The Long Night of Museums in St. Petersburg

  • 6 pm May 22 - 6 am May 23
  • Museums and libraries of St. Petersburg (full list in Russian)
  • 150-500 rubles (depending on the number of museums)

A valid excuse for an all-nighter if there ever was one, this is an annual event for those who find they enjoy art better at night. This year features quite a program with every event centered on the topic of sound – and it’s not just concerts (although St. Petersburg’s Philharmonia does offer quite a few). Don’t forget to purchase your ticket in advance, but first plan your nightly route wisely, taking your stamina and strength into account. Remember that even if your show or visit ends at 10 pm, it still counts as a nightly museum visit! Here is a selection (in Russian) of the most exciting events in this year’s Long Night of Museums to help you with planning your route. 

Book Alleys

Book Alleys is an annual event in St. Pete, the city of bookworms. Now that we are kindly treated to sunny and warm days, it is the perfect time to enjoy a stroll down the alley of books for every taste located right in the city center. They are typically offered at lower prices than in stores and every weekend the organizers host various activities, such as concerts or poetry readings. Notably, the majority of the books offered are bound to be in Russian (although there can be exceptions), so this can be a great chance to pick up your next favorite book for language practice. 

Stefano Bombardieri. The Boy and the Elephant exhibition 

This unusual exhibition is described on Erarta’s website so eloquently and unpretentiously that we just didn’t have it in us to keep it out of our weekly guide. You should definitely read the whole thing, but here’s the brief: in the works exhibited, the artist ponders on Omniscience – the idea of knowing everything. It is believed to be closest to us in childhood, when we do not ask whether or not something is possible or allowed and the world appears as one, as a whole, not yet shattered by the limitations of adulthood. So, as you walk between figures of giant elephants, monkeys, and rhinos, you are invited to see them through the eyes of your inner child and remember what it feels like to be all-knowing. Quite inspirational, don’t you think?  

SpbTransportFest

  • May 21-22
  • City center
  • Free

SpbTransportFest is an international transport festival that will be held in St. Petersburg for the second time, after the success of its 2019 debut. The program includes both a business program with talks and lectures by industry experts and entertaining events that are open for a wider audience. One of them is the innovation expo with the latest creations by Russian and international personal and public transport manufacturers – hopefully, we will see some sci-fi novel-worthy stuff there! The expo will be held here and here from 10 am to 6 pm on May 21-22. On the other side of the time spectrum, there is the parade of retro cars that will start at 12 pm May 23 on Vasilyevsky Island and end at 2 pm on Inzhenernaya St. After parading all over the city, the cars will be exhibited in the city center to give aficionadas the chance to take a closer look at the automotive glory of the past.