Travel Guide

The useful version of a Catherine Palace and Tsarskoe Selo visit feels as if it has been tested in the street, not assembled from a list of sights. In Pushkin near Saint Petersburg, that means starting with the Catherine Palace facade before[...]

There is a version of a Peterhof fountains day that looks efficient on paper and feels thin by lunchtime. The better version starts with the Lower Park and the first clear view toward the Gulf of Finland and lets the Saint Petersburg coast[...]

The notes I would give a first-time visitor are not complicated: begin with a quiet start near the Moika, the Griboyedov Canal or the Neva, keep the route honest, and do not make Saint Petersburg carry more stops than the day can hold. The best[...]

The useful thing about an evening walk from Zaryadye to the Moskva River is that it does not need to be inflated. Start with Zaryadye Park when the Red Square crowds begin to thin, give the route a clean shape, and the character of central[...]

The useful version of a Moscow metro and museum day feels as if it has been tested in the street, not assembled from a list of sights. In Moscow, that means starting with two or three central metro stations before the Tretyakov Gallery or the[...]