Kosaya Liniya

In Russian, Diagon Alley is known as Косой переулок (Kosoy Pereulok) – and would you believe it, St. Pete has its cousin, Kosaya Liniya on Vasilyevsky Island. Its name actually reflects reality: while all the island’s line-named streets are parallel to each other, Kosaya Liniya meets Bolshoy Prospekt at a diagonal. You won’t find magical shops there, but you will get to the popular Brusnitsyn Loft and Sevkabel Port with their countless activities, from exhibitions to markets and more. 

Gothic Revival

If you’re in for some Hogwarts-castle ambience, you’re in luck: the solemn elegance of Gothic Revival architecture will hit just the spot. Explore the St. Pete representatives of the style with our list and don’t forget: you can plan out entire routes with our Unexplored St. Petersburg series.

Vibe-checked cafes & stores

Whether you are looking to try butter beer or Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans, the St. Pete food scene has you covered!  

At The Boiling Cauldron (Бурлящий котёл), you will find “magical” coffee drinks (raf coffee The Prophecy, Love Potion, latte The Golden Trio), butter beer, and even The Sorting Lemonade to determine your Hogwarts house. The cafe’s specialty dessert are waffles with all kinds of delicious toppings. 

Diagon Alley (Косой переулок) is a trinket shop and cafe all in one. You can come here to not only bask in the Harry Potter universe ambience, but also to get a hand-made wand, a time-turner, and many more souvenirs from the magical world. On the menu are butter beer, syrniki by Lily Potter, pancakes by Mrs. Weasley, The Sorting Cupcake, and more. 

If you’ve always dreamed of stepping into Zonko’s Joke Shop or Weasley’s Wizard’s Wheezes, you’ll definitely like shops like Zan-Zan or FunStuff. There, you’ll find sweets from every corner of the world, including official Wizarding World merch. Additionally, hand-made knick-knacks and “magical” artifacts, candles, knitwear and more can be found at Tvoya Polka or Polkius stores with many branches around the city. 

National Library of Russia

We once called the National Library of Russia “the Hogwarts of St. Petersburg” and with good reason: you can easily imagine that both of its buildings have secret rooms and passages where you’d undoubtedly find weathered volumes with the most intricate of spells and potions. With some imagination, the smell of old books and the old-school vibe of the place will definitely create that Hogwarts library ambience we all crave – for a perfect study session.

Activities

Did you know you can play quidditch in St. Petersburg? Your brooms won’t be flying, unfortunately, but the spirit of the game will be there! Though this may not be the cheapest activity ever, it will doubtless make for a fun party and a great way to spend time in the company of your fellow Potterheads.

Another option to dive into the universe is by doing a themed escape room. To explore the many options available, you’ll need to google “квесты” (quests, the Russian term for escape rooms) in St. Petersburg – you’ll get to take your pick depending on the location, the level of difficulty, and other parameters.

Finally, to pretend like you are taking a Herbology class, you can visit the St. Petersburg Botanical Garden or the Tauride Gardens Greenhouse (they also frequently host concerts). Though there won’t be any Mandrakes, both locations will provide a respite from the gray of St. Petersburg winter with their year-round warmth and abundance of greenery. 

You can not only explore the magical world, but also travel around the muggle one without leaving St. Petersburg. Discover how here.