Russia Cities and Regions

Once veiled in mystery, tough, fierce Moscow is not for the faint of heart. Those who are up to its wild, wealth-fueled energy will appreciate the new (a vibrant restaurant culture, shocking nightlife scene, rising fashion-consciousness), the old (The Kremlin, ancient cathedrals), and the constant (vodka and caviar). See our Moscow Travel Guide

Russia’s “Window on the West” glitters with spectacular cathedrals, world-renowned museums, and romantic canals – the handiwork of Peter the Great, who transformed this swampy wasteland into a city in 1703. See our St. Petersburg Travel Guide

Isolated from mainland Russia in between Poland and Lithuania, this Baltic seaport demonstrates a distinctive conflux of Prussian, Lithuanian, and new-era Russian heritage. Rapidly developing into a modern economic boomtown, Russian officials are dedicated to turning this isolated port city into “the Russian Hong Kong.” Red marble fountains, designer boutiques, and luxury cars have become emblematic of the city’s newfound optimism and opulence.

One of Russia’s oldest cities, Novgorod is distinguished by medieval architecture dating back to the conquests of Ivan the Great. Novgorod is a gateway to the vast Russian heartland, boasting impressive cathedrals, ancient art, and millennia-old stone forts and citadels.

Far removed from the tourist path of St. Petersburg and Moscow, the coastal regions of the Caspian and Black Seas boast picturesque ports, ski resorts, fishing towns, and tasty black sturgeon caviar. The cities of Novorossiysk and Sochi on the Black Sea and Astrakhan and Baku on the Caspian Sea are rooted in Russian culture with a unique Ottoman twist.

Russia’s central thoroughfare for seaport commerce, the Volga River once linked czars with their imperial capitals in St. Petersburg and Moscow. Today, the flourishing Volga River – the longest in Europe – has become a first-class cruise destination.

The longest railway in the world, the Trans-Siberian Railway spans the seemingly endless Siberian Steppe. Bundle up in a parka for an adventurous ride across the tundra from Moscow to Vladivostok, the Pacific port terminus for the Russian fleet or ride the Trans-Mongolian line through the Gobi Desert to Beijing, traversing the lion's share of two continents.

Closed to foreign tourists and visiting Russian nationals until 1992, Vladivostok is on the far eastern coast, relatively close to North Korea and Japan. Though its Soviet past hangs in the air, an unexpected dose of San Francisco-like charm – streetcars winding up hilly streets and historic promenades – provides a bit of buoyancy.