Russia, the largest country in the world magnetizes the traveler with its esteemed history; rich culture and artistry; an exquisite collection of diverse territories and not the least, the warm hospitality of Russians. These factors have given an unprecedented growth in the Russian tourism.
The present and former capital cities of Russia, i.e. Moscow and Saint Petersburg are considered as the most lucrative travel destinations in Russia. Being such an extensive area with numerous travel options and the constraint time-period, the traveler has to opt for the best places among all the travel options. So to experience the most excellent and memorable trip to Russia, here are the best sightseeing places (or, the top tourist attractions) to visit in Russia
Red square
Red square is the famous city square situated at the heart of Moscow, is a must-see destination among the entire nation of Russia for its rich cultural and historic legacy. In ancient Russia, ‘red’ meant beautiful, so Red square is the beautiful square of Moscow.
This 330 meters long and 70 meters wide Red square had become a UNESCO World Heritage Site of Russia in 1990 for carrying the rich Russian history from the thirteen century. There are many spots to experience at Red square; these are the St. Basil’s Cathedral, the Wall of Kremlin, The Iberian Gate, Lenin Mausoleum, City Hall, State Hall Museum, Statue of Minin and Pozharsky, etc.
Kremlin Square
The historical masterpiece Kremlin is situated at the heart of the Moscow city. It is surrounded by the Moskva River at the south, Saint Basil’s Cathedral and Red Square at east, and the Alexander Garden at the west. It is a fortified complex enclosed by 2.25 kilometer long high walls.
The Kremlin territory is huge, around 27 hectares and it includes five churches in the Cathedral Square, Ivan the Great Bell Tower, the Assumption Belfry, Patriarch Palace, the Armoury Museum, the concert hall – State Kremlin Palace¬, the Grand Kremlin Palace, the Presidential Residence and many other important buildings. The traveler can get the best view of Kremlin from Sofiyskaya nab across the Moscova river.
St. Basil Cathedral
One of the most iconic architectures of Russia, the St. Basil cathedral is situated in the southern part of Red Square and it is famous for its vibrant color, pattern and unique shape. In 1961 this landmark cathedral was made as a symbol of victory by ‘Ivan the Terrible’. There is a myth that Ivan the Terrible blinded the architects of the cathedral so that they cannot make another such beautiful masterpiece.
In the construction, there is one tent-roofed tower at the center, with four big domes at surroundings, and in between, there are four small domes. Originally the walls of the cathedral were made of wood, but at the time of Catherine II the Great, it was reconstructed and made with stone, and given the color and design what we see today.
Seven Sisters
The Seven Sisters is a group of seven large skyscrapers located in Moscow. Its construction was started in 1947 to celebrate the 800th anniversary of Moscow. The project was started by Stalin as he saw that Moscow has very few skyscrapers compared to the USA, so he initiated to make these seven skyscrapers in Moscow city. These constructions are quite scattered in the entire Moscow.
Their official name is vysotky which means the high-rise, which is opposite to neboskryob, which means foreign skyscraper. These seven sisters have many other names like wedding cakes, Stalin’s sisters, etc. These seven constructions are the Hotel Ukraina, the main building of Moscow State University, the Hilton Moscow Leningradskaya Hotel, the Kudrinskaya Square Building, the main building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kotelnicheskaya Embankment Apartments, and the Red Gates Administrative Building.
Arbat Street
The Arbat Sreet is the most well-known walking street in Moscow, and it is a must see place on the Moscow city tour. This 1-kilometer long walkway is located at the west side of Kremlin and stretched from Arbatskaya Square to Smolenskaya Square. Previously it was used as the main road, later; it turned into a pedestrian street in 1980.
People can get the real flavor of Russia in this street as there is almost every category of Russian people and their culture. There is the artist of a quick portrait, many street mime artists, dancers, and musicians performing here and there in the street and also there are numerous souvenir stalls, ample cafes and footstalls with mouthwatering foods and drink. The Arbat Walking Tour offers some extraordinary piece of architecture and important buildings of Moscow, like Kremlin Hospital, the Moscow haunted house, the Russian State Library, Morozov’s Mansion, Melnikov’s House, US ambassador’s residence, etc.
Savior On Spilled Blood Cathedral
The Savior on Spilled Blood cathedral is one of the dazzled sights of the city of Saint Petersburg. The church is known by several names like the Temple of the Savior on Spilled Blood, the Church on Spilled Blood, the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ, etc. It is situated on the site where Emperor Alexander II was fatally injured in 1881.
This church was made from 1883 to 1907 with the fund of the imperial family and named after the incident. This five-domed church has the conventional classical Russian exterior which is almost similar to the St Basil’s Cathedral of Moscow. The interior of the church is decorated with the mosaics of 7000 sq meters. Due to the negligence, the church lost its charm in the Soviet era; luckily the renovation started in the 1970s and took 27 long years to finish the work.
Hermitage Museum
The State Hermitage Museum is one of the largest museums in the world situated in the Saint Petersburg city of Russia. The museum was established in 1764 with the collection of art of the Russian Empress Catherine the Great, which she bought from Johann Ernst Gotzkowsky, the merchant of Berlin. There are six buildings in the main complex of the museum, among them five buildings are opened to the public, these are the Small Hermitage, Old Hermitage, New Hermitage, the Winter Palace, and the Hermitage Theatre.
There is a huge collection of art, almost three million items including the masterpieces of the world famous artists Leonardo da Vinci, Rafael, Rubens, Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Titian, Van Dyck, etc. Apart from paintings, there are applied art pieces, antique statues, furniture, and spectacular royal historical art pieces. There is a modern art collection in the General Staff Building including the works of Picasso, Van Gogh, Matisse, Monet, and others.
Palace Bridge (Dvortsoviy)
In spite of created only in the twentieth century, the Bridge palace is one of the most iconic sights in the St Petersburg city. It is also the most important thing to the travelers of St Petersburg who has to move continually among the Palace Square, the Winter Palace, and the Hermitage Museum and other historic attractions on the Vasilevskiy Ostrov.
This bascule bridge is extended from the Palace Square to the Vasilievsky Island on Neva River. The Bridge palace or Dvortsovoy was made by French company Société de Construction des Batignolles in the year 1912 to 1916. The full length of the Palace Bridge is 260.1 meters and the width is 27.8 meters and there are five spans in the bridge.
Admiralty building
The Admiralty building is one of the major landmarks of St Petersburg. The building is visible from the three roads, Gorokhovaya ul, Nevsky pr, and Voznesensky pr, as the building is located at the center of these three. This building was the headquarters of the Admiralty Board and the Russian Navy. Currently, it is the largest military college in the Russian Navy.
The original design of the building was a fortified shipyard. Now, this building is of the Empire Style and it was constructed from 1806 to 1823, with the design of Andreyan Zakharov. Though the look of the spire is solid gold, originally it is made of wood. As the wood was almost rotten, the restoration process was started in 1966.
Nevsky Prospekt
The Nevsky Prospekt is the most renowned street not only in St. Petersburg but in entire Russia. Any traveler coming to St. Petersburg must have a walk experience of the street. The Nevsky Prospekt is stretched almost 4 kilometers from the Admiralty building to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery, from which the street got its name. The Moskovsky vokzal is a shopping center and entertainment area located inside the Nevsky Prospekt.
The Nevsky Prospekt was made at the early days of St Petersburg and it was quite a quiet place that time and there was rarely a building, but as time passed, the Nevsky Prospekt became the busiest main road and extremely noisy. The major sights of the road are the Stroganov Palace, the Kazan Cathedral, the Elisseeff Emporium, the Russian National Library, the Anichkov Bridge, the Singer House, etc.
