Moscow and St. Petersburg
Posted by: Steeve on 02 January 2010
I'm considering a trip in the summer to visit Moscow and St.Petersburg.
Has anyone visited either of these places and like to impart any pearls of wisdom?
I have already done some internet searching and am looking to probably arrange my own flights and rent apartments in each city.
How long would be a sensible time to spend in each city to do some comprehensive "sight-seeing"?
Is a train journey from Moscow to St. Petersburg feasible? I was thinking of possibly flying to one city, travelling by train to the other and then flying back from the other.
Thanks
Steeve
Has anyone visited either of these places and like to impart any pearls of wisdom?
I have already done some internet searching and am looking to probably arrange my own flights and rent apartments in each city.
How long would be a sensible time to spend in each city to do some comprehensive "sight-seeing"?
Is a train journey from Moscow to St. Petersburg feasible? I was thinking of possibly flying to one city, travelling by train to the other and then flying back from the other.
Thanks
Steeve
Posted on: 02 January 2010 by Roy T
Steeve, UK / Russian and internal Russian train travel information can be found sitting in seat61. A good place to start your search.
PS remember if arriving in the middle of the summer it may well not get dark at all and this can sometimes allow you to undertake a bit too much sightseeing in one day.
PS remember if arriving in the middle of the summer it may well not get dark at all and this can sometimes allow you to undertake a bit too much sightseeing in one day.
Posted on: 02 January 2010 by Mike-B
Dun both many times .... a very enjoyable & a trip with a difference.
Moscow's interesting stuff is all close to the centre, Red Square +/- a short taxi ride or metro
Ditto but less of it in St.Petersburg.
Use www to plan your trip beforehand depending on what you're interested in
I do not advise renting apartments, not the first time anyhow. Hotels are expensive, but they are a darn sight easier than an apartment rip off if that goes wrong. Hotels will have tourism guides (booklets) and people who can advise you & arrange stuff.
Be prepared for expense, Russia is not cheap, especially for tourists.
Beware of the rip off, credit cards especially, whatever it is, it was invented and perfected in Russia.
Dishonesty is the national sport in Russia (that's not an insult but a quote from my Moscow office)
Always carry your passport securely when outside the hotel, never ever let anyone - including police - take it away or out of your sight. The hotel will need to photo-copy, that's OK, but ask for it back & wait if you have to.
Red Square & Kremlin is a must. The Armoury, especially if you appreciate Fabergé, Lenin's Tomb, any all) of the many Red Square cathedrals that are open. Do NOT miss the jewel collection (read about it beforehand as its all too much to take in) Its only a small room, but take your time, if you use a guide, ask questions and control your own speed.
You will walk everywhere around Kremlin & Red Square so plan for then hope for good weather. Also don't overlook some places & sights outside the Kremlin wall. Restaurants & coffee shops around Red Square all speak English.
Museums are many and various, the Kremlin Armoury is a museum,
The Circus is a bit special in Moscow as is ballet (depends on who is open)
Lots of top notch restaurants - select from a www guide before you go - but remember even the cheap ones are relativity expensive & probably won't take credit cards.
Ride on and look at the metro - the station architecture is a great look back into the old USSR times
Be careful over the time it takes to get to the airport by road, at the wrong time of day, the ring road is worse than a nightmare. The rail link is a good option. Depends on which of the 3 airports you use.
St Petersburg is more or less centred around the palace.
Look up all on a www tourism guide
How long would be a sensible time to spend in each city?
It depends on what you want to do and how in depth, the Krelin/Red Square alone is 1 whole day.
Train between Moscow & St. Petersburg is a good choice, 1st class is well worth it, comfort & service & nice meal
other classes make it a long boring uncomfortable journey
It's a hard drive road journey that I have done a few times, but you get to see stuff that rail & fly do not
A fly/rail return trip is OK, except the Moscow airports are all miles outta town & the ride into town can be a problem with crowded rail links or an hour or more taxi at the wrong time.
Enjoy
Moscow's interesting stuff is all close to the centre, Red Square +/- a short taxi ride or metro
Ditto but less of it in St.Petersburg.
Use www to plan your trip beforehand depending on what you're interested in
I do not advise renting apartments, not the first time anyhow. Hotels are expensive, but they are a darn sight easier than an apartment rip off if that goes wrong. Hotels will have tourism guides (booklets) and people who can advise you & arrange stuff.
Be prepared for expense, Russia is not cheap, especially for tourists.
Beware of the rip off, credit cards especially, whatever it is, it was invented and perfected in Russia.
Dishonesty is the national sport in Russia (that's not an insult but a quote from my Moscow office)
Always carry your passport securely when outside the hotel, never ever let anyone - including police - take it away or out of your sight. The hotel will need to photo-copy, that's OK, but ask for it back & wait if you have to.
Red Square & Kremlin is a must. The Armoury, especially if you appreciate Fabergé, Lenin's Tomb, any all) of the many Red Square cathedrals that are open. Do NOT miss the jewel collection (read about it beforehand as its all too much to take in) Its only a small room, but take your time, if you use a guide, ask questions and control your own speed.
You will walk everywhere around Kremlin & Red Square so plan for then hope for good weather. Also don't overlook some places & sights outside the Kremlin wall. Restaurants & coffee shops around Red Square all speak English.
Museums are many and various, the Kremlin Armoury is a museum,
The Circus is a bit special in Moscow as is ballet (depends on who is open)
Lots of top notch restaurants - select from a www guide before you go - but remember even the cheap ones are relativity expensive & probably won't take credit cards.
Ride on and look at the metro - the station architecture is a great look back into the old USSR times
Be careful over the time it takes to get to the airport by road, at the wrong time of day, the ring road is worse than a nightmare. The rail link is a good option. Depends on which of the 3 airports you use.
St Petersburg is more or less centred around the palace.
Look up all on a www tourism guide
How long would be a sensible time to spend in each city?
It depends on what you want to do and how in depth, the Krelin/Red Square alone is 1 whole day.
Train between Moscow & St. Petersburg is a good choice, 1st class is well worth it, comfort & service & nice meal
other classes make it a long boring uncomfortable journey
It's a hard drive road journey that I have done a few times, but you get to see stuff that rail & fly do not
A fly/rail return trip is OK, except the Moscow airports are all miles outta town & the ride into town can be a problem with crowded rail links or an hour or more taxi at the wrong time.
Enjoy
Posted on: 02 January 2010 by Steeve
Thanks Mike that's very helpful.
I do plan to get a guide and have a good read through before I go. I guess I've got a bit of a New Year's Resolution feeling to get cracking as I've been meaning to visit these places for ages now but have never got around to it.
Regarding time, normally when I visit somewhere I like to take my time and soak up the atmosphere as well as trying to see as much as possible. I have a maximum of two weeks I can spend there in total. It was really to get an idea if people thought that was too long or not and how to split the time between the two cities. Although I haven't looked into it in detail, my gut feeling is that Moscow will be of more interest to me than St. Petersberg.
Stu, I'm sure travelling by ship has its attractions, as did a very interesting sounding trip by train all the way from London I read about, but time and cost restrictions do make flying the most practical way to get there.
Steeve
I do plan to get a guide and have a good read through before I go. I guess I've got a bit of a New Year's Resolution feeling to get cracking as I've been meaning to visit these places for ages now but have never got around to it.
Regarding time, normally when I visit somewhere I like to take my time and soak up the atmosphere as well as trying to see as much as possible. I have a maximum of two weeks I can spend there in total. It was really to get an idea if people thought that was too long or not and how to split the time between the two cities. Although I haven't looked into it in detail, my gut feeling is that Moscow will be of more interest to me than St. Petersberg.
Stu, I'm sure travelling by ship has its attractions, as did a very interesting sounding trip by train all the way from London I read about, but time and cost restrictions do make flying the most practical way to get there.
Steeve
Posted on: 02 January 2010 by Blueknowz
Posted on: 02 January 2010 by rodwsmith
I travelled from Moscow to St Petersberg (was Leningrad then) by train. Not an especially comfortable journey - but this was in 1987!! Certainly wasn't first class. But travelling surface gets you to see stuff that you just won't in a plane.
Gave us the opportunity to break the journey at Novgorod, which has my recommendation of a great place to see - a stunningly pretty and textbook Russian place to visit.
Apart from it being cheap when I went (and plenty of black market currency exchanging going on) I can only begin to imagine how much it has changed in the last 23 years. I should go back myself...
Gave us the opportunity to break the journey at Novgorod, which has my recommendation of a great place to see - a stunningly pretty and textbook Russian place to visit.
Apart from it being cheap when I went (and plenty of black market currency exchanging going on) I can only begin to imagine how much it has changed in the last 23 years. I should go back myself...
Posted on: 03 January 2010 by Steeve
quote:Originally posted by Blueknowz:quote:Moscow & St. Petersburg
This looks interesting Steeve
8 day tours
Thanks, that does look very interesting. This is exactly the sort of travel plan I was contemplating. Not sure if 3 days in Moscow will be enough for me though and sure I can do it cheaper. Although it is more work, I quite enjoy doing everything myself and living in a apartment rather than a hotel. Nevertheless, it will be an excellent benchmark and possible fallback for me if I can't get it all together myself.
Steeve
Posted on: 03 January 2010 by Steeve
quote:Originally posted by rodwsmith:
I travelled from Moscow to St Petersberg (was Leningrad then) by train. Not an especially comfortable journey - but this was in 1987!! Certainly wasn't first class. But travelling surface gets you to see stuff that you just won't in a plane.
Gave us the opportunity to break the journey at Novgorod, which has my recommendation of a great place to see - a stunningly pretty and textbook Russian place to visit.
Apart from it being cheap when I went (and plenty of black market currency exchanging going on) I can only begin to imagine how much it has changed in the last 23 years. I should go back myself...
Hi Rod,
It seems you can get from Moscow to St Petersburg in just 3 hours 45 minutes on a "German ICE" type express during the day now. Alternatively there's the option of an overnight sleeper.
Thanks for the tip about Novgorod. A trip to the library is imminent I think!
Yes I'm sure it has changed incredibly. I regret I never saw it in the USSR days.
Steeve
Posted on: 03 January 2010 by Roy T
Steeve, although this may not be quite your cup of tea Noble Calediona have a few escorted trips that may give you some ideas worth bowwowing. In the mid '80s I also visited Leningrad and at that time Russia was still part of Reagan's "evil empire" so crossing the boarder between Finland and Russia sure got the blood pumping, it was just like something straight out of a John le Carré story.