General Chat

Whats the best place to go to,Moscow or St Petersburg?
and what time of year is best to go?

I've been to Russia 4 times and spent about 6 months there in total.

If you have to choose go to St Petersburg and go in June during the "White Nights"


Moscow is interesting but St Petersburg is lovely (or was last time I was there)

Sue
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Oh but around Moscow in winter is lovely too........the birch forests in the thick snow.

Oh dear.

My father was in the British Embassy so for 18 months Moscow was home for me but I could only go in school holidays.

Later I went back as a student for a month.

Fascinating country

Sue
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Hi Sue,Thanks for that,Its a place that Ive always wanted to visit :-))
Are the winters very cold?
x

Hi Lynda:-))
I remember you saying your daughter had been, now you mention it:-)
I think I might just try and do both if I can Moscow and St Petersburg, they both seem to be places of Interest:-)

Yes the winters are very cold but not as cold as they used to be according to a Russian friend.

I remember being on summer holiday (summers are hot and dry) with my parents then going back to boarding school. Within six weeks in early October they had the first snow because Mum wrote and told me. However it didn't get really chilly until about November.

Our flat was really warm. It was centrally controlled heating so we were too hot indoors! When I was there over Christmas we put on loads of layers to go outside. It was a cold crisp climate and breath froze in the air. Seemed magical to me!

The coldest weather was after I was back in the UK because my parents told me January was much colder.

Spring and Autumn are short. It is chilly until April and summer arrives quickly. Typical continental climate really.

Sue
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ex is living in Moscow at the mo but he visited St Petersburg in the past and said it was fantastic. maybe have a couple of days in Moscow to see the famous sights there (kremlin, lenin etc) then a few more days in St Pete. bear in mind it is not just cold in winter - it is absolutely flippin freezing!
xxxxxxxxx

Yes very cold.

This is what I remember putting on to go out in winter.
Warm vest and my thick school navy blue knickers over ordinary ones (I was 12 when I was there in winter!). Long johns and blouse, jumper and warm slacks.
A furlined jerkin under a thick coat (I wasn't there long enough in winter to justify buying me a proper fur coat but my little sister who was there all the time wore a proper fur coat to school. Everyone did.

I had two pairs of socks and furry boots a size too big to allow for socks. A thin pair of gloves under a pair of fur lined mittens and a proper Russian hat with ear flaps.
And a scarf.

I expect modern materials probably mean fewer people wear fur now but in the 1960s there wasn't anything else warm enough.

Sue
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Twice my hubby and I have made plans to go to Russia.....first to go to olympics...theyrefused us entry....cuz we wanted to go on motorbike.....
Then two years ago....and my hubbys father died and we had to cancel.....
we might make it one day.........
we were going with an organised tour....a few days in Petersburg...then on the train to Moscow.....11 days altogether.... oh well......one day...

Been to St Petersburg for a couple of days on a cruise, some of the Palaces are truly magnificent.One we visited was the Peterhof which if i remember correctly was the Czars winter palace, considering it was almost completely destroyed during WW2 the reconstruction is remarkable.Most of the original building plans had been hidden away, so it was reconstructed with the originals plans and photos.

We went in June 2007 and we were blessed with the most glorious weather
An unforgettable visit would go again..

Roxanne,
It's SO difficult to make that choice.
Try to get a trip to both Moscow and St Petersburg, travelling from one to the other by train.

Winters are extremely cold, Moscow in January is around -25C. Indescribably cold!!!! Snow can fall up to and including April. Spring comes late, and it's short. Summer months can be hot for walking around and sightseeing.
Ideal time to go is June, also because of the White Nights in St P...and the Winter Palace is NOT to be missed.
In Moscow, as well as doing the usual sights - Lenin's tomb, Red Square, the Kremlin (and Faberge exhibition) - don't forget to include a visit to Tolstoy's House, the Bolshoi Ballet, and Gorky Park...all worth a look!! And the metro stations are something else!!
Have fun.
K

Winters Out then!! lol

It was a few years ago now, but my most memorable holiday was a three week tour of Russia and Central Asia. It was in December and the weather was indeed cold but if you are wrapped up in thermals, it can even be pleasureable! I loved Moscow, it has its own peculiar beauty, we took the train to St Petersburgh which is so pretty and steeped in history. We spent one whole day at The Hermitage and it was simply stunning. I have always promised myself a return trip. Enjoy! BC XX

The Peterhof (Petrodvorets) is the summer palace George. It's outside St Petersburg and as you say is well worth a trip.
The Winter Palace is on the banks of the Neva and is enormous. Much of it is now the Hermitage Museum and you'd need years to do that justice.

Other fascinating places in St Petersburg are St Isaac's Cathedral, The Admiralty and the Aurora ship from where the revolution began. You'd also need to take boat trips along the many canals to admire the buildings which were designed to look far more European and resemble French or Italian architecture.

Old Moscow has more traditional architecture and the central Kremlin (fortress....each major town had a Kremlin) is very beautiful. Then there's the Nova Devichy convent, the buildings around Red Square including the department store GUM and many other places of interest like museums and galleries in the city. There were hydrofoil trips along the Moskva river when I was there and river beaches and other interesting buildings along the way.

If in Russia for longer and you can get out of the main cities I'd recommend a trip to Zagorsk which is a monastery still in use and beautiful. The city of Novgarod is also lovely in parts around its Kremlin.

I haven't been back since the fall of Communism and images on TV show a much busier more western society than I knew. I'd love to return and see the changes. The toy shops were a joy for little kids, the food markets had their own special pickled cabbage sort of smell and the diplomatic store we used to go to for fresh produce had fish still swimming in tanks to choose!
The icecream is delicious and it goes without saying you need to go to see a ballet at the Kirov or Bolshoi.

Sue
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Oh Rox - you lucky person you! Having read right through this thread it seems to me you will have to go twice - once in summer and once in winter to get the fullest possible flavour.

I'm dead green with envy! )))))


Jac XXXX

Not sure when Im going yet,but I think possibly Spring next year:-))
Just me and my step-daughter:-))