St Petersburg is a year-round destination. The city's northern latitude means long days in summer and long nights in winter. In winter, hotels and tourist attractions are less crowded and, while some describe the weather merely as 'dark', there's a twinkling magic about the winter sky. And while the White Nights in mid-summer are undeniably beautiful, some people find it disconcerting to look out of a window and think it's about 8pm when it's really 3am.
Climate-wise, St Petersburg is much milder than its extreme northern latitude would suggest. January temperatures average -8°C (17°F); a really cold day will get down to -15°C (5°F). It's a windy city though and in some areas the wind chill is quite fierce, so bring a good warm hat and scarf. Summer is cool and takes a while to get going: snow in late April is not uncommon and the warm weather doesn't really start until the period between June and August, when temperatures reach 20°C (68°F). During these months the city is packed with foreign and Russian tourists.
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