Hi Sheila,    like you i got the swiss notification, took advantage of the great price deal and 4 of us went for a long weekend  Aug 1 - 5th.    It was wonderful.    One member of the group spoke basic russian, but I confirm it is possible to do this without understanding the Cyrillic aplhabeth.   Here is why ..

- in all restaurants (even some local & georgian ones) the menu was in russian and english.

- if you stay in the center most of the sights are within walking distance so you can follow the maps visually with some initial guidance from the hotel.

- for boat trips (we took the hydrofoil to Peterhof palace) and for using the metro (for about 1-franc we station hopped on the M1 line to see the decor of the central stations - beautiful) buying tickets was done in english (and some sign language :-) )

- at all major museums English is offered for tours and brochures.

Tip 1:  getting from airport to the city was a challenge.   Initally taxi wanted 3000 rubles (90 francs)    My friend who spoke basic russian got that down to 1000 rubles.   (Hotels charge about 1500)    That we could not do in English.   So be prepared - e.g. organize a pickup with the hotel.

Tip 2 - book theatre (we went to the ballet) and hermitage tickets online - avoids the long queue at the hermitage.  

Thank you very much for the information Marcia

Did you have to pay for a visa - if so, can you please tell me how much it was?

Thank  you in advance.

Hi Sheila,

The price depends on your citenzenship... the below link is to the site for the visa application service in Geneva or Berne.    There is a tab with prices.  

http://vhs-swiss.com/main.php?id=general-information&lang=en

In addition there is all the information you will need to apply for the visa.   e.g. you have to have an 'invitation' from whomever you are visiting in Russia - as a tourist it will come from the hotel.   So you have to book a hotel before you apply for the visa.   All the hotels are used to this and I actually did the request online with the hotel and got the invitation back by email.  

I stayed at Petro Palace.  Great location but a bit pricey i think.  

If you want to proceed and have further questions send me a message direct to my glocals inbox and I will send you my phone #. 

Cheers,
Marcia