Russia, Asia (Point of interest)

The Moscow Metro comprises 12 lines criss-crossing the Russian capital. While underground travel in other cities is often direct and simple in style, using the Moscow Metro is a truly educational experience. Start at Metro Station Ploshchad Revolyu... Continue reading →

The Alexander Nevsky Monastery is home to some of the earliest buildings in St Petersburg. Founded by Peter the Great soon after the city itself was built in 1703, it now encompasses various chapels, a museum and an enormous necropolis. In 1797 th... Continue reading →

Housed in Moscow's Andronikov Monastery, the Andrei Rublev Museum of Early Russian Art was established in 1960 to mark the 600th anniversary of the artist's birth. The collection includes 15th-century icons from the school of Rublev, later icons an... Continue reading →

Home to the famed Bolshoi Ballet Company, Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre stages world-class opera and ballet in ornate surroundings. Dominating the city centre's Teatralnaya Square, the magnificent 2000-seat auditorium is adorned with a massive eight-col... Continue reading →

Explore rare and exotic plants at St Petersburg's enchanting Botanical Garden. You'll find plants from all around the world including the unique Queen of the Night which flowers just one night a year every May. The garden was ordered by Peter the ... Continue reading →

The inspiring Cathedral of Christ the Saviour - Russia's largest - was originally built to give thanks for the delivery of Moscow from Napoleon in 1812. The shining golden cupola stands 105 metres high, overlooking the River Moscow. Under Soviet r... Continue reading →

While Peter the Great favoured Peterhof, west of St Petersburg, for his summer palace, his wife Empress Catherine I favoured the royal estate south at Pushkin. It became known as Tsarskoe Selo, or Emperor's Village, nowadays the breathtaking Cather... Continue reading →

Officially St Petersburg's Church of the Resurrection of Christ, the 1881 murder of Tsar Alexander II dubbed it the Church of the Saviour on the Spilled Blood. Its onion domes and ornate mosaics are a splash of colour beside Griboyedov Canal. On t... Continue reading →

Shooting a blank over St Petersburg's Winter Palace on 25 October 1917, the Cruiser Aurora started the Russian Revolution. Russia's oldest surviving naval vessel, it is now a floating museum on the River Neva. Tours take you inside the engine room.... Continue reading →

St Petersburg commemorates the great Russian writer Fedor Dostoevsky in the apartment where he lived his last couple of years and wrote his last epic work, The Brothers Karamazov. His Literary Memorial Museum was opened in 1971. After the death of... Continue reading →

Opened in 2007, gallery.photographer.ru has quickly become one of Moscow's hottest locations for fans of contemporary photography. The gallery showcases pieces from many of Russia's up-and-coming photographic artists, hosts temporary exhibitions an... Continue reading →

Cherished as a natural haven at the edge of Moscow since at least the 13th century, Kolomenskoe is packed full of superb historical buildings. The oldest is the 16th-century Church of the Ascension (recognised by UNESCO in 1994). Many wooden build... Continue reading →

The oldest state museum in Russia, the Kunstkamera recognises its founder Peter the Great, who decreed its foundation in 1704, a year after St Petersburg was founded. An avid collector, Peter personally contributed to the museum's weird and wonderf... Continue reading →

Lenin's Mausoleum, on Red Square, houses its famous corpse within a 1930s Constructivist masterpiece. Visitors include fewer die-hard Bolsheviks than tourists these days, but the whole place is a good reminder of how things used to be around here. ... Continue reading →

Bound to its history but still variable with time, Leningrad Zoopark has a variety of 400 animal species among the 2000 inhabitants. Guests of all ages can enjoy seeing fascinating beings including the Japanese Macaque and the Black Stork.... Continue reading →

Dominated by its green and white neo-classical façade and backing onto Kryukov Canal, St Petersburg's Mariinsky Theatre was built in 1860 and first hosted ballet in 1880. The Mariinsky Opera and Ballet is sometimes still known by its Soviet name, ... Continue reading →

Moscow's Mayakovsky Museum opened in January 1974, creating a new way of paying tribute to an artist's legacy. Both anarchic and accessible, the building is worth visiting even if you have never heard of the great man's works. Numerous corridors, ... Continue reading →

Thought-provoking and at times tear-jerking, the Memorial Museum depicts life as it was during the 900-day Siege of Leningrad by the Nazis. Artefacts, newsreels and biographical exhibits tell the story of how St Petersburg survived this appalling o... Continue reading →

One of the biggest military museums in the world, St Petersburg's Military Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineering Corps and Signals houses a huge collection of arms and artillery. Other artefacts for the family to enjoy include miniature soldi... Continue reading →

Moscow's Museum of Contemporary Russian History is housed in what was - between 1831 and 1917 - the Moscow English Club. It now displays a huge collection depicting life in Soviet and post-Soviet Russia. Opened in 1917 to mark the Bolshevik Revolu... Continue reading →