years past but that has changed so there are few strip shows except in night clubs and discos. Most strip shows are more like floor shows in night clubs, with high level of dance skill, costumes and choreography with both male and female dancers.  These shows are enjoyed by both men and women of all ages and their image is considered a lot more wholesome than it is considered in the west.

Two clubs that are real erotic clubs are the very well known Golden Dolls in the very heart of the city center on Nevsky prospekt # 60. After its remodeling and move from the 2^nd to the 3^rd floor, the interior is much more modern and a bit flashy.  This is a classy strip club where only female dancers perform, with a cast of 50 or more dancers all who are very attractive. Entrance fee for male EU citizens is only $10 but others $25.  Women accompanying men are charged $3.30

Another erotic club of note is the Zabava Bar which is located in a ship docked on the Neva River near Peter and Paul Fortress.  Food is served and shows are well done stage shows  with different themes.  Zabava Bar is generally considered to have the best shows. Tell your guide or taxi Mitnenskaya nab. On the boat, it is hard to miss. Opens at 8:00p.m..

Ex-pat Hangouts
There is a large English speaking ex-pat community in St Petersburg and cafes, pubs and restaurants have sprung up to to cater to these people away from home.  Most are British or Irish pubs.  The most popular and a generally pleasant café/Irish Pub is the Shamrock directly across the street from the Mariinsky Theater at 27 Dekabristov Ul. The food is good, the atmosphere homey and inviting if not a bit too crowded and the live acoustic Irish style jam sessions are highlights.

The City Bar is somewhat famous for not only the best burgers in Russia but also for the eccentric American woman owner and cook Aileen.  This is a friendly hangout sort of place where everyone speaks English despite most of the clients are Russian or foreign college students.  Real barbequed ribs, and hand ground hamburgers are staples but the menu features tasty specials everyday which are a little more exotic. City Bar is located near the Hermitage at #10 Millionaya Ul.  Free hi-speed Wi-Fi is offered.

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