Published on 4th July 2008 by Robert Thomson in Travel

Recently when I was in Africa, someone asked me - why should one go to Moscow? I immediately answered - because it is one of the most amazing places on Earth! However, then I realized that not everyone would instantly get it and that I need to explain what would guests find were they to pay a visit to Russia. St. Petersburg has so much to offer the travelers. The two greatest cities of Russia, Moscow and St. Petersburg, are some of the most historically rich cities on our planet. St Petersburg boasts amazing churches, ancient streets and beautiful canals. Some people refer to this city as the Venice of the North. So many great artists, writers and musicians like Pushkin had lived and worked here and loved their every moment. The Hermitage, St Petersburg art museum, is one of the greatest art galleries in the world. If you could only visit the city for a weekend you would remember it for all of your life. There is so much to see here. You could spend a day revealing the glories of the Hermitage. Moscow is much bigger than St. Petersburg, but it is equally cool place to visit. The Kremlin and Red Square with the glorious quintessentially Russian onion-domed St Basils cathedral. Russia’s largest city does not have a concentrated historic centre like St Petersburg, but there are historic treasures spread out across this vast city like the Novodechiy Cemetery. It is also an incredibly vibrant modern city that is now really buzzing with the new wealth and culture that has sprung up in the last decade. Moscow also has some of the best restaurants and clubs in the world. Those two cities alone are enough of a reason to visit Russia, the largest country in the world. Yet there is much, much more to Russia than this. Outside Moscow and St Petersburg there is an amazing country that even us, the locals, just begin to discover. Russia is a giant country, and features mind-boggling scenery and a wealth of historical monuments. There is nowhere in the world a lake so deep, so mysterious and beautiful, and so blessed by an absolutely unique range of wildlife as Lake Baikal. There is nothing like Kamchatka. When in Russia, there are so many things that you could do. You could take a troika ride across the snow in winter. These are just some of the reasons why you should travel to Russia. Sometimes I wish I could keep Russia all to myself, just like Catherine the Great kept Hermitage closed to everyone. But I know it is time open up Russia to the West. Be among the first to discover the wonders of Russia.

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