Thread: Moscow or St. Pete?

If you were a tourist and you could only visit one of these cities which one should it be?

St. Pete is the most tourist friendly of them all!

The city itself is a gian museum! It is also approx. 30% cheaper than Moscow!

GO THERE NOW!

Originally Posted by kalinka_vinnie

St. Pete is the most tourist friendly of them all!

The city itself is a gian museum! It is also approx. 30% cheaper than St. Pete!

GO THERE NOW!

+1, even though you mean 30% cheaper than MOSCOW.

I'd advice SPb too. There are a lot of things to see and people are generally more friendly to foreigners than in Moscow.

I think you should visit both, because Moscow is interesting anyway, i am from this town and it is great, I haven't got to go to Pete, since i was just too young when I left the country, and I wish to visit it too, if I ever go to visit Russia. Pete, looks great, but Moscow, is worth visitng anyway no matter what.

I've visited both of them, and SaintP definitly had a bigger impression on me......Moskow is a busy, hectic and dirty place,,,,,,and SaintP is a huge beauty full of culture and art

Really, though, you do realize that it's not unreasonable to do both cities, unless you have the most extreme of money/time limitations. There's an overnight train between the places -- I don't think it costs that much (and besides, consider it a way of avoiding 2 nights of hotel/hostel costs). Go to SPb for a week or whatever, then hit Moscow on a weekend...

sure, why not....if you are in Russia you can just as well see both cities......Though I would rather use all my time to see SaintP instead of Moskow,....and also the great tourist town - Sochi !!!!! What an awesome experience to be there, lying on the beach with a cocktail

I guess it depends on what you want to do. I agree that St. Pete is a very tourist-friendly city. Lots to see as well. That being said, I didn't think it was a real taste of Russia. A lot of people there speak English, and to me the city seemed kind of fake.

If you want a real Russian experience, i'd say hit Moscow. Still plenty to see and do (although it isn't as pretty as St. Pete) - except that Moscow seemed to be a more genuine experience for me, aside from Red Square.

tdk

Originally Posted by RussianHoney18

and also the great tourist town - Sochi !!!!!

Sochi is a dirty place. Too much exhaust of cars... All are rude there. Awful town.

Originally Posted by tdk2fe

I guess it depends on what you want to do. I agree that St. Pete is a very tourist-friendly city. Lots to see as well. That being said, I didn't think it was a real taste of Russia. A lot of people there speak English, and to me the city seemed kind of fake.

You know, a lot of people say that, but that wasn't my experience at all. Maybe it's a summer thing, being the height of the tourist season and all, but I rarely had the *misfortune* of having to speak English to people (and that's not a slight against this language or against Russians who have the skill to practice it, but I was in Russia to learn Russian, dadgummit). For the most part (and that includes TONS of museums where you'd think the English-speaking-ware-hawkers would be) I encountered people who spoke Russian, Russian, and more Russian. I think though, in any event, that you'd find a similar situation in Moscow -- ie I don't think one city would have a disproportinate number of English speakers over the other. I think the only time that would be the case is if you are comparing a Siberian city with Moscow or something (or if you are looking for Finnish speakers, you'd probably find more in SPb). As for fake, eh. It IS tourist friendly as you said -- even in the late Fall there were plenty of gaudy souvenirs to buy. But there's a TON of stuff to do there, that is culturally and historically legitimate. Yes, the Hermitage trys to sell you stuff continually, but that is a small price to pay (certainly compared with the steep admission price ) to see one of the greatest art collections in the world. And besides, Moscow is certainly not a city that escaped Westernization. They have casinos and billboards for stuff EVERYWHERE.

Originally Posted by Оля

Originally Posted by RussianHoney18

and also the great tourist town - Sochi !!!!!

Sochi is a dirty place. Too much exhaust from (not sure about that one - just my guess) cars... Everybody/everyone is (pretty sure about this one) rude there. Awful town.

Originally Posted by Оля

Originally Posted by RussianHoney18

and also the great tourist town - Sochi !!!!!

Sochi is a dirty place. Too much exhaust of cars... All are rude there. Awful town.

Are you kidding me?...Sochi is mountains, sea and trees on every corner, it consists of nature and tourist attracktions ......If you wanna talk about dirt and exhaust, lets remember the big cities in Russia. I've lived in Sochi for 10 years, and only after one night in SaintP that I felt my lungs rot

Sochi is very big. The center of Sochi is very dirty. Service in Sochi is awful.

well, it's too bad that you've had such a bad experience of Sochi------but I love it with all my heart....
но что поделаеш

Действительно, Сочи у меня как-то слабо ассоциируется со словами "грязный город, грубые люди"

Могу только сказать, что ты не была в Алма-Ате, Олечка

но что поделаешь

Originally Posted by Оля

Originally Posted by RussianHoney18

and also the great tourist town - Sochi !!!!!

Sochi is a dirty place. Too much car exhaust... People(or Everybody IS) are rude there. Awful town.

I dont know a Russian yet that prefers Moscow, They all love St Petersburg. they tell me that "mafia is larger and crime is higher in Moscow and its where all the rich pricks live(oil owners)" althought they also tell me you can buy a tank there if you know how to get around (Awesome!)
form what they tell me also
St petersburg is like a cool L.A beautifull, rich in culture and everyone should visit there once care full you may become so distracted you will loose your stuff or get pickpocketed(its like L.A use street smarts!)the many churches there are turning peoples lives around making it continuously safer.

I've never been there at all I 've only seen pictures.

I dont know a Russian yet that prefers Moscow, They all love St Petersburg. they tell me that "mafia is larger and crime is higher in Moscow and its where all the rich pricks live(oil owners)" althought they also tell me you can buy a tank there if you know how to get around (Awesome!)
form what they tell me also
St petersburg is like a cool L.A beautifull, rich in culture and everyone should visit there once care full you may become so distracted you will loose your stuff or get pickpocketed(its like L.A use street smarts!)the many churches there are turning peoples lives around making it continuously safer.

I've never been there at all I 've only seen pictures.

I dont know a Russian yet that prefers Moscow, They all love St Petersburg. they tell me that "mafia is larger and crime is higher in Moscow and its where all the rich pricks live(oil owners)" althought they also tell me you can buy a tank there if you know how to get around (Awesome!)
form what they tell me also
St petersburg is like a cool L.A beautifull, rich in culture and everyone should visit there once care full you may become so distracted you will loose your stuff or get pickpocketed(its like L.A use street smarts!)the many churches there are turning peoples lives around making it continuously safer.

I've never been there at all I 've only seen pictures.