It would be interesting to visit a service, as you will feel the atmosphere of a functioning church and will witness the religious life of native people. Russian Church is highly traditional. Prince Vladimir of Kiev effectively founded the Russian Orthodox Church in 988 by adopting Christianity from Constantinople. The Church headquarters stayed in Kiev till 1300 when it moved north to Vladimir, and then in 1320s to Moscow. Since those times, not much has changed.

Priests dress in ornate clothes, the smell of candles and incense permeates the air. Churches have no seats, (people have to stand all the service), no statues - but many icons with people only praying, even kissing the grounds before them. Icons-images intended to aid the veneration of the holy subjects they depict, sometimes believed able to grant luck wishes or even miracles- were the key art form up to time of Peter the Great, though only in 20th century did they really come to be seen as " works of art". They are most commonly found on the iconostasis of a church, the large screen in front of the east sanctuary. You will not hear the musical instruments in the church but you will enjoy a wonderful choral singing.

It is one of the most significant aspects of the Russian Orthodox tradition; singing is an integral part of the Service, inseparable from it, existing in conjunction with the other arts that are part of the Orthodox Church. Over the centuries, Russia developed a genuinely sacred type of singing for the church. The singing is considered worldwide as a true emissary of spirituality. Each church has a professional choir with the graduates from musical college and Academy of Music, but each attendant of the church can sing together with the choir, if he knows the church songs. Russia was always a very religious country and church service is an inseparably connected with life of natives. Visiting a church will introduce you to very important aspect of culture of the country.

Metro

Visiting a food market.

People in Russia have a tradition of shopping in the markets. In the Soviet period all the grocery shops were closed on Sunday and the market was only possibility to buy food. These days buying groceries is no longer a problem: many supermarkets even work round the clock, but for the most delicious food people prefer the market. All the fruit and vegetables are very fresh, just from the garden. Some people make their living by growing something in their vegetable gardens. All the sellers try their best to sell their produce, they are boasting with their goods, trying to get your attention. Here it is possible to bargain. This place gives you a feeling of everyday life of native inhabitants of St.-Petersburg.