Celtic fans are getting extra use out of their passports this season after clinching European football after Christmas.

They may have dropped out of the Champions League but they will be heading to St Petersburg for the round of 32 second leg tie on Thursday, February 22.

It's not all about the action on the pitch though, what about the city itself?

If you're planning on packing your bags and jetting off for a winter break then here's our guide to what you can expect.

Cold. Very cold.

Put it this way, you won't be going taps aff unless the beer has significantly warmed your insides.

It's typically in the minus numbers in February, with -7 being normal and -2 being a warm day. Pack a hot water bottle.

The cost of living over there will warm your heart slightly, though. It's generally in line with some of the less expensive eastern European cities and even though it will cost and arm and a leg to get there, it won't set you back too far once you've landed.

The city, which has a population of almost five million people, was founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and there aren't many tourists in February so prepare to turn heads.

St Petersburg is one of Russia's most popular tourist cities and if you're not there just for the beers and the football you will find many things to pass the time.

The Hermitage Museum is a must-see for art lovers and is the second largest in the world.

The Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood was built where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated in 1881 with 6000 square metres of mosaics inside.

There's also a zoo. Leningrad is the oldest zoo in Russia but it's small and some reviews complain the conditions are too cramped for the animals.

If you want a flight from Glasgow you can get there via Amsterdam for £309 return, leaving on Tuesday, February 20 and returning three days later.

Sadly it's only an hour stopover though, so there isn't time to get into the city for a short time.

The chances are these flights will shoot up as Celtic fans spend their lunch breaks on travel agencies so it might be worth looking at alternative routes.

If you search for the flights individually instead of typing in Glasgow to St Petersburg you can go via Berlin for £210 return and get two nights in Germany out of it.

That's flying out on the Tuesday, spending Wednesday in Germany, before flying back there on the Friday and then home on the Saturday.

On arrival, a taxi from the airport to the city centre will cost around £20 but there are far cheaper options. A tram, train and bus all cost less than £1. They also have Uber there.

Under normal circumstances, yes.

You can visit St Petersburg without one for up to 72 hours if you're a visitor on a cruise or ferry because it comes under the blanket visa.

But let's be honest, the chances of you wanting to do that in February, in that part of the world, are slim.

If Celtic are able to organise something similar, or you book through a travel agency, then fans won't have to go through the process themselves. Otherwise they will have to apply the normal way.

You need to apply online and then visit a visa centre in person, in either Edinburgh, Manchester or London, because they will take your fingerprint. This has been in place for three years now.

Make sure you have at least six months on your passport, opt for the single entry tourist visa and don't even think about trying to go via Belarus. It's not going to happen.

You get up to 30 days and it will cost you around £120, which is broken down by the via processing fee, service charge, letter of invitation (normally from your accommodation) and passport return.

It takes around five working days to process.

Right, you've made into the country, now for the important bit. A pint is roughly between £1.50 and £3 and they like their craft beer there.

Food and drink is relatively cheap as long as you stick to the local places rather than restaurant hotels and those with English menus.

The Krestovsky Stadium, also known as Zenit Arena, is built over their old ground on Krestovsky Island.

It's a brand new stadium that opened for the Confederations Cup this year and will be used for next summer's World Cup.

It's seven storeys high, holds 67,000 supporters, has a retractable roof, sliding pitch, and word is it can stage any event at any time of year.

The swimming championships should be interesting, then.

The temperature inside the stadium is always 15C so you may be going taps aff after all if Celtic win...