Moscow and St. Petersburg with Guides: Catherine’s Chronicle

Catherine lives in Benidorm and, in June 2026, she travelled with her partner to Moscow and St. Petersburg on the eVisa. What makes her trip interesting is the approach: a formula halfway between organised and independent, with local guides who spoke impeccable French and who helped them get around, book things and understand the country. Hers is the kind of account that reassures anyone who’s hesitating, because it comes back again and again to the same thing: cleanliness, order and a feeling of safety.

What follows is Catherine’s account, told in her own words and with her own tips. I’ve shaped her story so it reads at an easy pace, but everything she tells is hers. Thank you, Catherine, for sharing it.

A halfway formula: half guided, half free

Since we were leaving from Alicante, our layover was in Casablanca. We chose a formula that was half accompanied, half free. To do it, we relied on two local agencies: one for Moscow and one for St. Petersburg. The idea was to start off well looked after during the first few days and then keep some time to ourselves afterwards, and in our case it worked wonderfully.

For that, we booked with two French agencies and with French-speaking guides: “Time to Russia” for Moscow and “Russie Autrement” for St. Petersburg.

Moscow: arriving, changing money and easing in

We arrived at 6:35 in the morning. We had asked our agency to have a driver pick us up at the airport and take us to our hotel, the Mercure Arbat. What came in really handy is that, since we hadn’t changed any money yet, the agency’s driver himself paid for our first night so we could get into the room straight away. At 10 we were due to meet our guide to discover Moscow by taxi and by metro, after stopping to change our euros.

Kremlin, Sergiev Posad and days on our own

We devoted the second day to visiting the Kremlin. On the third we set out with a different guide —it was the agency that suggested it, so we’d have different conversations— and a driver, heading to Sergiev Posad. The following days were free: we got around mostly by metro, with a three-day pass.

Our guides let us begin the trip calmly and, on top of that, discover restaurants we’d never have found on our own, along with their specialities. Depending on the weather, they booked us a cruise on the Moskva River and tickets for the show «Ma belle Russie» («My Beautiful Russia»). We even had a history lesson and the first-hand account of someone who lived through the Soviet era. And above all, what struck us most were the conversations, deeply moving ones, about the geopolitical context.

By train to St. Petersburg

The agency “Russie Autrement” had booked us the train tickets to «Peter», as they call St. Petersburg there. We booked nine nights in the city, so we had plenty of time to see it at a leisurely pace and adapt to the weather.

St. Petersburg: the Hermitage, Peterhof and the circus

The day after we arrived, our guide and her driver gave us a tour of the city, with a visit to the Peter and Paul Fortress. Since we could change the programme as we went, we left the Hermitage for the next day, which dawned rainy: perfect for a museum. We waited for two days of sunshine to visit the gardens of Peterhof by hydrofoil, again with our guide. Afterwards we went to Tsarskoye Selo with a different guide and by taxi. The rest of the time was free.

Here too the guides made the difference: they gave us wonderfully rich explanations about the history of Russia, which sometimes intertwines with that of France; they booked us seats for a cruise on the Neva during the raising of the bridges; and they got us two tickets for the state Bolshoi circus. That last one will stay with us as an unforgettable memory. All our guides spoke perfect French. What a shame to deprive our fellow citizens of this country’s architectural beauty!

Cleanliness, safety and how the French are treated

Visiting these two cities and their surroundings was a real pleasure. Beyond the extreme cleanliness, you sense something there that we’ve lost here: a sense of manners and values. On the metro or the train, everyone is careful not to bother their neighbour. Everywhere we were welcomed warmly for being French, and that moved us a great deal. The only exception was on arrival at the airport, where we were subjected to a «small interrogation» with a check of our phones. At no point, not even at night, did we feel unsafe.

Irena’s note: that phone check on arrival that Catherine mentions doesn’t happen to everyone, but it’s worth knowing how it works and who it’s usually done to. I explain it all in my guide on whether they can check your phone when you enter Russia.

Internet, apps and paper guides

Despite having a Freemax plan with roaming, our access to the Internet worked only intermittently. We were helped a lot by the Yandex apps we’d downloaded before leaving and by our two «Cartoville» booklets, bought on the «Vieux Campeur» website; above all Yandex Translate, for translating the dishes at the restaurant. Those outages were probably down to what was going on in the area during those days.

What I take away from Catherine’s chronicle

• The mixed formula works really well: a few days with a guide to get going without stress and to book shows, cruises and restaurants, and then several free days to wander at your own pace.
• Arrive with some cash or change money as soon as you can: even the transfer for your first night can depend on it, as happened to Catherine the moment she landed.
• The metro with a multi-day pass is the most convenient and cheapest way to get around Moscow.
• Save the big museums, like the Hermitage, for rainy days, and keep the Peterhof gardens for when the sun comes out.
• The Internet can fail: download the Yandex apps in advance (especially the translator) and it doesn’t hurt to carry a paper map or guide.

Have you travelled to Russia recently and want to share your experience? Tell me about your trip here and I’ll publish it in this section, with your name or anonymously, whichever you prefer. Accounts like Catherine’s are the ones that really help those who are preparing their own trip.