Shopping is an essential part of every trip abroad. When you come to St. Petersburg as a tourist or a business traveler, you will certainly need to buy souvenirs for your relatives and friends. You will encounter more St. Petersburg shopping if you stay here for longer. Remember to check Russian customs regulations before buying expensive items to take out of Russia.

St.Petersburg has a great variety of stores offering goods of different quality and different prices. You can walk along Nevsky Avenue - the main shopping area - and visit Gostiny Dvor – the oldest department store in the city. This is a huge department store, which is being gradually turned into a shopping mall, since a significant part of its 164,690 sq. feet. of trading space is rented out to smaller shops. Constructed between 1757 and 1785, Gostiny Dvor has a reputation for being one of the world's first shopping malls and occupies a whole city block on Nevsky Avenue. To find a very traditional gift from Russia – Nesting Dolls or Matreshka – you can go to local souvenir shop with a wide range of goods that can make you happy.

In St. Petersburg some shops and restaurants accept payment by a credit card. You can also find a lot of bankomat machines in the city. Normally, you can pay only by cash in rubles. There are a lot of exchange offices (in the airport, also in the centre of the city, e.g. at Nevsky prospect). Exchange rates do not differ a lot.