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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No, it was not mine.It could have been, but not this time.Next year, perhaps. ;-)When the time comes, I'll elope, lol...Weddings - saw lots in Moscow, that very weekend.Attended many in my life.Some still working, others... well, changing partners.Russia?It's a trip to be taken at least once in your lifetime.A country unlike any other.It is unique.I treasure that.Weddings in Russia - well, they look familiar.Similar to those from other parts of the world!What do u think?
Someone once said that. Actually, lots of people said that :-)Here are 2 students I passed by when visiting the Moscow University. They are friends... having a great time relaxing at the park. & they are friendly... well, to me they are.We didn't converse... but those smiles, ahhhhh, it's good to see people smiling at you, even if they are strangers!Makes one feel close...
As I've said earlier, I didn't have time to even plan the trip. Let alone learning another foreign language. But some VTers did & I heard it's very fun to do so. In Russia, it's imperative you learn to at least read the alphabets if you are to venture there on your own. Unless you are like Sam, who works for Price Waterhouse & probably has his own interpreter!But anyhow, it's interesting to at least find out how the letters look like, don't u think?
Politics, religions... well, one can discuss freely with friends (even then, it's a matter of walking on shaky grounds ;-)). But not a great idea to post my views on VT. I'll be very busy if I do that...Still, one can't escape these 2 aspects of life if one is to "see" Russia.Politics unlike those of the western world.Religions unlike those I'm familiar with.On both counts, I'm the worst person to discuss them.But, I came in contact with them on my trip.So, you shall see some of the photos I've taken with my digital camera.Hopefully, you'll be able to grasp the essence without me going into much details. If not, please by all means go & visit & see for yourself ;-)That's best, don't you think?
Both Moscow & St. Petersburg had been capitals of Russia. Both are awfully cold in the winters.Go visit in the summers.My guide told me that it rains almost 300 days a year in St. Petersburg! That's depressing...An American from NJ whom I met on the flight (Sam, he works for Price Waterhouse in Moscow & has a peculiar email a/c with the word osama as part of the name!) told me about the chilly & freezingly cold winters. So, if you can avoid going in the winter, by all means avoid it!If not, get some of these hats & minks! Shopping in Russia is fun but buying anything is not. It's highly expensive!!!Don't think I'd like to live in this country. Visit? Yes.Live? No.
Historical-wise, Moscow & St. Petersburg are "young". The cities date back to around 10th & 18th century respectively. Personally, I'm not big on history. But, in order to understand how a country becomes what it is today, a little history "lesson" is in order. This is just the very basic summary (for myself). Some VIPs of this country are:The Ivan's' - yeah, they sure like this name. Lots of them over the centuries.Ivan I (Kalita - "moneybags": 1325-40)Ivan III (The Great: 1462-1505)Ivan IV (Grandson of the Great, The Terrible: 1533-84 - "Tsar of All the Russias", who killed his own son in a fit of rage, also named Ivan)Peter I (The Great, his half brother named... Ivan, who else?) They have problems naming their sons or what? ;-)Catherine (The Great, a German princess)Anyway, it's basically Ivan, Ivan, Ivan... (No escape from them, lol...)
This is a scene out of the landscape of the great St. Petersburg.(Well, I did some "manipulations" with the photo ;-).)What's my point?When in Russia... things are not what they appear to be.Many a times, there are vast differences between the exterior & interior.Perhaps it's not surprising to you. But to me, that difference is just too vast to go unnoticed.So, here it is.A friend once said "Do not judge the book by its cover.", in this case, he is right.
Ok, this is just one of the weirdest sights I've set eyes on...Speaking of mixed culture...Wait til those mainlanders from China see this! :-DI could hardly believe my ears when they told us we are having Chinese meals every day! What's that all about?!?!?!
Luckily for me, my intro to this amazing country was through St. Petersburg. Very much like Europe, if you ask me.That, to me, is not good, really...I didn't come to see Europe.I came to see Russia.But ... as with all things in life, sometimes things happened the way it did just to make life easier. That is something one has to learn to have faith in. Sometimes I do forget. ;-)
Ok, half of you won't understand this.Why? Coz you are guys who tower more than 5 1/2 ft & coz you are brave.Me? I'm an Asian who does not have a country who'd send military jet over to save me should there be a political uprise or terrorist attack. So, I've learned since young where I stand in society. My society.Some of you think that's silly.Let me assure you, it's not.It's better to be safe than be sorry.I was sick recently & I seeked comfort from a friend. I didn't get 2 secs of this person's time.Now, do you honestly think anyone other than my own family is going to come & save me?Nah... not in Russia.Not in this life.Do u know what it means to be fearful & yet you still take that very step towards it because you know it's what make you grow?That was how I felt b4 landing in this country.Fear of the unknown?Perhaps. Perhaps not.Fact of the matter is, even the U.S. government was...
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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