Guides

Peter

The person who gave name and ideology to the project, Peter started running the tours in 1996 all by himself, inspired by some walking tours he’d taken in other cities in Europe.

Before settling for the tours, Peter had tried over twenty different jobs, the most amazing being of a live (!) translator in the movies in St. Petersburg, in the wild times of the early 90’s. Screening of pirate copies of Hollywood action movies was accompanied by simultaneous voiceover translation, done by a person with a microphone, sitting behind the audience. It wasn’t paying too well, alas.

Today Peter occasionally fixes a job or two as a journalist – for several years he was a writer with The St. Petersburg Times, the city’s English language newspaper. Whatever money he saves, he spends on travelling, preferring long and detailed journeys, such as an epic St Petersburg to Tasmania overland, or more recently his 4×4 expeditions to the Sahara.

Lonely Planet St. Petersburg commented on Peter’s tours: “He’s ultra knowledgeable and laid back, but most importantly, his passion for the city is infectious”.

 

Nick

An excellent guitarist, Nick plays in a number of bands on St. Petersburg club scene for over a decade. He’s our chief expert on clubbing and always has few tips on local nightlife for you up his sleeve.

Having obtained his PhD in Medical Psychology in 2006, he quits his job as a scientist for a time being. He’s a broad specialist in the sphere of guiding, but his Revolution Tour is an absolute hit. He boasts to know the location of a workers’ canteen where Lenin had his last meal before the Revolution – and claims that it’s still functioning!

Nick is a keen sportsman, biking and snowboarding being his favourites. He is a fine connoisseur of Russian banya (steam bath) and bliny with apple and cinnamon

 

Olga

Olga is our chief authority on classical St. Petersburg, a qualified linguist, and one of a few guides at Peter’s Walking Tours who give tours of the numerous St. Petersburg’s museums and palaces. Olga is young and charismatic, an adorer of cats and an expert on things Russian – she’s seen more of this vast country than all of the other guides here combined.

 

 

Dmitry

Dmitry is a native of the Petrograd Side, a fascinating early twentieth-century neighbourhood north of the Peter-and-Paul Fortress. So naturally, the Petrograd Pub Crawls and walking tours of the area are among his specialities. Another one is Kronstadt – he’s been conducting in-depth history tours of this mysterious island for many years. Dmitry is a university graduate in Spanish philology, specialist in various aspects of Russian political history, fluent speaker of five European languages, an aspiring traveller and a professional photographer. We could not dream of a better guide really.

 

Anastasia

Graduate in History of Western philosophy, an internationally acclaimed yoga instructor, holder of a guiding license for every imaginable palace and museum in St Petersburg, a travel addict (Rajastan and Portugal recently). Art history a major interest: “Giovanni Boldini and Belle Epoque at the General Staff was great, and oh that splendid Jan Fabre!” Customer who joined her Original Walk says: “Insight into life in the Soviet era was chilling… brought to life brilliantly by Anastasia with personal examples from her family history”.

 

Ania

La nostra guida in lingua italiana e inglese. Laureata in letteratura italiana con la tesi su Umberto Eco, Ania non perde l’occasone, quando non lavora come guida e interprete, per viaggiare in tutto il mondo (sfruttate il momento e chiedetele com’è andata la pesca di piragna e alligatori in Ecuador!). E’ veramenta instancabile, sia quando fa la vendemmia in Chianti o gioca capoeira per le strade di Firenze, che quando fa la guida a San Pietroburgo parlando il vero Vernaholo Fiorentino. I suoi turisti dicono che si diverte quanto loro durante le escursioni. Non importa se vi accompagnerà all?Ermitage per vedere i quadri dei Vecchi Maestri o vi stupirà con il suo Pub Crawl per i bar della città, la sua capacità di intrattenere sarà per voi una esperienza unica e indimenticabile.

 

Lothar

Lothar ist deutscher Journalist und Reiseführer-Autor. Er lebt und arbeitet seit mehr als 20 Jahren in St. Petersburg und versteht die russische Realität besser als viele Einheimische. Er steht bereit für individuelle Touren auf Deutsch – zu Fuß, mit dem Fahrrad oder mit seinem treuen Lada.

 

 

Katya

Katya’s bio is currently in the proccesss of being written

 

 

Lena

Lena A big enthusiast of cycling in St Petersburg, Lena is an active contributor of St Petersburg stories to the international press, giving her own angle on the city she is a great fan of. Lena also does PR for our bike tours and biking in St Petersburg in general.

 

 

Zhenya

Zhenya. Loves teaching English to kids, travels to exotic places like Jamaica and Monetegro, and does great Original walks abd bicycle tours, as well as the Hermitage and other palaces.