Russia

To Russia with Love: The Grandeur of the Romanovs and Peterhof Palace

by Chris on March 29, 2012

A visit to Peterhof Palace, Peter the Great’s major display of Romanov wealth and power outside St. Petersburg.

This is the final post in my series on things to do in St. Petersburg, Russia. The history of St. Petersburg is intertwined with that of one dominant dynasty, the House of Romanov. The city was founded by Peter the Great, the czar who turned Russia into a force to be reckoned with, and Romanovs were [...]

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To Russia with Love: The Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

by Chris on March 28, 2012

Tops on my art bucket list: Visiting the Hermitage museum in St. Petersburg, home not only to a multitude of masterworks, but the incredibly elaborate Winter Palace where Catherine the Great once lived.

The Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg Russia

This is the third in my series on things to do in St. Petersburg, Russia. As I said in my post on visiting St. Petersburg, a trip to the Hermitage Museum – the second largest in the world, after the Louvre in Paris – has long been on my bucket list. And I’m happy to report [...]

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To Russia with Love: St. Petersburg Metro

by Chris on March 26, 2012

Riding the subway might not be a normal tourist activity. But in the St. Petersburg Metro, where stations such as Kirovsky Zavod and Avtovo boast original examples of Stalinist-era art and architecture, you wouldn’t want to miss it.

This is second in my series on things to do in St. Petersburg, Russia. One of the most interesting things I saw in my few brief days in Russia were the elaborate St. Petersburg Metro stations, decked out with marble, chandeliers and Soviet-era art. Plans for an underground had been in place in the Soviet Union [...]

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To Russia, with Love: Visiting St. Petersburg

by Chris on March 25, 2012

A look at some things to do in St. Petersburg, Russia, including information on hotels, restaurants, churches, shopping and other sights.

This is the first in my series on things to do in St. Petersburg, Russia. One of the highlights of my travels last year included three days in St. Petersburg, Russia (known as Leningrad during Soviet times). While I’ve written about the bureaucratic ins and outs of applying for a Russian visa, I haven’t put [...]

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Russia, With Love: Tips for Applying for a Russian Tourist Visa

by Chris on November 29, 2011

Dreaming of St. Petersburg? Tips for navigating the lengthy Russian tourist visa application.

Church on the Spilled Blood, St. Petersburg

This article previously ran on Frommers.com. It’s inspired by the application process that I went through for my September trip to St. Petersburg. Because we were traveling independently – yet still as a group – we had to get Russian visas. Several in our group found the process took so long that they weren’t able [...]

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