Russia - Interesting places to visit (Besides SPB and MOW)

Been to both places a few times, mainly to visit friends.

Looking for recommendations to spice it up (i.e something different)

Needs to be a place that foreigners can go to (obviously)

Ideas?

What are you interested in? You have a whole world of opportunities in the Russian Federation from cities to the wilds of nature!

I liked Tomsk, Novosibirsk and the Lake Baikal/Buryatia region. I enjoyed cities on the Volga like Yaroslavl and Samara. Personally I was underwhelmed by Ekaterinburg and would be in no hurry to go back there. But that is just personal taste. Are you looking for culture, history, countryside, adventure? Do you need you creature comforts or are you prepared to rough it a bit?

What are you interested in? You have a whole world of opportunities in the Russian Federation from cities to the wilds of nature!

.... Are you looking for culture, history, countryside, adventure? Do you need you creature comforts or are you prepared to rough it a bit?

^ Dead on -- you have to tell us what your interests are.

That said, some obvious candidates are the Golden Ring cities, Kazan, and Sochi. That's assuming you don't want to go farther afield to Lake Baikal, Ulan-Ude, Sakhalin, Kamchatka, etc etc. (not that I've been to those far-afield places myself, but they're on my list...).

And then there's Kiev, Georgia and Armenia...

Velikiy Novgorod - an amazingly beautiful Kremlin and just an excellent example of a Russian town from the middle ages. Don't confuse with Nizhniy (I also like NN, but Velikiy is prettier).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veliky_Novgorod

There is an overnight train from/to Moscow. There is also a three hour train from St. Petersburg (which arrives and departs at dreadful times, unfortunately).

I don't know why there are no photos in the article above, but V. Novgorod is home to the oldest church in the Russian Federation:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Sophia_Cathedral_in_Novgorod

Vladivostok is interesting: very vibrant and different from the rest of Russia. Beware - flight time is nine hours (pretty much same distance you cover flying from NYC to MOW); which in itself is an adventure :)
I did like people in Siberia (Novosibirsk, Omsk, Tomsk); history and culture wise there's not much to write back home about.
Kaliningrad is another interesting one: this is former capital of Eastern Prussia which Russia absorbed in 1945. A weird mixture of German past, Soviet history and modern Russia's ways.

People constantly ask me this question as Moscow/St Petersburg are somewhat analogous to New York/Washington or New York/Los Angeles: people want to see "the real Russia."

Lots of people ask us to arrange a trip on the Trans-Siberian Railroad, but in the end they decide to go to just one or two other cities in Russia.

Hands down, I recommend Irkutsk and the Baikal region (as above). Easy to get to on the overnight flight, lots of history, and some of the most unique nature in the world.

On one trip, you would see:

-the world's largest lake, holding 5% of the freshwater on earth
-animal species which live only in the Baikal region
-an island the size of Long Island (Olkhon) with only 1,500 permanent residents, and spectacular weather
-Siberian Taiga
-an historic outpost city, Irkutskt

Also,

Kazan: wonderful city, very vibrant and prosperous, as well as a model for Islamic development in Russia
Nizhny Novgorod: easy train from Moscow; nice city (also prosperous), interesting architeture

As others have mentioned, (Old) Novgorod is also a nice city to visit (it was actually the first city I visited in Russia outside of Moscow/St Petersburg). It is only about a 3-4 hour drive from St Petersburg and can be done in one day.

Kazan: wonderful city, very vibrant and prosperous, as well as a model for Islamic development in Russia.

Just got back from Kazan and would second this recommendation. There are numerous daily flights now from Moscow, they're building like made for the Universiade in 2013, and the Marriott Courtyard is really nice and a stone's throw from the historic Kremlin.

Petropavolsk is a destination I would like to visit at least. That is as far as you can get from anywhere. I had a teacher at high school who went there for the wilderness. He showed us pictures when he got back from the trip.

The Golden Ring cities are only a few hours from Moscow and are completely different.

Update : I actually did go to the Baikal region, and stayed at the new Courtyard Marriott Irkutsk and visited the lake, along with an trip to Olkhon Island. Its amazing.

I don't have the energy to do a trip report, but if anyone has questions, please feel free to ask.

Update : I actually did go to the Baikal region, and stayed at the new Courtyard Marriott Irkutsk and visited the lake, along with an trip to Olkhon Island. Its amazing.

I don't have the energy to do a trip report, but if anyone has questions, please feel free to ask.

Well done. I'm glad that you did the Irkutsk route....I'm always slightly perplexed why Ulan Ude is sometimes cited as the gateway to Baikal. Admittedly it's a much more Buryatian city, but I'd say Irkutsk is more interesting (unless you're into giant Lenin heads).

I may be the only one, but I do not recommend Irkutsk. There just isn't anything to see and even Lake Baikal is underwhelming as a destination. Of course, if you're a camper/backpacker Baikal and the Altai region, of which Barnaul is the capital, should be high on your list.

Khabarovsk is a very pretty city. I highly recommend stopping there if you do a Trans-Sib. Kazan and Ekaterinburg are also quite nice. A city that's full of energy, though difficult to find a nice hotel room in, is Perm.

Lastly, I know it isn't Russia, but Kiev is a beautiful, cheap, and historically rich city with great accommodations. Just make sure you get a multi-entry Russian visa before you buy your tickets to Ukraine. No visa required for Americans, Canadians and Europeans.

I may be the only one, but I do not recommend Irkutsk. There just isn't anything to see and even Lake Baikal is underwhelming as a destination. Of course, if you're a camper/backpacker Baikal and the Altai region, of which Barnaul is the capital, should be high on your list.

Khabarovsk is a very pretty city. I highly recommend stopping there if you do a Trans-Sib. Kazan and Ekaterinburg are also quite nice. A city that's full of energy, though difficult to find a nice hotel room in, is Perm.

Lastly, I know it isn't Russia, but Kiev is a beautiful, cheap, and historically rich city with great accommodations. Just make sure you get a multi-entry Russian visa before you buy your tickets to Ukraine. No visa required for Americans, Canadians and Europeans.

I respectfully disagree. "Lake Baikal is underwhelming....:confused:" I think you went to the wrong place. The place to visit is Olkhon Island, the baikal railway is kind of lame. Granted its not easy to get there. A lot of people took the transiberian railway, I of course flew, S7 Airlines direct

I kept thinking Baikal would be a great place for a Park Hyatt or Aman Resort! ( alas, its necessary to rough it out). I was able to do that, and I'm happy I did.

I found Irkutsk to be somewhat of a prosperous city. The people took care of themselves, and looked groomed. I've seen poor Russia, Irkutsk ain't it.

Ideas?

Lake Baikal is a sight to see and very fun. Where you go there depends on what you want: Listvyanka has a couple decent hikes and is a Russian resort area. You go there to eat shashlik, drink a beer, and dare your friends to go in the water (it. is. cold.). If you expect that, then you should be OK. I had fun at least. Olkhon island is the nature area, but getting there is time consuming. I haven't been there, but that is what everyone has said.

Tomsk is a nice little city. I've like to go back and visit there too one day, but.. it is a little out of the way.

Now that I've been to Baikal kind of curious to check out Altai.
Seems easy enough. Fly to Novosibrisk, then get on the small plane south.

Anyone been there?

As mentioned already, try the Golden Ring cities if you wish to see one of the oldest Russian architectural masterpieces and more of a real life in Central Russia (though I know you have experienced that in Siberia :-)

Sergiyev Posad
Pereslavl-Zalesskiy
Rostov Velikiy
Yaroslavl
Kostroma
Ivanovo
Gus-Khrustalny
Suzdal
Vladimir
Rybinsk
Uglich
Myshkin
Alexandrov

My top destinations are Suzdal, Vladimir, Yaroslavl and Kostroma, though each deserves a visit, for sure!

Check out the golden ring towns and also Sergiev Possad if you want a short trip from Moscow

If longer, Try Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Baikal region (which is not a boring as folks represented here. I have been Scuba Diving there, Ice Fishing in the middle of January and white water rafting in the summer up there Nizhney Nogorad, or Novgorod between St Pet and Moscow.

South Coast Towns such as Sochi and Krasnodar are worth a visit too

Oh and if you feel adventurous go to Yakustk in Winter.. -48 average! and lowest ever temperature in a populated area recorded 12 miles away from Yakutsk was -71

Now that I've been to Baikal kind of curious to check out Altai.
Seems easy enough. Fly to Novosibrisk, then get on the small plane south.

Anyone been there?

Yes - great place. I've been there 3 or 4 years ago. We didn't fly, but rented a car in Novosibirsk and drove down there - it's takes about six hours by car to reach the foot of the Altai (Gorno-Altaisk). From there, we followed Chuysky Trakt (the main road which will 1-2 hours past Gorno-Altaisk leave the main tourist area and after 3-4 hours the most beautiful sections starts - check out some details on this site: http://www.waytorussia.net/Altay/

I believe that there is now also a direct weekly flight from DME to Gorno-Altaisk on S7, but in case you want to rent a car this might be easier in Novo (not sure though).