Bachelor's student
Where the Wild Things Are
A trip to the zoo is the perfect opportunity to spend time with your friends and family and see some unbearably cute animals! So hop on down, and discover what St. Petersburg has to offer you.
The biggest zoo in St. Petersburg is also the closest to ITMO! Located right next to the ITMO campus on Kronversky, the Leningrad Zoo is just a 5-minute walk away. Founded in 1865, it’s one of the oldest zoos in Russia. It didn’t even stop working during WW2. In the zoo, you can find more than 600 species of animals, including a giraffe, a polar bear, and a giant crocodile. There is even a separate building, called the "Exotarium," which is full of reptiles, fish, and exotic bugs. The zoo even has a petting zoo!
The Leningrad Zoo is open year round. During summer, visitors are free to wander around and enjoy the exhibits from outside, while during winter, visitors can visit the animals inside in warmer conditions. If you have a free day, rather than lion around and doing nothing, you could spend it at the zoo.
Ticket prices for students are only 350 rubles per person. Don’t forget to bring your student ID!
Zoo opening hours: from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. The last admission is one hour before closing time.
Love fish and all sea creatures? Here’s the place for you! While St. Petersburg’s Oceanarium may be located inside the mall Planet Neptune, there’s nothing sus-fish-ious about it. The Oceanarium has more than 200 different species, including fish from all across the world and sea-dwelling creatures such as otters, seals, and more. All together, it has more than 1.5 million liters of water for all the fishy inhabitants.
Over the summer, I visited the Oceanarium. My absolute favorite exhibit was the eels, where I watched them hide in their rocks and stick their colorful heads out.
The Oceanarium is located in the center of the city, just a few minutes of walking away from the metro Zvenigorodskaya. The Oceanarium is open daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m, however the ticket office closes at 7.15 p.m. Every third Monday of the month the Oceanarium is closed.
Students get a discount (as long as they show their ID). For students, summer tickets cost 650 rubles, while off-season tickets are 600 rubles.
You can find various events on the website, like when they feed the animals. There are also a few shows. For example, the Seal Show and some Shark Shows, where you can watch a diver interact with the sharks.
The Oceanarium has my seal of approval!
The final destination of the day — the Exopark! This attraction is also located inside a mall, more specifically the shopping center RIO near the metro station Park Pobedy. A bus shuttles visitors for free from the metro straight to the mall. But don’t chicken out, the animals there are egg-ceptional! The Exopark is divided into four zones (habitats), each representing its own rare animals that live there in the wild, all over the planet. All together, it has more than 50 species of exotic creatures!
The Exopark works every day from 10 am to 10 pm, with the ticket office stopping work half an hour before closing time.
Adult tickets cost 500 rubles on weekdays and 550 rubles on weekends.
All in all, visiting one of these parks is a great idea for a date or fun outing. It can be a paw-sitive and educational experience!