Boutique hotels in Russia

Russia is the largest country on Earth, and its heritage is vast: the Kremlin and Red Square, the palaces and canals of St. Petersburg, the white-walled monasteries of the Golden Ring, the deep blue of Lake Baikal and the volcanoes of Kamchatka. This guide describes the places themselves; it is not a recommendation to travel now.

Good to know

Many governments currently advise against all travel to Russia, citing the war in Ukraine, the risk of arbitrary detention, limits on consular help and disruption to flights and payments. Check your government's official travel advice, entry rules and insurance cover before making any plans.

The great cities

Moscow and St. Petersburg are the country's two showpieces, with grand museums, opera and ballet, and a small number of boutique hotels in 19th-century mansions. Kazan, on the Volga, mixes Tatar and Russian traditions around its white Kremlin. Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok are large regional cities with their own character.

The Golden Ring and the north

Suzdal, Vladimir, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Veliky Novgorod and Pskov are old towns of kremlins, onion-domed churches and wooden houses. Karelia and Teriberka, on the Barents Sea, are wild northern landscapes of lakes, forest and sea.

Nature

Lake Baikal, the deepest lake in the world, has Listvyanka as its easiest base. The Altai Mountains and Kamchatka are remote and spectacular, and Sochi and Krasnaya Polyana offer Black Sea beaches and Olympic ski slopes.

When to go

The white nights of St. Petersburg in June, the golden autumn of September and the snowy winter months are all striking. Winters are very cold in most of the country.