RUSSIA

Russia

Explore Russia and the diverse regions that make up the largest country on earth. We have amazing hotel deal and Russian travel guides galore!

What you need to know about Russia

Language: Russian is the national language. You will find some locals speak English in places like St Petersburg and Moscow but expect to find many locals who do not. The younger generation has more chance of speaking English.

Currency: The currency in Russia is the Russian Ruble. One ruble is made up of 100 kopeks.

Banking: ATMs are found all over the country and all major cards are accepted.

Weather: Because the country is so big it is difficult to give a sweeping statement about the weather. Summers bring nice weather and often see locals taking trips to southern parts of the country where the temperatures are more pleasant. In winter it can be brutal with wind and snow expected and anticipated so wrap up warm!

Moscow is home to St Basil's Cathedral as well as other amazing buildings.

A modernising country still proud of its past

Russia is a country at something of a crossroads. There are few people on the planet more proud of their status as both a major player on the world stage and the part that Russia has played in shaping modern times; most notably the huge sacrifice of millions of Russians in the Second World War in the 1940s. Their rich heritage is proudly displayed in huge monuments and impressive (frankly insanely large) buildings and palaces. When in the capital Moscow or similarly in west-Russian powerhouse city St Petersburg you will find this type of imposing architecture as the seat of power in Russia has historically centred around these cities. Outside of these two cities however there is a huge country to explore. Places like Kazan, Vladivostok, Samara, Rostov-on-Don and Volgograd all offer visitors an authentic Russian experience and are ever more interconnected with better rail and air travel options linking cities both domestically and internationally.

Orthodox churches and cathedrals are commonplace and are some of the most impressive places of worship in Europe. Their architectural differences to churches found in Western Europe where Catholicism historically dominated is striking and many of them are well worth exploring to see their beautiful interiors, occasional reliquaries and to get a feel for the reverence paid for the Orthodox Christian church throughout Russia.

On a list of travel destinations Moscow us a must

In the capital city of Moscow there are some of the better and more impressive examples of cathedrals, some of which are found within the Kremlin; the entire Kremlin complex being much larger than you might think and comprising many, many buildings. St Basil’s Cathedral is one of the most famous and iconic churches in the world and you can see that with Red Square very close by also.

For culture vultures you have the world renowned Bolshoi ballet in Moscow and the Marinsky ballet (formerly the Kirov ballet) in St Petersburg. The dancers of both are frankly staggeringly talented and the discipline of ballet is still held in high regard in local society. If you are a fan of the ballet then a trip to see either absolutely must be on your travel itinerary. There are lots of museum options and you can take a walk through the grand palaces of former Tsars and Tsarinas from the time before the Russian revolution in the early twentieth century.

There are hundred of ski resorts in Russia

You can escape the big cities and try your hand at skiing in Sochi at resorts such as Rosa Khutor and Alpika, as well as on the jewel of the Caucasus on the slopes of Mt Elbrus. In all there are well over 400 different ski resorts in the country so there are plenty of opportunities to get your skis on depending on the time of year and where you are going to be travelling.

The 'City of the Dead' is an very unique place to visit

Something a little different in the Caucasus is a place called Dargavs which also has the moniker of the City of the Dead. It is actually an ancient necropolis with tombs and crypts strewn around a mountainside on one of the ridges of the Caucasus mountains. It takes around three hours to drive to the site located in North Ossetia in Southern Russia along some seriously winding and decidedly dicey roads so you will not find many tourists that make it all the way. There are some other ‘dead cities’ in the Ossetia region that are less difficult to get to although Dargavs is widely thought of as the beaf example of one, so much so that in the times of the Soviet Union it became a domestic tourist attraction that even featured a ticket booth. Nowadays it is visited less but those who make it find it fairly remarkable.