Northwestern Russia

St Petersburg's palaces and canals, the wooden churches of Karelia's lake country, the northern lights on the Kola Peninsula, and the exclave of Kaliningrad.

This region corresponds to the Northwestern Federal District: St Petersburg, Leningrad Oblast, Novgorod Oblast, Pskov Oblast, the Republic of Karelia, Murmansk Oblast, Arkhangelsk Oblast (including Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land), the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, the Komi Republic, Vologda Oblast, and the exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast, wedged between Poland and Lithuania. It borders Central Russia to the southeast; areas east of the Ural Mountains belong to the Volga Region and the Urals.

St Petersburg is the core: the Winter Palace and Hermitage Museum, Palace Square, the Peter and Paul Fortress, the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, St Isaac's Cathedral, and the night-time raising of the Neva bridges. Outside the city are the Peterhof fountain palace and park and the Catherine Palace in Pushkin (Tsarskoye Selo); the historic center and surrounding ensembles are UNESCO World Heritage sites. Novgorod has one of Russia's oldest kremlins, while Pskov and Izborsk preserve medieval stone fortifications. From Petrozavodsk, the capital of Karelia, hydrofoils run to Kizhi Island on Lake Onega, where the Transfiguration Church is built of wood without a single nail; the Solovetsky Monastery in the White Sea is also a World Heritage site. Murmansk and Teriberka on the Arctic Ocean coast are popular spots for seeing the northern lights in winter. Kaliningrad has Königsberg Cathedral, where Kant is buried, and the dunes of the Curonian Spit.

Allow 4–5 days for St Petersburg, plus 2–4 days for Novgorod or Karelia. A high-speed train of about 4 hours connects it with Moscow. The far north is extremely cold in winter with very little daylight, so pack plenty of warm clothing. Visa and Mastercard cards issued abroad do not work. Visa and border policies have changed frequently in recent years; verify them and check your government's travel advice before departure.

Destinations

Itineraries