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Russia

Duration: All Weekend 4-7 days 8-14 days 15+ days Kids: All 👨‍👩‍👧 Kid-friendly
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Russia: Moscow and St Petersburg
Russia 13 days

Russia: Moscow and St Petersburg

The two capitals and the Golden Ring, between the Kremlin, monasteries and imperial palaces

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Planning a trip to Russia? Here you'll find our day-by-day itinerary (Moscow, St Petersburg, Golden Ring, Suzdal and Vladimir, Kazan, Karelia), plus all the practical info to organise your journey: currency, visa, e-SIM, health, plugs and useful numbers.

When to go to Russia

Continental: long harsh winters (Moscow and St Petersburg often well below zero, snow from November to March) and short mild summers (20-25°C). The best time is late May to September; in June St Petersburg has its 'white nights', when the sun barely sets. Winter is scenic (domes in the snow) but very tough.

Practical info for travelling in Russia

Updated: June 2026

⚠️ Travel advisory

At present the Italian foreign ministry ADVISES POSTPONING ALL TRAVEL to the Russian Federation (source: official advisory, read today). There are no direct Italy-Russia flights, a visa is mandatory, foreign credit cards do not work, and there are restrictions on media, social networks and photographing sensitive sites. This itinerary is offered as 'evergreen' cultural content (the two capitals and the Golden Ring): before any planning, check your own government's current travel advisory.

Currency

Russian ruble (RUB). WARNING: Visa, Mastercard, American Express and PayPal cards issued abroad do NOT work in Russia, neither for payments nor at ATMs. You must bring cash (euros or dollars) to change locally into rubles, budgeting carefully in advance: with no working cards, cash is your only resource.

Language

Russian, written in the Cyrillic alphabet: all signs and menus are in Cyrillic, and spoken English is not widespread outside hotels and the main tourist sites. It's worth downloading an offline translator and learning to recognise a few letters; the Yandex app (maps, taxi, translator) is the local standard.

Documents / Visa

You need a passport (valid for at least 6 months, in excellent condition: damaged documents can mean refused entry) and a VISA is mandatory. Italian and 55-nationality citizens can use the e-Visa, applied for online (electronic-visa.kdmid.ru), issued in 4 days, valid 120 days for a stay of up to 30. On entry biometric data are taken and you fill in an Immigration Card; hotels register tourists within 7 days. Travel health insurance MUST be attached to the visa application. Travellers of other nationalities should check their own visa rules.

Health / Vaccines

No mandatory vaccines; with your doctor consider hepatitis A/B and diphtheria. Healthcare in the big cities is good (there are international clinics in Moscow and St Petersburg) but expensive: travel insurance with medical cover and repatriation is mandatory for the visa and essential. Don't drink tap water: bottled only.

e-SIM / Connectivity

EU roaming doesn't apply in Russia and is very costly; a local SIM requires your passport. Note: several social networks (Facebook, Instagram) and foreign news sites are BLOCKED in Russia and only reachable with a VPN (install one before you go). In Moscow there are periodic mobile-internet outages. Wi-Fi in hotels.

Electricity

230V, 50Hz, type C/F (Schuko) sockets — standard European. Travellers from the UK, US and elsewhere need an adapter.

Time zone

Moscow and St Petersburg are at UTC+3 all year (Russia has no daylight saving): two hours ahead of Central Europe in winter, one in summer. Russia spans 11 time zones in all.

Payments

Everything in ruble cash: we repeat it because it's the most important and least intuitive point. Foreign cards are unusable, so no withdrawals or digital payments from your own account. Bring currency (euros/dollars, to be declared if over USD 10,000) and change it at banks or authorised offices, keeping the receipts.

Good to know

  • Safety and rules to know — Beyond the official advice to postpone travel, there are local rules to know: it is FORBIDDEN to photograph or film military or security targets (risk of arrest); since 2022 there are strict restrictions on media and social networks, and even private posts on sensitive topics can have criminal consequences. Avoid demonstrations and gatherings. Petty crime (pickpocketing) occurs on the metro, in stations and markets; tourists report scams on Red Square and the Arbat. Dual Russian nationals do not receive Italian consular assistance.
  • Areas to avoid completely — Forbidden or strongly discouraged: Crimea and the annexed Ukrainian regions (Donbass, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson — entry banned); all Russian regions bordering Ukraine (Rostov, Belgorod, Bryansk, Kursk, etc.), not safe; the North Caucasus (Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetia) for terrorism risk. The classic itinerary (Moscow, the Golden Ring, St Petersburg) stays well away from these areas, but always check the situation beforehand.
  • Getting there and around — There are no direct flights from Italy: you fly with a stopover via Istanbul, Belgrade, Dubai, Yerevan or Baku. Inside the country the two capitals are linked by the comfortable high-speed Sapsan train (4 hours) and by the overnight sleeper train. In the cities the metro is efficient, cheap and beautiful (in Moscow almost a museum): use a rechargeable card (Troika in Moscow, Podorozhnik in St Petersburg). For taxis, the Yandex Go app is the most used.
  • e-Visa and registration — The e-Visa is applied for only online on the official site (electronic-visa.kdmid.ru), with a photo and passport scan, at least a week ahead: no invitations or agencies needed. NB: the e-Visa is not valid at every border crossing, check the permitted ones. Once in Russia, your stay registration (within 7 days) is done by the hotel: keep the slip, it may be requested on departure. Always carry your passport and a copy of the visa.
  • At the table: Russian cuisine — Russian cuisine is hearty and made for winter: borscht (beetroot soup), pelmeni (meat dumplings) and vareniki (sweet ones), blini with sour cream and caviar, beef Stroganoff, Olivier salad, and soups like solyanka. It goes with kvas (fermented-bread drink), tea from the samovar and, if you like, iced vodka. The cities also have an excellent scene of modern cafés and restaurants.
  • Book the great museums and palaces — For the Hermitage, the Kremlin Armoury and Catherine Palace at Pushkin (with the Amber Room) it's best to book timed tickets online: they are the most crowded. The Peterhof fountains only run from May to October. To visit the Kremlin and its cathedrals, entry is separate from the mausoleum and the squares. A guide speaking English helps a lot, given the Cyrillic barrier.

Useful numbers

  • 112 — Single emergency number (from a mobile). Police 102, ambulance 103, fire 101
  • +7 495 796 96 92 — Italian Consulate General in Moscow — travellers of other nationalities should contact their own embassy
  • +7 921 936 5191 — Italian Consulate General in St Petersburg (emergencies)
  • +7 915 090 2671 — Italian Embassy in Moscow (on-call)

💡 First of all: the Italian government currently advises against travel to Russia, so always check the latest official advisories. If and when conditions allow, remember the two least intuitive practical points: foreign credit cards do NOT work (it's ruble cash only) and you need the e-Visa applied for online before departure, with mandatory health insurance attached.