Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet st Petersburg (Lonely Planet Language Survival Kit)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The group I was with in Russia had every guidebook under the sun, and the LP guide only one we ended up consistantly using. Like all guidebooks, some of the information is out of date. For instance, the prices listed in the guide were often 4-5 times higher than what we ended up paying (not that I'm complaining). Overall, the guide is very accurate, the maps are great, and the suggestions are right on the money. Nick Selby's wit and style make the guide not only practical but highly entertaining. You aren't going to find a better St. Pete guidebook.

As the founder of a company devoted to enriching cultural and business travel to Russia, we are always looking for a good, general guidebook for clients. "Lonely Planet St. Petersburg " details several sights and museums not covered in many other guidebooks, such as the GUVD Museum and a guide to the little-visited southern St. Petersburg (which was to have been the new city center after the Siege of Leningrad). The history and art sections are also strong for a guide book. The entertainment, bar, restaurant and hotel suggestions are comprehensive (as far as quantity, quality and general pricing range, although the pricing itself is not accurate).

One annoyance is that there are no Cyrillic displays of a sight's name (or even transliterations into Latin script), which means that you are likely to miss a sign right in front of you for, for instance, the Toy Museum.

Note, however, that we always tell clients and other visitors to Russia that you should get the most current guidebook, as attractions, hotels, restaurants and transportation options do often change--AND THEN VERIFY THE INFORMATION! All in all, we recommend "Lonely Planet St. Petersburg " as a good guidebook to bring if you are staying more than a few days, or if you want comprehensive entertainment and restaurant listings before departing for your journey of Discovering Russia's second city, St. Petersburg.

Marc David Miller, Discovering Russia, New York

I just returned from St. Petersburg. The Lonley Planet guide was amazingly helpful. This little pocket sized book contains virtually everything one needs to navigate the city, find hotels, restaurants, visit the important and novel sites, and gain a perspective on the city's history.

There is also a section on language and phrases as well as easy to follow maps of the subway. If you go, I also recommend a companion purchase, Lonley Planet's map of St. Petersburg. It is laminated and fits easily into one's coat pocket.

Amazing amazing book. This was my invaluable guidebook when it came to travelling St. Petersburg and the outlying districts for a week and a half (alone). I brought three books with me to St. P and soon was bringing along only this one when I went out. It has exact details/directions for everything, and really provides all the nitty-gritty that other guidebooks lack. If you want to buy one book, buy this one. If you want to buy more than one, still buy this.

I visited the wonderful city of St Petersburg in 1996, and I treated Nick Selby's first edition of this book as my most valuable possession while I was there. As an independent traveller with no guide other than the Lonely Planet, I relied very heavily on this little gem of a book, and it never let me down.

From purchasing a train ticket in Finland (the book describes the process of purchasing your ticket in Helsinki in absolute detail), to finding somewhere to stay (the St Petersburg hostel), to navigating the streets (all signposted in Cyrillic), to following in the footsteps of great authors (like my personal favourite, Dostoevsky) this book was my friend and saviour.

As an English-only speaker I found St Petersburg to be an intimidating city (very few people speak English, and the Cyrillic script adds several degrees of difficulty to written communication), so I honestly don't think I could have attempted, let alone survived, independent travel in this fabulous city without this book.

When one goes to Europe with a European guidebook from Lonely Planet, one can expect perhaps 95% accuracy regarding the information within the book. The St. Petersberg guide is probably closer to 80%. That, however, is not the fault of the authors. Russian cities have been evolving rapidly since the break up of the USSR. Cool bars close. Hostels shut down or move. Museum schedules change. All of these things occur at a far faster rate than in Western or even Eastern Europe.

That being said, the guide was, overall, quite good. I particularly enjoyed the Walking Tours within and the map of the Winter Palace, which was invaluable.

I spent 6 weeks in St. Petersburg this summer, and I never left the flat without this book. It's incredibly useful. If you are going to St. Petersburg, you need it. Trust me.

This is the guide to use for Moscow. The beautifully illustrated contents include self guided tours that are so easy to follow you will feel like you were born there. BUY IT!!

Lonely Planet does a good job but this is the 2002 edition. go for the new edition

the book is really informative.
the only downfall is the russian pronunciation. as i am a russian language major, i can personally say there is definitely a better way to write out a lot of the words.