Thursday, May 2
Master of Painting. 325th Anniversary of Ivan Vishnyakov’s Birth
- Until July 1, 10 am - 6 pm daily; Tues are days off
- St. Michael’s Castle (part of the Russian Museum)
- 550 rubles (270 rubles for students) – tickets here
The ongoing exhibition at St. Michael’s Castle honors Ivan Vishnyakov's 30-year artistic career as a renowned artist, restorer, and teacher. Though the majority of the master's work has not survived the test of time, the exhibition attempts to offer insight into the artist's lifework, featuring rare portraits from various museums in Russia and Belarus.
Friday, May 3
Jazz & Rock concert
- 8 pm
- St. Petersburg Philharmonia
- Starting from 500 rubles – tickets here
Rock will meet classical music at this Friday’s Jazz & Rock concert. The academic symphony orchestra will delight the audience with a fusion of Pink Floyd’s iconic anthems followed by the contemporary masterpieces of Russian composer Nikolai Kapustin.
Saturday, May 4
Motorcycle season opening
- 11 am - 6 pm
- Gazprom Arena
- Free
It’s springtime: the snow has melted, birds are singing, and motorcycles are coming back to town. This Saturday marks the official start of the motorcycling season: there will be live music, a motorcycle parade throughout the city, and other exciting events.
Sunday, May 5
DreamFest: Lantern Festival
- May 3-5, 8 pm
- Yusupov Garden
- Starting from 1,200 rubles
The weekend is promising to be truly magical thanks to the annual lantern festival taking place at Yusupov Garden. What to do at the fest: enjoy a live orchestra, be stunned by a larger-than-life fire show, take in the atmosphere of outer space and 19th-century ballrooms, visit an artisan market, and release your lantern into the water for good luck.
Monday, May 6
Sakura at Botanical Garden
- 10 am - 7 pm daily
- St. Petersburg Botanical Garden
- Starting from 250 rubles – tickets here
There’s much to enjoy at the pre-summer garden. Take some time off and stroll along the garden’s alleys to celebrate the joys of spring, including the flowering of cherry blossoms, which are about to explode into color. Visit the garden’s website to learn what is in bloom and when.
Tuesday, May 7
Tails of St. Petersburg
- Until June 26, 11 am - 10 pm daily
- ArtMuza
- Free
St. Petersburg may not be officially a city of cats, but it’s definitely a cat-loving one! Yet another proof is a show of digital works by Lyudmila Chuvilyaeva at ArtMuza, which features cats, cats, and even more cats on the streets of our beloved city. The cartoon-like characters of her pictures well-deserve their own meow-seum.
Wednesday, May 8
Marking the 150th Anniversary of the First Impressionist Exhibition
- Until July 27, 11 am - 6 pm (Wed, Thu, Sun), 11 am - 8 pm (Tue, Fri, Sat)
- General Staff Building (part of the Hermitage Museum)
- 500 rubles (free for students) – tickets here
Along with other treasures we’ve explored in our other series, be sure to add to your itinerary a visit to the two-painting exhibition when in the Hermitage’s General Staff Building. The works on show include Town Park in Pontoise by Camille Pissarro (from the Hermitage Museum) and Boulevard des Capucines by Claude Monet (from the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts), which were featured at the First Impressionist Exhibition back in 1874.
