Thread: Самая красивая область в России? (Nicest part of Russia?)

Such a big country and different climates etc!

What's the nicest part of Russia that you have visited and/or lived in; where in Russia would you most like to go on holiday to or live? (excluding where you live now)

Why and what do you like about it? Post a picture too!

I wasn't able to go to Russia this summer as I had hoped (darn work!!) so in the meantime I'd like to find out more in preparation for a great trip sometime in the future...

+If some place in the ex USSR area comes to mind then post about that -- as long as people there can speak Russian...

Regarding architecture, you need to visit St.Peterburg and it's neibourhood, as well as Moscow. "Golden Ring of Russia" cities like Vladimir and Suzdal' also attract tourists, although generally speaking, there are just several old churches and monasteries, that's it.

If you love outdoors and nature, Karelia is good for moderate kayaking expeditions, Altai and Sayan mountains are good for whitewater sports, hiking and montaineering, and Lake Baikal is worth to see (if you will be lucky with weather).

If you're looking for a wilderness, Polar Ural area is great (fishing, hunting; tundra hiking)

Caucasus mountains and the Black See shore are nice, too, but please consider safety.

If you'd like to know a heart of Russia, you need to live for some time in a country side, preferably to the North from Smolensk - Tver' - Nizhny Novgorod line.

If we are talking about nature, the most beautiful place in Russia is the Baikal Lake imho.



If you are more interested in culture stuff I recommed a Golden Ring of Russia trip.



And of course the river cruise from Moscow down to Astrahan will be perfect in both senses.

Originally Posted by Kudesnik

.. and the Black See shore are nice, too, but please consider safety.

This a list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Russia has some nice photos of beautiful places in Russia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Wo ... _in_Russia

Пятигорск


Кисловодск


Минеральные Воды


See more on my imhonet page
http://photo.imhonet.ru/author/luxdefensor/

Very interesting information so far. Thanks for posting pictures!

Becuase its' such a big country it's hard to know what part(s) to see and what is more interesting/beautiful. "Golden Ring" cities and Bajkal Lake are definitely pleases I would like to visit. Пятогорск sounds great. I had not heard of it until now!

I don't even know how much Russian people in general travel domestically..... Whether people in general have been around a lot in the country, or not?

The only trip I've seen mentioned here, is Basil77s trip to Ukraine and Belarus. Nobody has mentioned any trips within Russia or CIS countries.

Oh, and one more thing: What precisely is a "санаториум"? What kind of people go to them? Has anyone been to one?

Санаторий - is the place where people combine medial treatment and recreation
http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%...80%D0%B8%D0%B9
http://kurortkmv.ru/english/index.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyatigorsk

Я домосед и не люблю путешествовать, но все же я успел побывать в Киеве, Ст.-Петербурге, Саратове, Волгограде, Ростове-на-Дону. Ну, и на Черном море, конечно, не раз. А за границей (не считая Киева) не был ни разу. И хотелось бы куда-нибудь съездить, но лень

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=in-fnk0BQxg

Pyatigorsk

The guys are speaking with a "Caucasus" accent.

Haha that's very funny! I got quite a lot of it!!
But is the guy supposed to be a native Russian speaker, or not?
If he is a native speaker, then we have proof that there are accents in Russian! (It's a bit hard for everyone in other countries to understand that there are "no dialects in Russian"......) If his native language is something else, then he's just a person with an accent and the claim still stands..
http://masterrussian.net/mforum/view...hp?f=6&t=19198

Hey, he's just joking. He's imitating the accent. His name is Михаил Галустян and he's a native Russian, he was born in Sochi.

Look at him speaking "normal" Russian.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmwwTx0Txf4
or this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LNivF3N ... re=related (Best at 3:20 and during the next question)

Though there ARE various accents and dialects within Russia. It doesn't need to be proved.

Mikhail Galustyan is a Russian national but not ethnic Russian, he has Armenian roots, as many Armenians live in Sochi area. Obviously, he mimics Caucasus (non-native) accent with a big success.

There are no dialects in Russia (unless you treat Belorussian language as a dialect). There are pronounciation variations among native speakers (notably g - h), and accents among non-native ones.

Еще Пятигорск

There are no dialects in Russia (unless you treat Belorussian language as a dialect).

Скорее даже отдельные языки. Белорусский, украинский, фарси, и т.д. Это же всё Россия (была ).

Вчера залез на Змейку. Оттуда хороший вид на Минводы:

Другие фотки выложу в отдельном треде

Valley of Geysers.
Even though it's the most remote place to visit in Russia, it is considered a world's natural wonder.
It is located on the extreme Far-East of Russia but truly is a place to visit:






Some more photos here:
http://www.tbg-brand.ru/node/85429

Originally Posted by Hanna

I don't even know how much Russian people in general travel domestically..... Whether people in general have been around a lot in the country, or not?

I said to a Russian once that I would like to rent a car and drive all over Russia, because I had done that in America and it's a great way to see a country.
She looked at me like that was the craziest thing she'd ever heard of.

Originally Posted by sperk

Originally Posted by Hanna

I don't even know how much Russian people in general travel domestically..... Whether people in general have been around a lot in the country, or not?

I said to a Russian once that I would like to rent a car and drive all over Russia, because I had done that in America and it's a great way to see a country.
She looked at me like that was the craziest thing she'd ever heard of.

Well, in Siberia you can drive 1000 km with no gas and repair stations at all, no hotels and only trees for company.
While it is a great way to travel in the European part of Russia (what I frequently do) but still it gets very tiresome if you don't have a spare driver. Besides, the roads in Russia have two states -- 'barely passable' and 'please, go look for a tractor to pull me out'.

thx for the info.

Originally Posted by Ramil

Originally Posted by sperk

...

Well, in Siberia you can drive 1000 km with no gas and repair stations at all, no hotels and only trees for company. While it is a great way to travel in the European part of Russia (what I frequently do) but still it gets very tiresome if you don't have a spare driver. Besides, the roads in Russia have two states -- 'barely passable' and 'please, go look for a tractor to pull me out'.

Well the vastness of Russia is one of the things that makes it so impressive! If there were 5 lane motorways everywhere, and a motel or a rest stop every 10 kilometers... then it would be something like the USA, Germany or the UK.... Very soul-less way of travelling, in my opinion at least. Perhaps something in between is the most practical.

But Russia has a good railway network, wouldn't you say? I am a fan of railways! It's cool to think that you can travel day after day and still be in the same country, with the same language being spoken, (in the same way!)

Seems that most reasonably large Russian cities are on the rail network (??). As long as the trains arrive reasonably on time and you actually get a seat, it would be better than England at least.... !

In case anyone didn't know; in large parts of Europe, travelling on the Transsiberian railway is something that lots of people really want to do.



Loved the pictures of the hot springs!!!