The lion's share of foreigners does not consider Russia as a place to visit, but in vain. The country is clearly the leader in the wonders of nature, does not lag behind most European countries in architectural monuments, is the undisputed leader in the number of cultural heritage sites. We offer to consider the tourist rating of Russian cities and to personally assess the wealth of one of the greatest empires.
10. Barentsburg
This city can be put both on the first and on the last place in the rating of the leading tourist cities of Russia, depending on each person’s personal preferences. Barentsburg offers extreme tourism for high-income people. Groups are delivered by icebreakers, including the legendary Yamal, or by air via Norway (visa is not required). This territory belongs to both Russia and Norway, and to the rest of the world.
Barentsburg is a city of miners, the fruit of the ambitions of the Communist Party. Here is the northernmost bust of V.I. Lenin in the world. Many buildings are decorated with socialist mosaics. What is noteworthy: a school, a clinic, a shop, a post office, the Internet. People never suffer from SARS - viruses and microbes do not survive here due to low temperatures.
Prices are expensive. Barentsburg Hotel - a Soviet-style hotel with a decent repair inside, offers double rooms from 130 dollars / day. The price for a weekly tour (hotel, snowmobiles, meals, excursions) starts from 1.5 thousand US dollars per person, this price does not include flights to / from Norway.
9. Khuzhir
Here you can meet shamans with iPhones, rocks, Baikal omul, the Museum of Local Lore them. N. M. Revyakina. The main thing is a unique landscape and nature. Special energy. Tourists disembark both on foot and in private transport from ferries that arrive here with enviable regularity. Olkhon is the place where a person is best separated from the rapid flow of urban life, stopping to comprehend and contemplate life. There is no scattering of Michelin-starred restaurants, almost no roads, no noise, little illumination. A lot of spiritual people, nature, air and, most importantly, freedom.
In the vicinity of Khuzhir there are three hotels: branded Baikal View with a swimming pool - from 5 thousand rubles, "Daryan Manor" with a bath - from 1,5 thousand and the camping hotel "Olkhon" with a shower, which is open until 22:00 - from 3 thousand. ATV rental - 1 thousand rubles per hour. Shaman services - from 500 rubles to infinity. Khuzhir is the most expensive city, popular among foreign tourists.
8. Vladivostok
In Vladivostok there are not a large number of attractions, there are no World Heritage sites. But. This is the final and / or initial station of the Trans-Siberian Railway - a particularly popular tourist round of Russia among foreigners.
Separately, the city deserves to be in the ranking of the most popular tourist destinations in Russia. Here it is worth visiting: Popova Island - a unique untouched corner of nature with marvelous landscape, the Golden Horn Bridge, a seaside safari park - a place where you can meet the rarest Amur tigers. Separate attention should be paid to the developed restaurant culture, Far Eastern cuisine, the analogues of which do not exist. Vladivostok is easy to recognize by the abundance of Japanese cars on the streets. This is the place where divers should go. A large number of underwater fauna and marine attractions are concentrated here.
Hostels - from 400rub / night. Hotels - from 2.5 thousand. Not the cheapest city in Russia.
7. Nizhny Novgorod
One of the most important cultural and economic cities in Russia, where tourists from all over the world flock, having earned seventh place in the ranking. Nizhny Novgorod was founded by the Grand Duke of Vladimir, Yuri Vsevolodovich, in 1221. And after three hundred years a stone Kremlin was built, which no one took for 500 years. Nizhny Novgorod is recognized as the largest city of river tourism in Russia in the federal rating.
In the evenings, tourists flock to Bolshaya Pokrovskaya Street, where there are attractions, musicians. The area is buried in lights and fun, bars and restaurants buzz until the morning. In the afternoon, guests build up the historical architecture of the streets, fortifications, monasteries, saturated with eight hundred years of history.
The prices are affordable. For a double room in a decent hotel you have to pay from 2 thousand rubles. The hostel will cost 250 - 700 rubles / bed. The price of entry to the Kremlin is 150 rubles.
6. Kazan
The capital of the Republic of Tatarstan attracts tourists with the native Russian architecture of fortifications and merchants, Orthodox churches. The city ranked third in Europe and eighth in the world in the ranking of the fastest growing tourist cities Tripadvisor. Kazan White Stone Kremlin is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Here you can taste many types of fish from the Volga basin, which is prepared in any local restaurant.
You can stay overnight at a hostel for less than 300 rubles, at a hotel for 1,500 and above. An excursion to the Hermitage-Kazan, which is located on the territory of the Kremlin, will cost 250 rubles.
5. Belokurikha
Mountains, forest, clean air, natural water, thermal springs - this is Altai. In Belokurikha concentrated all the beauty of this land, unique on the planet. This is a resort town of federal significance, where the Chinese, Kazakhs, immigrants from the Russian Far East, Europeans prefer to relax. This is the place where people come either to be treated with mineral waters, or to build nature, taking a break from the hustle and bustle.
The resort has several ski lifts, about four slopes, excluding children’s, there is a small water park at the sanatorium, the number of hotels will satisfy any demand. Wildlife conservation forums are regularly held here, including UNESCO's Siberian Davos. It is definitely worth a visit to maralniki, where maral - red deer are bred.
Prices are very affordable. An apartment with 3-5 sleeping places will cost 0.8–2 thousand / day, a hotel room - from 1 to 3 thousand. Cottage rental is in special demand - from 2 thousand rubles for a house with a sauna, a small pool, Internet and other benefits.
4. Derbent
It is considered the oldest city in Russia, if you do not take into account the Crimean Kerch. Derbent is located in the Republic of Dagestan on the shores of the Caspian Sea. This place is located between three cultures: Islam, Christianity and Judaism, which is reflected in the smallest details of the old city, a piece of which and some individual buildings are recognized by UNESCO as World Heritage of Humanity.
There are many hotels and mini-hotels for every taste and budget, you should definitely familiarize yourself with the local cuisine. There are several museums of different orientations. Derbent is one of the few monuments of Persian culture and military glory. Nevertheless, the main attraction is the life of the local population and its hospitality.
Price tags at a very democratic level, you can stay in a hostel for 200 rubles / night, in a mini-hotel for 3 thousand and above.
3. Moscow
Moscow is always mentioned when listing the leading cities of the planet: New York, London, Tokyo, Dubai and so on. But only in Moscow there is such a number of billionaires that can not be found in most countries of the world, the most record according to Forbes. The city is buried in expensive cars, hotels, boutiques, show rooms. Life does not stop here for a minute, all restaurants, nightclubs and bars are open until the last visitor. Foreign tourists prioritize St. Petersburg and Moscow, missing the rest of the cities in their ranking of Russian cities.
What to see in Moscow: foreign tourists walk along Red Square, where in winter they fill a huge ice rink, in May the largest military parade in the former Soviet Union takes place, but the most attractive place for foreigners is the mausoleum where Lenin is embalmed. Always crowded at the Tretyakov Gallery and the State Museum of Fine Arts. The sights of Moscow do not end there, but only begin.
Moscow is the third city in the ranking for Russian tourism among foreigners, second only to Peter and Sochi.
2. St. Petersburg
Of the advantages: a huge number of world museums, architectural monuments, a huge number of recreational areas around the city. St. Petersburg can also be safely called the tourist capital of the Russian Federation. Up to 3 million foreign tourists and as many compatriots come here every year.
What to see in St. Petersburg? - everything: the Hermitage is one of the richest museums on the planet, Peterhof is the royal court with gilded fountains, St. Isaac's Cathedral, Peter and Paul Fortress, Nevsky Prospekt and much more, there’s not enough ink to list. This city is unique and compares favorably among other Russian cities with a pronounced architectural ensemble of literally every street, movable bridges, river canals, white nights.
Pricing in St. Petersburg is democratic, there are a huge number of hostels in which a bed costs from 200 rubles per night. A hotel room will cost 3-50 thousand rubles / night. The high, stable flow of foreign tourists and the greed of businessmen made Peter one of the most expensive cities for tourism in Russia in the ranking.
1. Sochi
Of the advantages: ski slopes, mineral waters, beaches, bars and restaurants, modern architecture, many sports facilities, Olympic Village.
Subtropical climate prevails here. The city is located on the Black Sea. The Caucasus Mountains have become the backdrop for the wealth of hotels, restaurants and housing. In late autumn, ski resorts of Krasnaya Polyana open their doors. Some locals grow tangerines, which have a peculiar and pleasant taste.
Sochi's pricing is high. The cost of living starts from 1000 rubles per day and ends at infinity. A four-room apartment with a decent repair will cost 4 - 6 thousand / day, a double room "Standard" in the hotel on the first line will cost at least 4 thousand.
Sochi is a Russian city leading in the influx of tourists from neighboring countries and the CIS, the first in the ranking due to its developed infrastructure and service. Sochi won the championship only due to demand among compatriots, foreigners come here infrequently.