Blog Stuck On You

St. Petersburg - the second largest city in Russia, and so called northern capital of the country, every year puts more and more efforts to refine the city and bring more attraction to foreign tourists.
One of the most remarkable novelties is a new taxi company Ladybird that has recently launched in St. Petersburg providing service for women only. All drivers are female and all cars are red-colored. Male passengers can use the taxi only in case if they are accompanying a woman or a child. The female taxi offers various kinds of services to its passengers: taxi can be used to go shopping or visit a beauty salon, and female tourists can order a safe night trip around the city for the same rate as the regular city cab service. Taxi for women opens more and more frequently in different cities of the world: it operates in Mexico, Mumbai, Dubai, Moscow and now in The northern capital of Russia.
Railroad station “Hermitage” may be built on the railway Petersburg- Sestroretsk going through the historical district of Staraya Derevnya (Old Village). The architectural design of the would-be railroad Hermitage in many ways repeats the once famous station in Tsarskoye Selo, with its concert and exhibition halls. The model of the Hermitage station has been recently demonstrated to the members of the round table “Perspectives of planning and development of the Hermitage holdings in Staraya Derevnya” among seven other projects conceived by graduates of Saint-Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering. These projects have no administrative and regulatory decisions yet, much less financial calculations. As director of the Hermitage Museum Mikhail Piotrovsky said, “These are dreams, but it is not harmful to dream, they say. But it is also known that one should work for one’s dreams”.
More over, after the long waiting first place at Eurovision 2008, next year this musical competition is taking place also in Russia. St. Petersburg, which is considered to be the Russia’s cultural capital, has applied to compete to host Eurovision 2009; this was announced by St. Petersburg governor Valentina Matvienko at Echo Moskva radio. ‘Now we are waiting for the final decision. We would love to host the Eurovision competition here. St. Petersburg as the most European Russia’s city and a city with cultural traditions could add Eurovision new shades and colors,’ said the governor. Russia. got the right to host Eurovision 2009 following the triumph of Russian young singer Dima Bilan’s power ballad “Believe” in Belgrade in May this year.
A luxurious five-star hotel complex is due to open in downtown St. Petersburg next year aiming to accommodate VIP guests, host international summits and meet the growing demand for hotel facilities in the city, which continues to enjoy a boom in tourism.
A contract was signed between Tristar Investment Holdings Ltd. (TIH), and Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, which will manage the five-star hotel, to be completed in 2009 and located on Voznesensky Prospekt.
The building, which was originally the palace of Prince Lobanov-Rostovsky and is also known as “The House with the Lions,” was designed in 1817 by Auguste Ricard de Montferrand, who is best known for designing the nearby St. Isaac’s Cathedral. The palace is under federal protection and in 2004 TIH was chosen as a contractor to manage the redevelopment of the building and handle investments.
Due to start operating by the end of 2009, two of the three existing open-air courtyards in the neo-classical building will be enclosed to create additional public areas on the first floor, including a large ballroom and spa and fitness facilities. The glass and steel enclosures will be modern in design, but the geometry is designed to reflect the “winter garden” enclosures popular during the period in which the building was built. The hotel will also include state-of-the-art meeting and conference facilities, several restaurants and 183 guest rooms and suites covering a total of approximately 19,000 square meters.

Tags: Travel, Trips & Vacations