AND IT’S NOT JUST SOCCER EITHER

VISA: It can take up to three weeks to get a tourist visa for Russia so make sure you apply in time. Details on the website for the Russian Consulate in Dublin: http://dublin.kdmid.ru/en. aspx

TRAVEL: Flight costs drop dramatically after the World Cup finishes, with return flights Dublin – St Petersburg from the end of July available for about €300 – see websites like www. skyscanner.ie for bargains.

FOOD: Restaurants go from vegan to steak tartare with a wide range of ethnic foods available. The famous Russian pancakes ‘blini’ can be tasted in the Teremok chain, with caviar, sour cream or sweet fillings available. The Literary Café on Nevsky Avenue is known for traditional Russian food, including caviar and beef stroganoff. Delicious, sweet and with a decades-long reputation, the doughnuts at Pyshechnaya on Bolshaya Konyushennaya street are so good people queue down the street for them. The Ukrop Café off Nevsky Avenue does vegan versions of many traditional dishes including Borscht soup.

LANGUAGE: English is increasingly spoken, and most large tourist sites have English-language brochures or audioguides. But not all of them, so downloading a city guide to your phone is a good idea – Lonely Planet St Petersburg is available through the library app, BorrowBox. The website visitpetersburg.ru offers walking routes that will take in the locations where the BBC’s War & Peace was filmed.