• Christmas Fair (Manezhnaya, Dvortsovaya, and Moskovskaya Squares) – the city’s main market with pop-up stalls, merrily-decorated alleys, a winter carousel, a free ice rink, and even a slide for tubing;

• New Year’s Bazaar on New Holland Island – a traditional bazaar, typically less busy, with all sorts of locally-produced goods, on-the-go snacks and drinks, The Nutcracker-themed decorations, and an eight-meter-tall New Year’s tree at the very heart. There you’ll also find a fir tree bazaar open till December 31;

• Christmas Market at St. Petersburg Botanical Garden – the garden’s fair will be around until December 29 to delight the locals with a plethora of handmade and artisan goods, varied themed workshops, and scenic views;

• Lower-key fairs at shopping malls such as Passage, DLT, and Galeria – for a more modern take on the tradition, come by one of those indoor fairs for gift browsing and festooned stall alleys. 

• Palace Square – the epicenter of holiday festivities, with the city’s main New Year’s tree in the vintage style;

• Nevsky Prospect – the main thoroughfare of the city with traditional holiday illuminations; highlights along the way include the Kazan Cathedral (with a decorated artificial tree and a Christmas-inspired installation) and the shopping mall Stockmann with its intricately decorated facade;

• Winter Garden near St. Isaac's Cathedral – a newly-opened location with beautifully-decorated arches and sparkling artificial fir trees;

• Bolshaya Konyushennaya Street – a picturesque alley with sidewalk-spanning illuminated arches;

• New Holland Island – a bit away from the hustle and bustle, the site that has it all: Moravian stars, tree lights, a giant Nutcracker, a set of massive Christmas tree decorations, and more.

Downtown

• Manezhnaya Square Ice Rink (+ a slide on Palace Square) – for ice skating and sliding in the heart of the city;

• Konyushennaya Street Ice Rink – for skating in a historic hotspot and The Nutcracker-on-the-ice performances.

Midtown

• Ice Rink by the Flagpole – for an impressive skating area with a view on the Gulf of Finland;

• Yelagin Island Ice Rink – for unparalleled skating amidst nature (also for skiing and tubing);

• Sevkabel Port Ice Rink by the Sea and Brusnitsyn Art Quarter Ice Rink – for artsy and marine ambiance;

• New Holland Ice Rink – for busting moves under atmospheric lights and silent discos;

• Nikolskie Ryady’s Ice Rink – for ice skating in fairy tale-like decorations with a carousel and a fir tree. 

Outside-the-city

• Tsarskoe Selo Ice Rink and Pavlovsk Park Ice Rink – for palace and nature views (also for skiing and tubing); 

• Okhta Park Ice Rink – for that in-the-forest feel (also for skiing, snowboarding, and tubing);

The Most Christmas Concert at Annenkirche 

• December 25 - January 7 / 8 or 10 pm / 1,200 - 2,000 rubles (tickets here)

Masterpieces of classical music (Johann Sebastian Bach, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, and Johannes Brahms) with the paintings of Peter Paul Rubens, Rembrandt van Rijn, and other renowned masters as media backdrops. 

New Year with the Russian Saxophone Quartet at St. Petersburg Philharmonia 

• January 3 / 7 pm / 700 - 2,500 rubles (tickets here)

A New Year-themed concert featuring Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s masterpieces, Antonio Vivaldi's Seasons, and more.

Christmas Tale at St. Petersburg Philharmonia 

• January 7 / 3 pm / 900 - 2,500 rubles (tickets here)

Classic themes from Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker and the 1982 British TV film The Snowman. 

• Avrora cinema: Jonas Kaufmann: Christmas with Friends / December 29 / 5:30 pm / 600 rubles (tickets here); The Nutcracker / December 30 / 5:20 pm / starting from 600 rubles (tickets here). 

• Rodina cinema: The Nutcracker / December 31 / 7 pm / 500 rubles (tickets here)

• Outcinema: Miracle on 34th Street, It's a Wonderful Life and other Hollywood (and not only) classics – stay tuned for updates on the theater’s holiday lineup here.

If on-site theaters are not an option, see the TheaterHD site for online productions, holiday-themed and not, from around the globe.