Planning notes
Russia travel planning: destinations and practical checks
Start with the places you most want to see, then check whether the journey between them fits your time and circumstances. A city visit and a long trip across Russia need different transport, booking and weather plans.
Before you book
Check your own government's current travel advice and whether your insurance covers the journey. For British passport holders, the FCDO advises against all travel to Russia; this was checked on 13 November 2026. Advice and consular support depend on nationality, so use the guidance that applies to you.
Entry permission is a separate question. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs maintains the official e-visa portal, including eligible nationalities and permitted border crossing points. Check those lists for your passport and proposed route. Do not treat an airline reservation or an old travel article as confirmation that you can enter.
Choose a starting point
Moscow is a useful subject for a visit centred on the Kremlin, Red Square and museums. Saint Petersburg suits an itinerary built around its historic centre, riverfronts and major collections. Choose one first, rather than filling every available day with transfers.
If you want both cities, check an actual connection for your dates before fixing museum visits. Include the journey to the station, arrival procedures and travel from the destination station to your accommodation. A timetable gives the transport leg, not the whole transfer.
Beyond the two capitals
Karelia and the wooden churches of Kizhi are another kind of trip: the island visit requires a transport plan as well as a museum plan. Lake Baikal, in Siberia, calls for its own regional itinerary. Neither should be added to a short city break merely because the name is familiar.
Before adding a remote destination, identify the specific settlement where you will stay, the last section of transport and a workable return. A dot labelled with a lake or mountain range is not yet an itinerary.
Keep the practical details together
Save your accommodation address in Russian and English, transport confirmations and the information needed if your phone is unavailable. Confirm how each provider expects to be paid. Keep these records accessible offline, with a separate copy of the essential details.
Use our practical planning checklist for those arrangements and the sample itinerary page to decide how much to put into each day.
Moscow: a practical first visit
For a first look at Moscow, build a day around one part of the centre. The Kremlin and Red Square belong in the same area of a map, but museum admissions, entrances and opening arrangements still need separate attention.
The historic centre
The Kremlin and Red Square form a UNESCO-listed historic ensemble. Plan the square, the fortress grounds and museum interiors as different parts of the visit. Their position together on a city map does not mean that one ticket opens every building.
Choose whether your priority is an exterior walk, a museum collection or the architecture inside the Kremlin. Then check the admission product that actually covers it. A general description of the Kremlin does not tell you which interiors are included.
Put a reservation before the walk
If a particular collection is the reason for your visit, check the Moscow Kremlin Museums website for its current arrangements. Confirm the date, time, entrance and restrictions for that visit before building the rest of the day around it.
Keep time before admission for finding the correct entrance. Place a flexible walk or a meal after the museum rather than another tightly timed reservation.
Choose the interior before choosing the entrance
The museum lists Cathedral Square museums and the Armoury Chamber as separate admission choices. Cathedral Square is the architectural visit; the Armoury is the collection to consider for ceremonial objects, regalia and carriages. Pick the one that matches your interest before buying, rather than relying on a ticket described simply as “the Kremlin”.
The museum's current visitor notice directs entry to the Kremlin territory through Kutafiya Tower, and entry to the Armoury through Borovitskaya Tower. These are different approaches. Check the official entrance notice again on your visit date.
An exterior walk to mark on your map
Use Alexander Garden, Red Square and Varvarka Street as three named points, then decide whether to continue into Zaryadye Park. The park lies beyond the eastern side of the Red Square area. Keep the museum entrance as a separate pin: a walk toward Saint Basil's Cathedral is not an approach to the Armoury entrance.
This is a sequence of places to connect using currently open pedestrian access, not a guaranteed unobstructed route. You can finish after the square or continue along Varvarka if you have time and the area is accessible.
A manageable first day
- Save the location of your accommodation and your planned starting point.
- Choose a central walk that fits your arrival time and mobility.
- Add one confirmed interior visit if it is available for that date.
- Keep the final part of the day optional, especially after a long journey.
What to check on the day
Access to a central public space can change for events or security arrangements. Check the venue's announcements and follow local instructions. A saved walking route should let you shorten the day or approach an entrance another way without losing a booking.
For a second city, see Saint Petersburg. For the practical arrangements behind either visit, use the travel planning checklist.
Saint Petersburg: a practical first visit
A first visit to Saint Petersburg works best when a museum booking and a walk along the water have their own time. Leave room for the journey to the entrance, a meal and a change of weather instead of trying to cover the whole centre in one day.
Read the centre as a group of places
The World Heritage designation concerns a whole historic cityscape and related monuments. A visit can concentrate on its public spaces and riverfronts, or on museum collections. Make that choice first; trying to do both comprehensively leaves little time to look at either.
Pick a section of the historic centre for your first walk. Mark where you will stop and how you will return to your accommodation. A route that looks short on a small map may still involve long stretches without a convenient break.
Give the museum a full place in the day
For the Hermitage, check the museum's official website for the building, admission product and entrance you intend to use. Do not assume that one booking includes every branch or exhibition.
Choose the collection that matters most to you. A shorter, focused visit leaves more room for the walk afterwards than a plan to see everything before another timed appointment.
A short central sequence
Mark Palace Square, the Admiralty and Admiralteyskaya Embankment as the starting sequence for an exterior walk. The Winter Palace faces the square; the riverfront gives a different view of the central area. Keep a museum reservation separate from this walk rather than assuming that arriving in Palace Square puts you at the right entrance.
For an art-focused visit, distinguish the Hermitage's Main Museum Complex from the General Staff Building. The official admissions page lists them separately. The General Staff visitor page is the place to check that building's access arrangements. Choose the collection and admission product first; buildings around the same square do not automatically share a ticket.
If you mainly want an exterior visit, keep Palace Square and the embankment together, then choose another nearby walk after a break.
Waterfronts and weather
Carry an outer layer appropriate to the forecast and keep an indoor alternative nearby. If you add a boat trip, check its departure point, operating conditions and return time with the operator for that date. An attractive photograph of the river is not evidence that a particular service is running.
A flexible three-day structure
Use the arrival day to settle in and explore a nearby part of the centre. Reserve a full day for your main museum and a shorter walk. Keep the third day for another district, a second collection or a change to the plan if conditions require it.
A visit outside the centre needs its own transport plan. Check both directions before adding it. For a combined journey, the itinerary page explains how to leave room for the transfer to Moscow.