Top Russia hotels
Red Square/Kremlin Moscow
161 Reviews The 70 m (230 ft) high Saviour Tower is the most magnificent of the Kremlin towers, the very symbol and emblem of Moscow. From time immemorial it has been the principal entrance to the Kremlin. The...
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Canals and Rivers Saint Petersburg
38 Reviews Why not have a boat trip along the city canals and rivers, which will allow you to see the buildings from different angles and to enjoy the city sites - the splendid samples of the old Russian...
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Battle of Stallingrad Volgograd
13 Reviews The main statue of the complex is Mother Homeland Statue. It is situated on the so name Point 102 (Mamaev Kurgan is 102 meters high). The statue is 85 meters high (the figure 52 meters and the sword...
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Streets of Moscow Moscow
42 Reviews The wide street Kutuzovskiy Prospekt used to be a prestigious residential area for very important people of the Soviet Union. The building at number 26 was known as the Politbuero block, where...
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Museums Saint Petersburg
26 Reviews Hermitage Museum - I did the cruise ship visit to St Petersburg last month. We visted Catherine's Palace in Pushkin first in the morning so we arrived to the Hermitage in the afternoon. The cruise...
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The Volga Embankment Volgograd
5 Reviews Volgograd is great at May. It is bright, green and clean. Unfortunately internet could not transmit smells of spring flowers and blooming trees. Chestnuts, lilacs and bird cherry trees - a must...
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Monuments & Buildings Moscow
43 Reviews Yury Nikulin was the great movie artist and clown in soviet time. He was like a a breath of fresh air... "I always believed that those circus people who compel others to burst out laughing are the...
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Personal Observations Saint Petersburg
46 Reviews St. Petersburg is a wonderful city, but I suggest that you go there either with a group, or go on your own if you know Russian. There are no English signs and it is really difficult to move around if...
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General impressions Moscow
73 Reviews Moscow is well worth seeing by night. So a stroll through the city centre of Moscow in darkness is highly recommended. Not only the illuminated red stars on the top of the Kremlin Towers look...
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Cathedrals and Churches Saint Petersburg
57 Reviews One of impressive buildings of Saint Petersburg is Isakievsky Cathedral. It is well seen from Neva River and is situated not far from the monument to Peter I (the Copper rider). In XVIII century on...
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Other places to see Moscow
44 Reviews The nearest vicinities of the Red Square, including Manezhnaya Square are the places most attended by Muscovites for the last four centuries. In XV century in the old Moscow here lived...
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Monuments Saint Petersburg
22 Reviews Our first stop where we got out to take pictures was along the river at what the guide said were lighthouses (there were two) but which the travel literature called Rostrums. Apparently several times...
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Moscow Metro Moscow
18 Reviews Moscow's metro was inaugurated in 1935 and since then the network grew to 11 lines and covers a distance of about 300 km. Many of the stations from Soviet times are fine examples of socialist realism...
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St.Peter and St.Paul's Fortress Saint Petersburg
15 Reviews The church in the St. Peter and Paul Fortress (Petropavlovskaya Krepost) is where all the tsars and their wives are buried although what structures that show in the church are not really the tombs...
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Cathedrals & Monasteries Moscow
40 Reviews This impressive structure isn't that old. Rumor has it that it used to be a very nice swimming pool until just a few years ago. The interior is extremely well decorated, and the crypt houses quite a...
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Weather Saint Petersburg
8 Reviews St. Petersburg gets all four seasons, sometimes a bit unpredictably. The long days of white nights in June do not mean it will be always warm, carry a sweater and umbrella! It can rain most any time...
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Parks/Estates Moscow
13 Reviews The park was completed in 1995 to celebrate the 50-th anniversary of the Soviet Union's World War Two victory. The park itself is laid out around a grand fountain-lined axis with a huge white...
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Architecture Saint Petersburg
40 Reviews St. Petersburg was founded by Tsar Peter the Great in 1703, so it celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2003. The tsars employed the best architects and artists from Western Europe to build St....
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Parks and Squares Saint Petersburg
25 Reviews In the northern part of the park there are a lot of sculptures, it is real open air museum. I heard that almost a half of it is originals of XIX century. Besides, there is a monument to the famous...
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Nevsky Avenue Saint Petersburg
10 Reviews I spent almost a whole day sightseeing along St. Petersburg's main avenue Nevsky Prospekt. It leads from the Admirality in the west via Moskow Railway Station to the Aleksandr Nevsky Monastery in...
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Bridges Saint Petersburg
13 Reviews Troizky Bridge was open in 1903, to 200 years anniversary of the city. It is 500 meters long. The bridge is a part of the ensemble of buildings and bridges of Neva River area in front of Hermitage...
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Hermitage Saint Petersburg
27 Reviews Hermatage, Peterhof, Catherine Palace. St Petrsburg was all that I expected and more. We only had 2 very long and wonderful days there on our Baltic Cruise but I was so impressed with it. Our trips...
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City Environs Saint Petersburg
13 Reviews For the early birds: come to Peterhof before 9 a.m. and enter the Lower Garden free of charge. That is what I do. I love the nature and solitude. Have some seeds and feed the squirrels. They switch...
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Guidebooks Saint Petersburg
15 Reviews Most facilities in the center are portable toilets. Sometimes on Palace Square you will see toilet buses. Generally WC are all 10 rubles. For free in 5-star hotels, McDonalds and other restaurants....
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Visas and Documents Saint Petersburg
5 Reviews We were on a Cruise ship, for one very long day in Port. We usually do our own thing, but this is one place where you can't. You either have to do a Ship's tour or a privately booked tour, otherwise...
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Nearly all foreigners visiting Russia will need a visa. There are different kind of visa, but if you planning a trip for less than a month go for a tourist visa. The easiest way to obtain it is through a travel agency. Or if you have prebooked accommodation, directly at the Russian consulate.Visa fees depend on nationality as do the forms you have to fill out.
Where to start?????Peter and Paul FortressHermitageLiving in Russia at 16Catherines PalaceStrog's PalaceKremlinWhite houseGasing on TrainsAll of my friendsNakbar the dog Ballroom dancing in Catherines Palace; the video tells it all.
One of the more frustrating problems we had in Russia was trying to cash traveler's checks. Most banks won't touch them with a 10' pole and those that do will gouge the heck out of you. We had American Express checks and even when we went into a bank that had the American Express Traveler's Check symbol on the door, they still wouldn't cash them often saying, "Sorry, we only accept Visa." When asked about the sign on the door, they'd just give us a blank look. I think it was a little game they played because they just didn't want to cash them. I wished I had a few Visa traveler's checks as well so I could call their bluff. We also found credit cards difficult to use outside of central Moscow and St. Petersburg. We did find that our ATM card worked in a few machines, so you may have that option. Otherwise, take cash, or be prepared to walk around alot trying to find someone to take your...
The Russians currency is the Rubble. It is further divided into Kopeks. You need not worry about carrying large chunks of Rubbles as there is at least one ATM on all major towns in Russia. If you do get out of the beaten path in the Altai or an obscure Siberian village then yes, take money with you. Otherwise, be prepared to use your ATM often. Traveler Checks are accepted in the larger cities, but other then that they may be harder to exchanger.
When I met up with my friends Matt and Mischka in Poland, they both warn me that from Eastern Europe all the way to Vladivostok on the Pacific coast I would see the same Soviet style architecture. It is hard to believe, but it was all true. As Russia was swept by its communist ideals, so did its population. The communist programs brought with it a wide range of migration from rural areas into new and old urban areas. The new residents required housing of course and so it brought about the need for massive housing developments. The architects of the time came up with a new unique style of architecture to meet their soviet ideals. The soviet style architecture is simple in nature. They came up with these tall block-like buildings that soon spread up like mushrooms across their domain. There wasn’t much different between them though so after a while they can seem repetitive, dull, and a bit...
Digital cameras are high on the list of many a traveler. I suggest you look into www.dpreview.com for camera reviews from users like us before you buy one. Rather then spending your time uploading the pics online or burning the pics into a CD, I’d suggest you buy a personal storage device (portable hard drive). I own the ARCHOS Multimedia Jukebox, which allows me to store pics, view pics, store and play music, and store/play some videos. Every time I was running out of smart media space, I just uploaded the pics into the portable hard drive :). As for batteries, just take some good rechargeable ones (probably 2 or 3 sets worth). Also, take the necessary outlet converter (I have one that comes with all the outlets used throughout the world) so you can plug the recharger in Russia. Most of the time, when you travel outside of St. Pete and Moscow you will stay in a hotel with your own room...
A tourist visa is good for only 30 days. A business visa is good for up to 12 months (note that a stay longer then 3 months, such as a 6 months bus visa, requires an HIV test). Tourist visas are the easiest to get. You just book a hostel/hotel for the first few nights’ accommodation. They will send you support documents, including the invite letter. You can then fill out the application and other requirements as you submit them to the Russian Consulate for the visa. Unfortunately, the business visa is a bit trickier in that you require a business to sponsor you. My advice to you is to use one of the many travel agents to help you with your visa. It may cost you more, but it is almost a guarantee you'll get the visa. Otherwise, you may be stuck w/o one. From the US, you can visit http://gotorussia.com for more details. Outside the US, I recommend http://www.visatorussia.com/.Also, it's...
See the monetary unit of Russia - it a ROUBLE. Look at the bank note of 500 roubles - it is less than 20 dollars. Now the rate is - 1 $ = 28.20 roubles. WOW! DOLLAR IS FALLING! ROUBLE IS BECOMING STRONGER! (OR SEEMS TO BE GETTING STRONGER, I DON'T KNOW).
It is the must unreal city I've ever seen. A Soviet monolith that just grew out of the taiga. Everything is grey, made out of stone yet apealing. The subway shows just how Stalin's architects were talented with their knowledge of grey shades. You can find like 20 different kind of grey in the subway, without even mentioning the weird communist propaganda ("art sculptures"). Central Novosibirsk has very wide streets, and is quite "green" (by communist standarts). I recomend that you go and loose yourself in the little streets where you can find decaying sculpted wooden house in the pure siberian tradition. Also, checkout the enormous statues of Lenin, the 2 soldiers and the 2 workers who seem to be directing traffic in front of the opera.PS - It is also to be said that I had never seen so many beautiful women before going to Novosibirsk. It is actualy strange cuz I am not...
This is the back side of the G.U.MIt is the place like a huge Mall where you can but everything.Well the prices are OK, I mean you could found lower and better prices if you search, but if you don't have a time for this and your stay in Moscow is for a short time and few days, Red Square is the place to go, and G.U.M is the Mall to buy from.
Marriott Moscow Royal Moscow
6 Reviews and 146 Opinions The hotel has a great location, all the central attractions are very close. But the hotel is not...
Grand Hotel Europe Saint Petersburg
11 Reviews and 212 Opinions I wish I could have described my stay here, but I only passed by almost every night. The building is...
Hotel Mirage Kazan'
3 Reviews and 15 Opinions I have no idea about this hotel before I check in, neither about its location, nor its rating. I...
Reviews and photos of Russia attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Russia sightseeing.
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Q: There are sereval satellite towns near by Moscow: Susdal, Yaroslaval, Sergiev Posad, Vladimir and may be else. - did anybody try...
A: Don't know about Nanotrip but have done a Golden Ring tour and can thoroughly recommend it. We went to Vladimir, Suzdal', Ples, Kostroma, Yaroslavl', Rostov Velikiy, ,...
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