Things to do in Russia

Stand in the heart of Moscow on the cobblestones of Red Square, flanked by the onion-domed fantasia of St. Basil’s Cathedral and the Kremlin’s red walls.

Get lost among three million works of art, from ancient Scythian gold to Rembrandt masterpieces, inside the opulent Winter Palace on the Neva River.

Venture onto the world’s deepest lake in midwinter, when the ice turns into a turquoise mirror, and drive from Olkhon Island to hidden bays.

Stroll through the gilded gardens of Peter the Great’s seaside palace, where over 60 fountains leap without pumps amid statues and canals.

Ride the world’s most beautiful subway, lined with marble, mosaics, chandeliers and revolutionary art—a Stalinist palace for the people beneath the streets.

Marvel at Fabergé eggs, coronation robes, jewel-encrusted thrones and the legendary Monomakh’s Cap inside the ancient Moscow Kremlin.

Ascend 262 steps to the golden dome of St. Isaac’s and gaze over the Neva and the rooftops of imperial Saint Petersburg.

Feel the magic of a summer midnight performance of Swan Lake in the legendary gold-and-velvet Mariinsky, where the sky never truly darkens.

Hug the cliffside on a slow steam train past tunnels, wooden bridges and emerald bays on this disused leg of the Trans-Siberian, plunging directly into Baikal’s deepest blue.

Hike across snowfields and sulphur vents on Kamchatka’s active Mutnovsky, descending into a green acid lake steaming between glaciers and fumaroles.

Carve down Olympic downhill runs in the Caucasus Mountains, then relax in Krasnaya Polyana’s mountain restaurants and steaming outdoor pools.

Walk the white limestone walls of this UNESCO-listed citadel where Orthodox and Islamic cultures meet; stand beneath the immense blue dome of the mosque that rises over the Volga.

Sit in a cosy, modern eatery and hand-pinch paper-thin dough filled with seasoned meat, then savour the dumplings with sour cream and a shot of horseradish vodka.

Beyond the Arctic Circle, escape the city into the black polar night and watch the sky erupt in shifting curtains of green and purple above snow-clad taiga.

Fly by helicopter into the Kronotsky Reserve and walk wooden trails past dozens of roaring geysers, boiling mud pots and turquoise hot springs in a wild canyon.

Drift under wrought-iron bridges and past pastel palaces on an evening boat tour, seeing the golden spires and domes reflect in the Moika and Fontanka rivers.

Take your seat in the six-tiered crimson-and-gold auditorium where Russian ballet and opera were born, for an evening of timeless art.

Board an eastbound train and settle into a cabin for one of the most scenic stretches of the world’s longest railway, watching the silver birch give way to endless frozen/liquid blue.

Enter the citadel on Zayachy Island where the city began; see the tombs of the Romanov tsars and the dazzling golden spire of the cathedral.

Ascend to the 19th-century nobleman’s atmosphere of a wood-panelled library, where waiters in tailcoats serve beluga caviar, thin pancakes and frosty vodka.

Walk among windmills, izbas and barns transported from across the region to this open-air riverside museum, capturing the soul of old rural Russia.

Trace the history of Russian art from medieval icons to the brooding canvases of Repin and Kandinsky in the nation’s premier collection of fine art.

In a high green valley find over 90 stone tombs with white, peaked roofs, some still holding bones and ancient objects; a haunting hidden treasure of the Caucasus.

Strap on crampons and rope up for a two-day ascent of the dormant twin-summit volcano, standing on the roof of the continent at 5,642 metres.

Enter a chamber walled entirely in glowing amber panels, mirrors and gold leaf—painstakingly reconstructed to its original 18th-century dazzle after wartime theft.