St Petersburg: Gostinyy Dvor

[Boo's Mom]

has anyone been to Gostinyy Dvor in St Petersburg?

 

It is supposed to be the city's most important store, with a layout of stalls of individual trading units.

 

Thanks.

[Boo's Mom]

Just found this review on MSN Search:

 

 

The department stores in Russia are interesting. My Russian guide had to point out to me that when we walked through an archway and the walls changed color, we were not walking into another room of a store, but into another store entirely! I needed another pair of pants to wear because the first days we spent in Russia were colder than I had anticipated. I was able to find a very nice pair of Olga pants and black high heels for a little over $50 US total. The prices reminded me of those you find at a good US sale. One great thing I also noticed, however, was there was no sales tax added to purchases. For other types of shopping there are many, many street vendors from whom you can buy both souvenirs and street art. There are also antique stores and art stores for more high end purchases. Talk with your guide, however, about difficulties you might have in customs with such acquisitions. One of the grocery stores we went into in Nevsky Prospect had chandeliers and all the food and alcohol under glass cases like those found at jewelry counters in the US! You simply pointed to what you wanted, and the lady behind the counter would get you however many of that item you would need. Tip: The gift store at the Peter and Paul Fortress was really reasonably priced with some wonderful things. I bought beautifully hand-painted wooden soldiers to take home to my young son. A friend of ours in our group bought a Faberge egg from there as well (of course her purchase was a lot more expensive than ours). It was the best gift shop within a large attraction that I remember visiting.

[Boo's Mom]

And...another review:

 

It is an exceptional place to shop because it is arguably one of the oldest "malls" in the civilized world. It was founded in the mid 1700's and consisted of hundreds of specialty shops confined to one grand roofed structure bordered by Nevsky and Sinaiya streets. It has its own Metro station (subway) and is next to the beautiful Our Lady of Kazanski Cathedral, where the hero of the Napoleonic Invasion, Generalissimo Katusov is buried. Once, during a restoration of the walls of this marvelous mall, bricks of solid gold were found in the 1950's where they had been hidden for many years. One can only imagine who may have hidden them there with plans to return for them on a better day. This mall is a thriving place where young and old, poor and rich, mingle on a daily basis. It gives one a real feeling of the new Russian effort to convert to a free market economy.

[Boo's Mom]

Both of the reviews above are 6 years old.

[BuildingMemories]

Thank you for the info. I think many people read all this info and forget to thank the people posting.

We are on Star Princess going to Baltics July 4th.

:)

[kinghw]

Stopped for about an hour on the second day of our tour with DenRus off of the Constellation last May. It was part of a 2 hour stroll down Nevsky Prospekt stopping at several places.

 

The place is massive, and what we did could only be called a random sampling, I doubt that we saw 10% of the ground floor. I purchased some vodka and Pat bought some low cost jewelry.

 

I found the experience a good change of pace from the palaces and churches, but for sure you have to make choices in St. Petersburg.

[World-Traveler]

For the first post I figured I would post about something I know about(it sure is not ships). I've been to Gostinny Dvor many times in the last 10 years since some clients are stores there. The place is massive, about 1km in perimeter, and has undergone a lot of evolutionary change. The high end shops have moved in so there are some very good lines of Italian and French clothing, shoes and furs as well as the the more reasonable mid lines. The really cheap clothes are found in other shops since the Asian clothes have flooded the retail end. Be careful with wallets and loosely held purses if you are 300 feet below in the metro, that one metro station is pretty bad with pickpockets. No where else seems to be a problem and street crime is very rare.

Right across the street from Gostinny Dvor is Passage a Victoria era glass roof shopping arcade that is very nice. Two doors down is Grand Palace, a ultra-modern interior-original 18th century exterior 6 story mall with high end clothing jewelry, furs, shoes and cosmetics. There is a cafe on the very top floor that looks down on the whole place since it is in a 6 story atrium. I was surprised when I tried the cafe, it was quite reasonable.

 

There are some excellent shops for high-end clothing up Nevsky prospect near the Hermitage, almost all Italian. A new very modern Vanity 4 story boutique is now open just behind Kazan Cathedral. Do not expect bargains there. I get to St Petersburg every couple of months for work and play so know it really well so if you answer my cruise questions I can answer most questions about Moscow and St Petersburg....and Paris and Milan.....

[Boo's Mom]

Hey W - T !

 

Thanks for the response.

 

So, do you think 2 hours is plenty of time to have a good look around? Or, would you suggest three hours?

 

Thanks !!

 

Ps. Welcome to Cruise Critic ! It's good to have you...

[World-Traveler]

Hey W - T !

 

Thanks for the response.

 

So' date=' do you think 2 hours is plenty of time to have a good look around? Or, would you suggest three hours?

 

Thanks !!

 

Ps. Welcome to Cruise Critic ! It's good to have you...[/quote']

Thank you for the warm welcome.

The shopping center is really big but almost all the shops are open facing 2 perimeter hallways that encircles the entire building on both floors, one indoors and the other outside. Starting on either floor and just walking down that hallway you will pass 330 stores and end up where you started. At one time the shops were really small like the Soviet style kiosks where you can still get all types of goods in these tiny markets in the metros and on street corners(not too much bigger than a double wide phonebooth) but now all the stalls are full retail stores with nice decor and lighting. When I walk it, I get tired and not from the distance, since I am pretty athletic, but from sensory overload. I want to take a nap when I finish a circuit of the place and I haven't taken a nap since I was 4 years old:>) I would suggest treating it like a museum and just go for the experience but ask your guide for details about the sales she knows about. I figure every woman in Russia knows every good deal in her city and they know fashion. Fashion and style are very big here and have been for a while. One advantage is that most stores of similar products are in the same section. The women's clothing for example is a long stretch of 50 stores so you can shop just by walking though that section.

There is another place which started out 270 years ago as the same sort of thing, a large yard for merchants to come sell from carts and stalls. It is called Apraxin Dvor and it is quite different. It is located at the southwestern corner of Gostinny Dvor across the Sadova street. Ever read Crime and Punishment? Well, parts of it took place right there and you will recongnize some of the street and store names to this day. It is a cross between a Turkish market and a fleamarket, with both temporary tent-like stalls and real stores. Everything has two prices, the one they ask for and the one you pay. There are no prices on anything unless as a starting point for haggling. $10 Jeans, cheap copies of designer shoes and leather high boots, $5 Rolex knockoffs, thermal coats, even furs are there. The soft leather gloves I wore out to a social function last night came from there for $8 and no one seems to notice they did not cost $100. It is bargain central, crowded and pretty mysterious. I've never seen pickpockets or crime but if there is a place to watch out for your purse it looks as if this should be the place. There are an amazing mix of humanity there and this is the real Russia of 25, 50, 150 years ago. It does remind me of middle Eastern markets. It is one more of the memories I have of the city that I would miss if it every gets gentrified.

[Boo's Mom]

Thank you, W-T.

 

It sounds like I will want to visit these places.

 

Plus, my two girls like to shop.... so it will be fun for them, too.

 

DH? Not sure how he will do. :D

[bfreinecke]

Hi, my husband and I are on the Star Princess July4th. We want to set up our St. Petersburg tour with either DenRus or Red October. Have you done that yet?

[Boo's Mom]

Hi, my husband and I are on the Star Princess July4th. We want to set up our St. Petersburg tour with either DenRus or Red October. Have you done that yet?

 

We are booked with DenRus.

The itinerary is not firm yet, because we want to get back with them on some of the places we want to see.

 

One place we will add...is this shopping place.

 

BTW, Welcome to Cruise Critic ! It's good to have you here...