Russia

Onion domes, imperial palaces and Siberian distances.

US travel advisory: Level 4 · checked 2026-11-02

Photo: Pavel Kazachkov from Moscow, Russia · CC BY 2.0

This is a first draft of the Russia list. The full region guide is being written, and tiers may still change.

The Short List

Must-See

Cities · UNESCO

Moscow

Red Square, St. Basil's and the Kremlin.

Guide Coming Soon

Must-See

Cities · UNESCO

St. Petersburg

A canal-laced imperial capital, with the Hermitage.

Guide Coming Soon

Worth a Detour

Mountains · Train journeys

Trans-Siberian Railway

The world's longest train ride.

Guide Coming Soon

Worth a Detour

Nature · UNESCO

Lake Baikal

The world's deepest lake.

Guide Coming Soon

Worth a Detour

Mountains · Seven Summits

Mount Elbrus

Europe's highest mountain, a volcano in the Caucasus.

Guide Coming Soon

Worth a Detour

Cities · UNESCO

Kazan

Where Russia meets Islam, with a mosque and a cathedral in one Kremlin.

Guide Coming Soon

Worth a Detour

Heritage · UNESCO

Kizhi

A 22-domed wooden church, on a lake island.

Guide Coming Soon

If You're Nearby

Nature · UNESCO

Kamchatka

Bears and a land of volcanoes.

Guide Coming Soon

If You're Nearby

Heritage · UNESCO

Golden Ring

Old white-stone towns.

Guide Coming Soon

If You're Nearby

Mountains · Skiing

Sochi and Krasnaya Polyana

A Black Sea resort, and the mountains of the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Guide Coming Soon

If You're Nearby

Mountains · UNESCO

Altai Mountains

Siberia's wild peaks and lakes, sacred to their people.

Guide Coming Soon

If You're Nearby

Heritage · UNESCO

Solovetsky Islands

A White Sea monastery fortress that became an early gulag.

Guide Coming Soon

If You're Nearby

Cities · UNESCO

Veliky Novgorod

One of Russia's oldest cities, with its kremlin.

Guide Coming Soon

On the Map

Grey pins: guides still being written.