Some web sites to get you started

http://www.saint-petersburg.com http://www.visit-spb.nm.ru/en.index.html http://www.cityvision2000.com http://www.petersburgguide.com/index.shtml http://www.online.ru/sp/fresh/index.html

This is the free English newspaper in St. Petersburg http://www.times.spb.ru/

Use this to check hours of sunlight for your days in SPB. http://www.skycalendar.com/skycal/index.html

A lot of people who visit Russia stay in private apartments htt://www.oksanas.net http://spbmos.homestead.com/Recommendation.html http://www.apartment.spb.ru/main/main.htm http://www.enjoymoscow.com/ (This is Moscow Rick. I recommend him on personal experience.)

Here is a review of over 130 hotels in Russia http://www.visitmoscow.com/

Also http://www.hotelinspector.com/

For a listing of events, see http://www.whererussia.com http://www.whatsonrussia.com

This young lady, Anna Sosnovskaya, guided me in the State Russian Museum one day, . These certified guides really know their stuff. Anna speaks very good English.

There is not much to see on the train between Moscow and St. Petersburg, just endless woods and rivers in flat country. Internal flights in Russia are a kick.

Bill Southern California