Things to Do in Russia

Kolomenskoye is an ancient royal estate located a few kilometers southeast of Moscow. Perched on a bluff above the Moscow River, the estate served as a summer residence for the Grand Dukes of Moscow and Russian Tsars. In the 1920s, it became home to the first open-air museum of wooden architecture in Russia and today stretches over 900 acres.

One of the highlights of the estate is the Church of the Ascension, built in 1532 and considered to be a masterpiece of both Russian and world architecture, built in white stone with an octagonal “tent” topped by a small dome at the top. Another highlight is the reconstructed Palace of the Tsar Alexey Mikhailovich. Originally built in the mid-17th century, the wooden palace consisted of 250 rooms and a complex maze of corridors – all constructed without using nails, saws or hooks! Empress Catherine the Great demolished the palace in 1768, but a model survived, forming the basis for the full-scale reconstruction in 2010.

Other buildings to note include the 16th-century George Bell Tower, the 17th-century Vodovzvodnaya Tower and the 19th-century Hunting Pavilion.

Founded in 1864, the Moscow Zoo sits in the center of Moscow, a natural escape from the bustling city streets. When it opened, the zoo covered 10 acres and held fewer than 300 animals. Continuously expanded over the past century and a half, the zoo today is the largest in Russia, covering over 50 acres and featuring more than 6,000 animals. The entrance, shaped like a large rock castle, is conspicuous among the modern architecture on the surrounding streets.

In the old area of the zoo, visitors can find animals such as bears, large cats and elephants, as well as the popular dolphin aquarium and penguin pool. A footbridge crosses Bolshaya Gruzinskaya street and leads to the new area, which is home to the primate house, the children’s zoo and several cafes. Renovations to the zoo in the 1990s added features like waterfalls and streams to give it a more natural feeling.
With an emphasis on the children’s education and entertainment, the zoo is an ideal destination for families visiting Moscow.

St. Petersburg’s preeminent opera and ballet venue, and home to the world-renowned Kirov Ballet, Mariinsky Theatre has long been at the center of the city’s rich arts scene. Built in 1859 by architect Albert Cavos and named after Empress Maria Alexandrovna, the theatre saw a host of prestigious performers grace its stage during its pre-Revolution heyday, including dancers like Vatslav Nizhinsky, Matilda Kshesinskaya and Anna Pavlova, and opera singer Fiodor Shaliapin.

With its orange-brick façade and gilded church spire, hemmed in by the waters of the Fontanka and Moika Rivers, Mikhailovsky Castle offers an enchanting first impression, but it’s the palace’s somber history that will stick in the minds of visitors. Built between 1797 and 1800 during the short reign of Emperor Paul I, the castle was the result of the enigmatic leader’s near-obsessive fear of being assassinated. Claiming that he was visited in a dream by the Archangel Michael and advised to build a castle on the site of his birthplace, the Tsar did just that – erecting a supposedly impenetrable fortress underlain with secret tunnels and protected by fortified ramparts, drawbridges and a moat. Somewhat ironically, fate stepped in, and just a month after moving into his safeguard the Tsar was murdered in his sleep.

Long upheld as the lifeline of the city, the Neva River runs straight through the heart of St Petersburg, with its many tributaries and canal ways crisscrossing the city center. For visitors to St. Petersburg, following the path of the Neva River makes a popular route for walking tours and sightseeing cruises, with many of the city’s top attractions lining its banks. The grand façades of the Anichkov Palace, the Winter Palace and the Mariinsky Theatre, the Classicist buildings of New Holland Island, the historic Peter and Paul Fortress and the lush Summer Gardens all face onto the waterfront, punctuated by iconic drawbridges like the Peter the Great Bridge and the Palace Bridge.