Hi- I'm planning a trip to St. Petersburg this summer and wondering if you can give advice. Have you ever heard about any of these hotels? Down at the bottom, Hotel Astoria looks very nice - but very expensive! Any others worth considering for a reasonable price? I would like to see the Hermitage Museum. Where else should I go? Novgorod looks interesting. Also, how far of a drive is it from St Petersburg to Moscow? Looking at this map (scroll down) it seems to be about 600 km...

Or would you recommend doing a tour? I appreciate any help you can offer.