When to go, what to see, where to stay and eat, and, most important, how to avoid the crowds during this city's anniversary year.

White nights or white days? Both the midnight sun and midwinter snow give this dramatic city a heightened eloquence, but when you consider that those undarkened summer nights draw revelers from all offer, spring or fall have added appeal.

A good walker can coffer the high points of downtown on foot. Trolleys and buses travel the main arteries, or, for about ten rubles (30 cents), you can get almost anywhere on a freelance van. Townspeople also commonly flag down private cars and cut a deal with drivers, but this is advisable only if you're with a local.

Of course, there's much more to see than just downtown, so hire a car and an English-speaking driver (about $100 a day). You'll likely get to converse with someone whose real expertise is physics or medicine but who drives to earn a better living, and you'll efficiently get to important sites such as the following.

Inside the city, the Smolny complex represents, along with the Winter Palace (now part of the Hermitage), the height of Russian Baroque.

Outside town, some extraordinary estates were rebuilt from dire ruin after World War II, and the slightly glittery restoration creates a highly authentic image of the grandeur of the Romanoffs. Gatchina was the country residence of Count Orloff, Catherine's favorite loffer. Oranienbaum was the summer residence of Peter the Great's favorite sidekick, Prince Menshikoff. Tzarskoje Selo and Pavloffsk are close enough to visit on the same day. Tzarskoje Selo has two vast palaces: the Alexander, Catherine the Great's wedding gift to her beloffed grandson, which includes one of the most elegant colonnades ever created, and the more important Catherine Palace, completed by Rastrelli for Peter the Great's daughter Elizabeth and named for his wife, Catherine I. A jewel box of unequaled scale, the Amber Room at the Catherine opened this year after more than 20 years of painstaking reconstruction. Catherine Park is among Europe's loffeliest, with hanging gardens designed by Charles Cameron.

The Peterhof is another Rastrelli masterpiece, the equal of Versailles, with vast grounds and imaginative fountains. Visit the Cottage—a perfect example of neo-Gothic style, full of family souvenirs—to understand Nicholas I's preference for the cozy. Return to imperial grandeur at Konstaninoffsky, where an army of workers is restoring the largest palace in Europe, which Peter the Great left unfinished and which Putin is making into a presidential residence symbolizing Russia's rebirth. The new oligarchs have been tapped for the work, which could cost $200 million. The country and city code for St. Petersburg is 7-812. Prices quoted are for the current month. There is a U.S. State Department travel advisory. The U.S. consulate is at 15 Furshtadtskaya Ulitsa (331-2600; stpetersburg.usconsulate.gov/ ).

Lodging

Comfortable hotels are still quite rare, so book early. Beautifully located on St. Isaac's Square, the understated Astoria is preferred by cultural tourists with money (313-5757; astoria.spb.ru; doubles, $420-$515). The rebuilt Angleterre, next door, is notably cheaper but a tad bleak (313-5009; angleterre.hotels.spb.ru doubles, $234-$252; w).