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Russia travel guides: why none of them are up to date (and what to use instead)If you’re looking for a Russia travel guide , let me save you time from the very first line: right now, no printed guidebook is truly up to date. The usual ones —Lonely Planet, DK Eyewitness, Rough Guides, Insight Guides— were all written before 2022, and since then almost everything that really matters for planning […]
The best time to travel to Russia (and what to wear in each season)What’s the best time to travel to Russia? Here’s the short answer: from late May to early September. Those are the months with long days, warm temperatures and everything open. If you want fewer crowds but still decent weather, aim for late May, June or September. And if what you’re after is snow, the Russian […]
Traveling to Moscow with Kids: The Best Things to Do in 2026Moscow is a city you can enjoy enormously with kids, and I say it from my own experience. The list of things to do as a family is endless: the largest indoor amusement park in Europe, a zoo, giant aquariums, space museums, interactive science museums, circuses, theaters, Ferris wheels, observation decks with a free ice-cream […]
How to Communicate in Russia Without Speaking Russian: Apps, Cyrillic & Key PhrasesTraveling to Russia and worried you don’t speak Russian? Relax: getting by there is easier than ever. With a good translation app (Yandex Translate is the queen), a few basics of the Cyrillic alphabet and a handful of key phrases, you’ll make yourself understood without trouble, even with people who don’t know a single word […]
The Museums of Moscow: Which to Visit, Prices and TicketsMoscow has nearly 400 museums, so the question isn’t whether you’ll find something that interests you, but how not to get lost amid so much choice. In this article I tell you which are the must-see museums in Moscow, how much tickets cost today and how to buy them as a foreigner (because there’s a […]
The Museums of St. Petersburg: Which to Visit, Prices and TicketsSt. Petersburg has around 200 museums, so you have to make choices. In this article I tell you which are the must-see museums in the city —starting with the Hermitage—, how much tickets cost today and how to buy them as a foreigner (because there’s a catch: Visa and Mastercard cards issued outside Russia no […]
Russia Transit Visa and Moscow Stopover: When You Need OneDo you need a transit visa to stop over in Moscow or to cross Russia on your way to another country? The short answer: it depends on how you pass through Russia. If you simply change planes at the same airport, in under 24 hours and without crossing immigration, you don’t need one. If you […]
How to Buy Train Tickets in Russia Despite the SanctionsPlanning a train trip across Russia from abroad has become significantly harder since 2022. The official Russian Railways website (RZD.ru) no longer accepts Visa or Mastercard, and it’s also blocked across much of Europe. The good news is that there are still ways to buy tickets — but the landscape has shifted. In this guide […]
How to Rent Apartments in Russia with a Foreign Card (Sutochno)Yes, today you can rent an apartment in Russia and pay for it with your foreign card. The platform that makes it possible is Sutochno , the Russian equivalent of Airbnb: hundreds of thousands of apartments, studios, houses and rooms that you rent directly from the owner, with no middleman. As of very recently it […]
How to Book Accommodation in Russia in 2026: What Platforms Work and How to PaySince international sanctions began, booking accommodation in Russia became a real puzzle for many travelers. Booking.com, Airbnb and most Western platforms stopped operating in the country, and for a while the only convenient alternative for booking hotels and apartments in Moscow, Saint Petersburg or other Russian cities was Zenhotels. The good news is that there […]
Russian Food: Typical Dishes, Drinks and Where to EatIn this article I’ll tell you what people eat in Russia: the most typical dishes, the drinks that go with them and, above all, where to try them today. Because a few things have changed since 2022 that are worth knowing before you travel: the Western chains left the country (and reopened under new names) […]
Carry-on Baggage for Flying to Russia (and Within Russia): Dimensions, Weight and Rules by AirlineThe most common carry-on baggage size when you fly to Russia or move around the country by plane is 55 × 40 × 25 cm and up to 10 kg in economy class. But watch out, it’s not a universal rule: each airline sets its own limits depending on the fare, and the low-cost carriers […]
Traveling by Bus in Russia: How to Buy Tickets Online with a Foreign CardLong-distance buses are still widely used in Russia for the trips that trains don’t cover, or cover badly, and they’re usually the cheapest option. The big news for foreign travellers is that you can now buy bus tickets online from outside Russia and pay with your Visa or Mastercard. Let me explain how, and which […]
Russia Business Visa: When You Need It and How to ApplyDo you really need a business visa to travel to Russia? It comes down to two things: how long you are staying and what for. If your business trip is shorter than 30 days and your country can apply for the eVisa , the eVisa is all you need, because it already covers business purposes […]
Decree 377: Why Russian Banks Are Freezing Foreigners’ DepositsIf you’re a citizen of the UK, the US, or any country in the European Union and you have money “parked” in a deposit or savings account at a Russian bank (T‑Bank, Sber and the like), pay attention: as of June 1, 2026 , that money can end up frozen. A new Russian decree has […]
The Kremlin Diamond Fund: what to see and how to buy ticketsWhat's on display at the Kremlin Diamond Fund in Moscow and how to get tickets step by step: book online, pay at the ticket office and combine the visit with the Armoury.
What Is MAX, the Russian Messaging App Trying to Replace WhatsApp and TelegramRussia now has its own state-backed messaging app. It’s called MAX , it was developed by VK (the company behind VKontakte), and the government openly promotes it as a replacement for WhatsApp and Telegram, both blocked or restricted in the country for months now. It isn’t an ordinary messaging app: it’s a super-app in the […]
Russian Souvenirs: What to Buy, Where and How Much They CostWhich souvenirs should you buy in Russia? The ones almost nobody can resist bringing home are matryoshkas , the hand-painted Palekh lacquer boxes, the blue-and-white Gzhel porcelain, a fur hat ( ushanka ), a Pavlovsky Posad shawl, amber from Kaliningrad, malachite from the Urals, caviar, vodka and Cheburashka plushies. Here I’ll tell you what’s really […]
Shopping in Moscow: from GUM to Izmailovo MarketJust like in any other big city, in Moscow you’ll find large shopping malls, shopping streets and big specialty stores, as well as markets devoted specifically to souvenirs, such as the famous matryoshkas or memorabilia from the former USSR. 0. Introduction Across Moscow you’ll find a number of shopping centers, the most notable being the […]
Tax Free in Russia: Can You Get a VAT Refund in 2026?Tax Free for tourists still exists in Russia on paper, but since 2022 it has become almost symbolic for a Western traveler. The refund to your foreign card no longer works, one of the big operators (Sber Tax Free) shut down in September 2025, and at best you can now recover part of the VAT […]