How long do you need to stay in each city to sufficiently see the major sites and get a feel for each city?

Hi, Pamo2 -

It depends on what you want to see and do and on your preferred pace of travel, but for what its worth, I'd say at least 4 or 5 full days for each of these wonderful cities. Hope that helps!

St. Petersburg and surrounding - I think you need at least 3 days to enjoy both the sites in St. Petersburg and perhaps get out to the Ekatarinburg. Moscow would be at least 2-3 days as well, and both of these are to get an idea only. I spent a semester studying in st. petersburg years ago and barely felt like i touched the surface.

I work in Moscow since October 2007 and I just visited (last week!) St. Pete.

I think that you need at least 5 / 6 days in St. Pete. and 3 / 4 days in Moscow.

Ciao.
Gianni P.

i just met a russian girl the other day and asked her the same question
she said that definitely allocate more days for st petersburg than moscow unless you want to base yourself there to do the golden ring towns( she recommended suzdal)

so i think we may do three ir four days in moscow and five in st petes and try to do as much of the surrounds in both cities

then of course it depends if youre museum addicts - we are not- we prefer natural scenery and small churches over the grand palaces

another friend who went last year told me the same thing about moscow..she stayed five days and it was too much ...just the atmosphere got to her...st petes is more tourist friendly

one ex pat told me she'd not do moscow, period, but thats of course not possible! you gotta do moscow!

I am going to india via moscow and have 2 and half days to explore going and the same coming back.
I will be there in mid december, and coming back, early jan.
I am female, traveling alone, and on a bit of a budget....any suggestions as to what not to miss out on? I am pretty adventurous and don't mind a challenge!
thanks!

I would definately spend 5 days in St Petersburg and 4 in Moscow. Also, consider a visit to the Golden Ring, especially Suzdal, Vladmir and Sergi Pursard(sp?).

We spend two weeks in Russia, 5 days in St Petersberg, 5 days in Moscow and 2 in the Glolden Ring, plus two travelling days.

maltesa, I'm not so sure I'd want to visit Moscow in Winter.

Hi Maltesa,

BBrrrr - it'll be cold!!

The big question is ... do you speak Russian? I don't .. so what follows is a scratch the surface sort of contribution.

I just got back after a trip involving 3 days at the start and one (sort of) at the end. I guess that if you've got the right gear then there's probably stuff you can do in Winter (like skate outdoors) that you can't do in the summer. But it's more likely, I guess, to be an indoors sort of visit.

The obvious place is the Kremlin; then I liked the European Art section of the Pushkin Fine Arts Museum, and the Private Collections section of the same institution. I spent the rest of my time just wandering (musuem/sight entrance is generally 350 roubles a pop (ie 10 euros) so it can add up quite quickly). My other must do was the ballet.

There seems to be loads and loads of stuff going on in the arts/culture/club scene but hard to access unless you speak the language.

You should be aware that you can spend a lot of time getting your bearings; that changing from one metro line to another can involve quite a walk; and that the stations themselves may not be right where you want to go.

The Metro is a sight in its own right and you could easily spend half a day (on a single ticket) hopping out at various stations for a look at the decor.

Best of luck.

Cheers.

Thanks Siser and Afterall.....I appreciate your responses. I actually am very excited about checking out the metro...thanks so much for that idea!
maltesa

Ciao Maltesa,
As I already wrote I work in Moscow.

Don't be worried about the language, with English and a little bit of luck you can survive.

Absolutely mandatory a good map of the metro.

Don't forget to visit:
- Kolomeskoe park,
- a couple of Churches,
- some monastry (Novodevici, Danilov, ...)
- the Tretyakov gallery
and evry evening before going to bed give a look to the Red Square. It is so beautiful!

Winter is cold, snow & wind. Be prepared (... when you come back from India!!!)

Ciao.
Gianni P.

thank you so much gianni!
i have many more questions for you. can i email you in person?
my email is [email protected]
it would be helpful to ask questions to a 'local'.
for example: a coworker gave me a map of the metro in russian/english, but it is 10 years old. Are the stops the same, or are there new ones that have been added?
grazie, grazie, grazie.
maltesa

Some names of metro stations have changed in the past 10 years, you can google for an up to date map.

Yeh, I got caught out by this. On the map I downloaded (in colour and absolutely brilliant, or so I thought), my stop was named "Izmaylovskiy Park" so there I was looking out for it. And I went straight past, cos it's now called "Partizanskaya".

So if you're headed for the Izmailovo Hotel complex - make a note!!