Smaller than my one-room apartment in St. Petersburg, Dacha is a bar-cum-club which goes a little way toward being avant garde, or at the very least, off the beaten track. Its nights of 60s music, electronica mixed with punk, and insane remixed disco pop beats the packed crowd of twenty-something party-goers dancing 'till the club closes at 6am.

Round the back of Gostiny Dvor. Metro Nevsky Prospekt, Ulitsa Dumskaya.

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Cynic is a legendary underground bar hangout popular among local students and certain parts of the expat community. It can be rowdy, but it's not unfriendly. Originally housed in a filthy single room near Moscow station, it moved in 2002/2003 to new, larger premises just off St. Isaac's Square.

The basic drill is to sit around large tables drinking cheap-ish beer and vodka (occasionally absinthe), talking to friends and random strangers. Don't forget to try the grenki (fried bread with garlic), which give Cynic its special, peculiarly persistent smell. The food is actually surprisingly good, but most people come for the booze.

If you're lucky, some of the younger female patrons might have enough to decide dancing topless on the tables is a good idea. In which case, you've seen a genuine St Petersburg institution.

4 Pereulok Antonenko; www.cynic.spb.ru/ (Russian only), nearest metro Sennaya Ploshchad/Sadovaya. They probably don't bother answering the phone, if they have one

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Clean, friendly, affordable hostel in the middle of St Petersburg. Breakfast included, internet available. Free tickets for the Puppet Theatre next door for guests. Around £13 per night in a shared dorm.

Just off Nevsky Prospekt

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