Welcome to St. Petersburg, one of the most beautiful cities in the world! Founded by Tsar Peter the Great on May 27, 1703, St. Petersburg was planned and built as the capital of the newly emerged Russian Empire. Today one of the most beautiful cities in Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Petersburg is the second-largest city in Russia, best known as the Cultural Capital. Few cities in the world can boast of such a number of attractions, museum collections, opera and drama theaters, manors and palaces, parks, and monuments. You will get incredible emotions from visiting the "pearl" of St. Petersburg and one of the best European museums - the Hermitage. Among other things, there are temples of 42 denominations, including an amazing mosque with a porcelain dome, a Buddhist monastery, and one of the most beautiful chapels of the Order of Malta. Moreover, St. Petersburg is a “city of bridges”. 68 rivers, canals, and channels across the city in different directions, forming 42 islands on its territory. Now in St. Petersburg and the suburbs, there are 580 bridges. It is not for nothing that it is known as the Venice of the North.

It is impossible to imagine the northern capital without suburbs. The most beautiful is Peterhof, the capital of fountains and manicured gardens. A hydrofoil excursion to Peterhof allows you not only to quickly get to the legendary sights but also feel the spirit of sea adventure. In the evening, explore the collection of Carl Faberge, a genius who has turned his ideas into unique pieces of art.

You will go to the city of Sortavala, where you will change to a real steam locomotive with retro interiors. In just half an hour you will find yourself in the Ruskeala mountain park - the main attraction of Karelia. The territory of the mountain park is huge. The center of interest is the Marble Canyon - a large lake stretching from south to north with crystal clear water and steep banks, consisting of real marble. It was here that this decorative stone was once mined to decorate the architectural masterpieces of St. Petersburg. And surrounded by darkening pine trees and colored lights on the rocks, the landscape turns out to be truly fabulous!

Karelia is a region that stretches from St. Petersburg to the Arctic Circle. This is a huge desert space, consisting of forest and water. Lake Onega is fed by 58 rivers and is home to 1,369 islands, including Kizhi Island with its quirky collection of old wooden houses, windmills, and churches, including the famous Transfiguration Church which was built in 1714 without a single nail.

In the morning you will find yourself in the capital of Russia - the city of Moscow! Centuries-old history, sights of world importance, and truly unique architecture. Moscow leaves only vivid impressions! It is a city of contrasts. Old courtyards and streets coexist with new business centers. Old quarters stand out against the background of modern high-rise buildings. Experience genuine delight at the sight of crystal chandeliers, sculptures, and wall paintings at Moscow metro stations. Red Square attracts like a magnet with The Kremlin and the famous GUM, GUM is not just a shopping center, but a real architectural monument. The multifaceted Russian capital will open the main historical attractions in front of you.

Moscow attracts with its diversity! Medieval and impregnable walls of an amazingly beautiful architectural ensemble - Novodevichy Convent. The Vorobyovy Gory rises above the Moskva River with its famous observation deck offering impressive bird's-eye views of the city. Today the Tretyakov Gallery, the leading cultural and educational center of Russia, is opening its doors. About 180 thousand works of art: from ancient Russian icons to works by contemporary authors.

The history of Kazan is more than a thousand years old. This city can rightfully be called the “Third Capital of Russia”. Only here the cultures of the West and the East are organically intertwined. Islam peacefully coexists with Orthodoxy, architectural buildings of the past centuries - with futuristic skyscrapers. It is a large tourist center with an amazing complex of the Kazan Kremlin. It is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. It has one of the largest mosques in Europe - Kul Sharif - and a unique temple of All Religions, reminiscent of Antonio Gaudi’s architecture. The many faces of Kazan is an incredibly hospitable city. It is as if it was created for walking: every stone here is history, every building is a masterpiece. Combined with ultra-modern illumination and many stunning fountains, manicured squares, and lawns, the city makes an absolutely incredible impression.

Tatar cuisine is very original and interesting as it has absorbed Muslim and Orthodox culinary traditions. There are dozens of places in Kazan where you can taste traditional Tatar dishes. For example, you should find a hearty and tasty broth with a potato-meat pie eleksh, try horse meat dishes. The hearty dish - beshbarmak - is a nomad dish that is eaten with your hands, also a must. This is a lamb broth with thinly sliced meat, pieces of dough in oil, potatoes, and onions. Tatar cuisine is also famous for its varied pastries. A trip to Kazan is impossible without tasting all kinds of ech-pochmak - triangular pies with chicken, lamb, goose, or beef. You cannot pass by the honey-sweet chak-chak (made from dough and honey). It is better to eat all this with fragrant herbal tea with dried apricots and tiny rolls made from fruit and berry paste and buttercream.

If Ekaterinburg buildings and monuments could speak, they would surely tell a lot of fascinating stories. Ekaterinburg is the largest settlement on the land border of Europe and Asia. According to statistics, this conventional line dividing Eurasia into two parts is crossed by about 80 trains every hour. Among foreigners, Ekaterinburg is known due to the unique pedestrian tourist route "Red Line". It runs through the city center and is over 6 km long. It unites 35 most famous sights. In this city, the royal family of the Romanovs spent their last hours. They were murdered there. The place is immortalized by the famous Church on the Blood.

It is the first long drive on the route to feeling the full range of emotions from traveling by train. Landscapes replace one another, like scenery, so that the journey turns into a real spectacular spectacle.

The Trans-Siberian Railway is a story not only about beautiful landscapes from a window. An essential part of the journey is the life itself on the trip: sleeping, eating, reading, and, possibly, also dreams of a hot shower and homemade food. The Transsib is, in fact, a way to smoothly press the brake pedal, it is a good way to take a good look at the world around you - and also to think about yourself.

Siberia is known for its beauty. Dense forests, endless fields, and wide, clean rivers of Irkutsk is comfortably located in a city with an amazing history. Many sights of Irkutsk are included in the UNESCO World Heritage Register. And it is not without a reason. It is difficult to find a place where the same number of colorful merchant houses, carved churches, and ancient wooden monasteries would still be preserved. Also, the city of Irkutsk is just an hour's drive from the legendary Lake Baikal.

The lake is located almost in the very center of Asia. It fascinates with its pristine nature and mystery. The water surface shimmers with amazing light. It stretches for 620 Kilometers from northeast to southwest. The cleanest and deepest lake in the world. No doubt such a beautiful lake Baikal, has rightfully taken its place in the UNESCO World Heritage List. People living near Lake Baikal call it mysterious and mystical. The ice of Lake Baikal contains one of the secrets. Its forms are so unique you will not find them anywhere else.

Things to do while on a beautiful lake - the Baikal? Naturally, all that your heart desires. You can just admire its nature for hours and days, and it will never get bored. How about a one-day cruise on Lake Baikal? After all, the sea cruise will provide additional experience. Just imagine what you can see from the ship? Much more than from the shore! To visit Baikal and not go on a cruise on the endless blue waters of the lake is an incomplete picture of relaxation. We will help you put together a complete puzzle of impressions!

And again, the measured beat of the train wheels and again the endless spaces outside the window is a great time for reflection and looking for answers to eternal questions.

Ulan-Ude is an amazing city, it is called the cradle of Russian Buddhism, the Gateway to Asia, and even a buddhism paradise. The city deserves every title. Ulan-Ude is the largest and oldest East Siberian city, where everything is filled with national flavor, where guests are greeted with famous oriental hospitality and delicious national cuisine.

There are thousands of Old Believers still living in the taiga. They are not only the inhabitants of remote priories or monasteries, but also about the inhabitants of villages that are quite populous by modern standards. Many of them still have passports of Soviet times or without documents at all - including foreigners who once moved to Eastern Siberia.

Reading is one of the most popular activities on the road. When else will you get a chance to read the works of the classics? The most convenient way is to take a reader with you. It weighs a little, does not strain the eyes.

The easternmost city is connected to central Russia by rail. Though, it has a very western mentality. Trade relations with Japan and the United States have long made Vladivostok a city of international importance. It has right-hand drive cars, people speaking all languages of the world in the port, a Catholic church in the city center, and a warm climate, which is not typical for the Far East. All this is so unlike a typical Russian city.

The city of Vladivostok is a symbol of the Russian Far East. It is one of the main transport hubs in the region. Huge volumes of imported and exported goods pass through its port. The city is spread over picturesque hills along the shores of the Golden Horn Bay. Here the Pacific Marine Fleet is based and more than 600 historical monuments are located.

Welcome to one of the oldest cities in the Far East. The Cossacks were the first from the Russian kingdom to arrive here in 1697. The city is located in a picturesque place in Asia, in the southeastern part of the Kamchatka Peninsula, on the shores of the Avacha Bay of the Pacific Ocean. Active volcanoes rise near the city: Koryakskaya and Avachinskaya volcanoes.

There are 300 volcanoes on the peninsula, of which 30 are active! A trip to the volcano is an unforgettable off-road tour and climbing into the crater of the giant himself. The route passes through picturesque places past the Vilyuchinsky and Gorely volcanoes, then along the high-mountain plateau and the cosmic beauty of valleys made of stone, volcanic sand, and snow. Steam emissions, mud pots, mineral formations, sulfur domes, a fantastic volcanic landscape - make this place one of the best volcanic manifestations in the world. Its beauty is not inferior to the famous Valley of Geysers. Here you will see a fascinating picture: many bright yellow sulfur cones, multicolored slopes, and crater walls, glacial fields, turquoise water in thermal lakes, boiling water, the gas of which covers the site.

If Kamchatka is a real bear land, then Kuril Lake can rightfully be called its capital. The territory of the South Kamchatka nature reserve, to which the Kuril Lake belongs, is one of the most impressive places on the peninsula. It's not easy to get there. The most affordable way to get to these places is by helicopter. This is where you are guaranteed to meet bears in Russia! More than two hundred brown bears come to this territory to feast on salmon that go to spawn from the Sea of Okhotsk.

Avachinskaya Bay is one of the symbols of Kamchatka, the main sea gate of the peninsula. This bay is one of the most picturesque and convenient harbors in the world. The second-largest in the world, it gives primacy only famous Guanabara Bay in Brazil. At the entrance to the bay, there are three intricate rocks - the famous "Three Brothers", one of the symbols of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. On the coast of Avacha Bay, right within the city, you can see a unique sea lion rookery.

So the adventure in Russia is coming to an end. Let's remember the bustling capital - Moscow, the cultural capital with its museums. Let's see the photos were taken along the way of the Golden Ring, the fabulous mosques of Kazan and of course extreme excursions in Kamchatka. In the end, an unforgettable dinner with the freshest seafood awaits you.

Do three things before you say goodbye to Russia! Matryoshkas and samovars, national hats and scarves, felt boots and mittens, caviar and honey - be sure to take a piece of Russia with you. Admire the gorgeous views of Vladivostok from a bird's eye view. And finally, answer the question, which of the wonders of Russia will forever remain in your memory?