Things to do in Russia

25 things to do in Russia

Listed in full below. The running order is set by votes and loads with the page.

• Marvel at St. Basil's Cathedral and the vast Red Square

  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.

  Moscow

• Wander through the endless galleries of the State Hermitage Museum

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

  Saint Petersburg

• Drive across the frozen surface of Lake Baikal

  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.

  Olkhon Island, Irkutsk region

• Be awed by the Grand Cascade and fountains of Peterhof

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

  Peterhof, Saint Petersburg

• Tour the ornate underground stations of the Moscow Metro

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

  Moscow

• See the tsars’ treasures in the Kremlin Armoury Chamber

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

  Moscow

• Climb the colonnade of St. Isaac’s Cathedral for a 360-degree city panorama

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

  Saint Petersburg

• Attend a ballet at the Mariinsky Theatre during the White Nights

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

  Saint Petersburg

• Ride the historic Circum-Baikal Railway along the shore of Lake Baikal

  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.

  Slyudyanka to Port Baikal

• Trek to the smoking crater of Mutnovsky Volcano

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

  Kamchatka Peninsula

• Ski the slopes of Rosa Khutor, Russia’s premier alpine resort

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

  Sochi

• Explore the Kazan Kremlin and the magnificent Qol Sharif Mosque

  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.

  Kazan

• Try traditional Siberian pelmeni at Lepim i Varim in Moscow

  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.

  Moscow (Stoleshnikov pereulok)

• Hunt the Northern Lights in Murmansk

  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.

  Murmansk region

• Witness the steaming Valley of Geysers, a geothermal wonderland

  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.

  Kamchatka Peninsula

• Cruise the canals of St. Petersburg, Russia’s 'Venice of the North'

  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.

  Saint Petersburg

• Watch a grand opera at the legendary Bolshoi Theatre

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

  Moscow

• Ride the Trans-Siberian Railway alongside Lake Baikal

  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.

  Irkutsk to Ulan-Ude segment

• Visit the Peter and Paul Fortress, birthplace of St. Petersburg

  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.

  Saint Petersburg

• Dine on imperial black caviar and blini at Café Pushkin

  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.

  Moscow (Tverskoy Blvd)

• Step back in time at the Museum of Wooden Architecture in Suzdal

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

  Suzdal

• Marvel at Russian masterpieces in the Tretyakov Gallery

  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.

  Moscow

• Explore the eerie medieval necropolis of Dargavs, the City of the Dead

  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.

  North Ossetia

• Climb Mount Elbrus, Europe’s highest peak

  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.

  Kabardino-Balkaria

• Gaze at the recreated Amber Room in the Catherine Palace

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

  Pushkin, Saint Petersburg