Cultural experiences
The holiday season is the perfect time to catch up on exhibitions and fully immerse yourself in art-seeing. Luckily, 2025 left behind quite a few displays worth visiting – and many more are to come in 2026.
- Russian Museum: Russian Tradition (until March 9); Arkhip Kuindzhi (until March 30); Historical Russian Portraits (until May 12), and others;
- Hermitage: Portraiture. A Personality and an Era (until March 29);
- Manege: All Benois – Everything Benois (until April 19);
- KGallery: Last Enclosed Collection (until March 8);
- Museum of Theater and Music: Pierre and the Sylphs (until April 5).
The holiday art rush is a thing, and so we recommend picking lesser-known museums, as well as purchasing tickets beforehand and going on mornings or late nights – these are usually if not quietest, then at least quieter times.
Outdoor adventures
Snow or snowless, frozen or frost-less, winter is a fantastic time for adventures, offering picturesque sceneries to your sports activities and outings.
The magical season is inseparable from ice skating, especially with so many ice rinks popping up all across the city. Go back to this guide to find the best ice skating spots. But there are also plenty of other sports you can try out this winter – some traditional, some unusual, and some even at ITMO (see here and here).
For in-town strolls, we recommend drawing inspiration from our Architectural Gems, Unexplored St. Petersburg, and The City of Superlatives series; our most recent issues feature Russian Revival architecture, the newest and quietest spots around town, as well as Harry Potter-themed locations for all the Potterheads out there. Longing for summer vibes? Find your all-year-round summer in St. Pete by ticking off ideas from this guide.
Credit: Yury Litskevich (@litskevich_ph) via Unsplash
And if you’re more than ready for some trips, we’ve got you covered! On ITMO NEWS, you’ll find detailed and oftentimes firsthand guides to nearby and train-ride-away locations, be that suburban towns, Sestroretsk, or any other place.
Holiday binges
Rest doesn’t have to be active all the time. Feeling like conquering your to-watch, to-read, and to-play lists? It’s high time to do that! Here are some of our suggestions:
Want to add a touch of meaning and productivity to your at-home stay? Take this time to brush up on your Russian skills as you do what you enjoy most – watch movies and shows, read books, play video games, or listen to music and podcasts:
- 4 Russian Sci-Fi Film Classics You Should See;
- 6 Modern Russian TV Series to Watch;
- Must-Watch Russian Cartoons for Learners of Any Level;
- Fun & Light-Hearted Russian Literature;
- Even More Video Games by Russian Developers;
- Top Podcasts for Russian Learners;
- Lost in Translation: Hit Songs With Hit Russian Covers;
- Classical Music You Didn’t Know Was Russian.
Hobbies
Credit: Karl Hörnfeldt (@karlhornfeldt) via Unsplash
Hands-on, outdoors, or brainy, the choice of hobbies is aplenty. Would you like to fit more physical movement into your day without hitting the gym? See the answer here. Are your brain and soul in need of some relaxation time? Learn from the elders; they know exactly what to do. Or could it be that you’d like to learn more about your family? Here’s our story to get you started.
For more ideas for your 2026 hobby, check out our Sports and Lifestyle features.
Refreshing for the new year
Days, weeks, or months in, it’s always a good time to prep for a new year. This means planning, decluttering, both physically and digitally, refreshing, and adopting new habits and routines. Below are a few more of our stories that will help your have a gentle start for the new year:
Prepare to get back into the groove of things with our weekly digests of what’s on in St. Pete starting next week.
