The few brief weeks of the White Nights – those incredible, luminous northern midsummer eves when the high latitudes are bathed in a pearlescent all-night glow – and sun-filled summer days in St Petersburg are an intoxicating time. By day, locals revel in the heat and the outdoors; by night, there are festivals, concerts and partying to indulge in.
This is a time when St Petersburg is at its most lustrous, when zhizni radost – the peculiarly Russian brand of joie de vivre – is irresistible. White Nights revelling starts in May, when the city finally succumbs to spring and the parks are filled with flowering trees, but mid-June is peak time, as the sun slumps lazily towards the horizon but never fully sets. Here are some White Nights (and summer day) experiences not to miss in St Petersburg.