Cigars in St. Petersburg (Russia)

[Jersey Devil]

I will be playing tourist in St. Petersburg in mid-August and would like to find a good place to relax and enjoy a stick or two. I intend to take about a dozen with me first to Helsinki and Tallinn, but I may only have 2 or 3 remaining by the time I get to SPb--and I'm guessing tobacco taxes in Helsinki would make replenishing my travel humidor there an overly expensive proposition. Anybody been through there and could pass along a recommendation or two?

[mgcrunch]

Enjoy your trip! It's a beautiful city. 

Russia is not the place it once was for smoking. I remember being in Tunisia in 2014 and smoking in the hotel elevator! I think there were no more than five establishments (open to a laymen like me) that allowed cigar smoking in Moscow (at least as of 2016).

I was in St P for just a week, nothing I found of interest with cigar shops. A few shops selling cigars, but nothing memorable. Admittedly, I ravaged the LCDH in Moscow, so was satiated by this point. 

I'm not sure how customs treats Russian ER (provided you should find. They can be particular about "Russian goods" exiting the country.)

I was told horror stories of cigar prices in Russia, but given current exchange rates, it's affordable. 

On a tangential note, Hermitage is definitely worth the trip. I thought Peterhof was just OK. Seen one magnificent palace, seen em all.

 

 

[Jersey Devil]

Yes, we're both looking forward to the Hermitage and the lower gardens at Petergof. I would also like to see the Catherine Palace with the re-created Amber Room but I think that may be too much, given all the cathedrals and the Russian Museum--and gift shops. I'm determined to come back with a Ushanka hat and a drive full of pictures. There's an LCDH in SPb. I'm not really after regionals, just a place I can buy 4 or 5 sticks to keep me sane 'til I get back home.

[semifan1]

Nice.. I always wanted to go to check it out..

[mgcrunch]

37 minutes ago, Jersey Devil said:

Yes, we're both looking forward to the Hermitage and the lower gardens at Petergof. I would also like to see the Catherine Palace with the re-created Amber Room but I think that may be too much, given all the cathedrals and the Russian Museum--and gift shops. I'm determined to come back with a Ushanka hat and a drive full of pictures. There's an LCDH in SPb. I'm not really after regionals, just a place I can buy 4 or 5 sticks to keep me sane 'til I get back home.

Ah, the LCDH in St P. I forgot. You'll be fine to buy cigars there and provided exchange holds, you'll have a reasonable deal. 

I neglected to mention the Bolshoi. Highly recommend catching a show there. 

Enjoy!

[Jersey Devil]

The exchange sucks at the moment: $1 = ₽56. It was about 75 Rubles to the Dollar in December. I think the Bolshoi takes August off, but I would like to see something  at the Mariinsky if possible. 5 nights, 4.5 days. Do you happen to remember any pricing from LCDH Moscow? I'm betting SPb is probably similar.

[Jersey Devil]

Actually, I just found a price list online. No deals to be had there. Mid-list cigars like the Magnum 46, Boli RC, Monte 2, etc, are in the $15-20 USD range. Better than Canada, about on-par with Munich, and twice as much as getting them online and bringing with. Guess I'll need a second travel humidor <grin>.