Explore St. Petersburg with the ITMO.NEWS editorial team! 🍹

For our final installment, we’ve gone to the very top! Get to know the city with Maria Khuzina, a writer and head of the Internationalization Office.

📽 Aurora Cinema
A real escapist, I've been a movie lover for as long as I can remember – and what could be better than immersing yourself in fictional stories in the elegant cinema halls of an old movie theater? An unusual selection of films, the luxury of cinema halls, and a recent addition in the form of amazingly delicious snacks and popcorn from Futura – and I once again find myself in my favorite chairs, waiting for another exciting story.

🌉 Yakhtenny Bridge
With the onset of the spring months, I occasionally indulge myself in walking home from work. The route may be different, but it's a long walk in any case: I pass almost the entire city center, Vasilyevsky Island, Betancourt Bridge which always delights me, Petrovsky Island (with a quick rest at the yacht club – to look at the sails and the sunset), Krestovsky Island and, finally, Yakhtenny Bridge – a breathtaking end to a soothing walk through my beloved city.

📚 At the Top of One's Voice (Во весь голос)
Trite, but I love paper books, and the smell of libraries and bookstores is definitely in the top of my favorites. Having spent half of my youth between the shelves of Dom Knigi, I now prefer less noisy and overcrowded bookstores – and, located on Mayakovsky Street, opposite the monument to the poet (and named after his last poem), this one is just what I need. Sometimes I go there just to hide from disturbing thoughts or especially bad weather – but I always manage to find a book there that grabs my attention and asks to be read.

🚃 Metro
I know, it’s weird, but one of my favorite places in the city is actually under it. Not too huge, with stations similar to palace halls, always clean, bright and safe – since childhood, I’ve felt an unusual calmness as soon as heavy swing doors let me into this orderly and magnificent underground world.

🚢 Kronstadt
Of all the variety of islands in St. Petersburg, Kronstadt will always remain my favorite – my hometown, it’s become part of St. Petersburg and a popular tourist destination, but is still especially dear to me on a cold autumn evening, when the straight, spacious streets are empty, and only a harsh wind keeps me company during a walk.

#edteam
Would you like to learn about other cool and obscure locations in the city? React with 🔥

One day left until ITMO.LiVE 2023 ⏰

The gowns have been ironed and the hats are ready to fly! And that means it’s time for us to tell you where to pick them up, as well as enjoy many other special activities. Add the map to your bookmarks to easily navigate the island.

See you tomorrow, graduates!

Greetings from ITMO’s First Vice Rector Daria Kozlova 💕

As a useful bonus to our earlier fashion story, here’s a list of retail chains that are back on the market following a rebranding – and the new names you can find them under at the nearest mall:

👕 Bershka → Ecru
👕 Pull & Bear → Dub
👕 ZARA → Maag

🎽Reserved → Re
🎽Sinsay → Sin
🎽 MOHITO → M
🎽Cropp → CR
🎽 House → XC

👟 Reebok → Sneaker Box
👟 Levi’s → JNS

Adapted from @shozhu