According to the forecast by World Tourist Organization (WTO), in the beginning of the third millennium Russia is among the ten most popular tourist countries of the world on an equal footing with China, USA, France, and Spain.

There are thousands of natural, historical and cultural attractions in Russia, more than 30 nature national parks, almost two thousand museum, 79 museum-parks, 12 objects of cultural and natural value from various regions of Russia are included in the UNESCO List of World Heritage Objects. They are the Moscow Kremlin and Red Square, the historical center of St.Petersburg, the Kizhi Pogost, the historical center and monuments of Velikiy Novgorod, monuments of Vladimir-Suzdal lands and Boris-Gleb Cathedral in Kideksha, the historical ans cultural complex of Solovetsky islands, the architectural ensemble of Trinity-Sergiev Monastery near Moscow, the Ascension Cathedral in Kolomenskoe (Moscow), wild forests of Komi (Pechoro-Ilich nature reserve, Yugid-Va national pars), Baikal lake, volcanoes of Kamchatka, Golden Mountains of Altai.

Tourist accommodation facilities, large network of hotels, motels and camping: 4,2 thousand objects with 373 thousand beds. A lot of well-equipped health-resort objects may serve not only domestic but also foreign clients.

International airports receive foreign guests in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Sochi, Piatigorsk, Vladivostok, Novosibirsk, Orenburg, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Yakutsk, and other cities. The local time of departure and arrival is shown at air and rail tickets.

Security. According to the WTO data Russia is a safe country for tourism. According to the statistics of this organization, in Russia there have been recorded the least number of crimes against tourists.

Moscow and Saint Petersburg. About 80% of foreigners coming to Russia visit only these two capitals.

In Russia province tourists have opportunity to see hundreds of architectural masterpieces of various epoch, thousands of nature miracles. Just here the guests will come into contact with the Russian nation live culture and original traditions. Here they will feel the true Russian hospitality coming from the depths of Russian soul. They can visit a house of a typical Russian family, ride Russian troika or drive dog-sledding along a snow fields, feel a wholesome effect of Russian baths, taste traditional Seliger fish broth, and lots of other amazing things.

Those who like wild nature and adventures will be pleased to get acquainted with the lands of Kamchatka, Altai, Ural, Russian North. Forests and lakes of Karelia, the "Siberia Pearl" Lake - sea Baikal are waiting for them, the same as mysterious underground kingdom of Cave Kungur in Ural, unique and even fantastic character of nature and history of Kuril Islands.

By car / by train. If you set off Moscow in any direction, a kaleidoscope of unforgettable impressions is guaranteed to you. The example is the highway "Moscow - St.Petersburg" that passes through the old Russian towns Tver, Torzhok, Vishniy Volochek, Novgorod, Klin. There you can see many architectural monuments of the Russian Classicism epoch of 17-19 centuries, picturesque peaceful landscapes. You will get the abundance of bright impressions from Russia exotica if you make an absorbing railway trip by comfortable "Eastern Express" from Moscow to Vladivostok. Vladivostok now becomes very fast a big international tourist center. The leading world cruise companies of Asia-Pacific region have already included this city in their routes.

River cruises down Volga, Lena, Yenisei, Kama are traditionally attractive for tourists from various countries. While traveling down these Russian rivers that have a length about a few thousand kilometers foreign guests get acquainted with scores of Russian cities and towns, with Russia's rich nature and culture. The programmes of such routes are constantly expanded. For example, in Uglich-town on the bank of River Volga a new museum of Russian vodka has been founded in addition to some traditional historic object. Stalin's Bunker in Saratov and the first private museum-collection of John Mostoslavskiy in Yaroslavl have won popularity.

Religion. The Constitution of the Russian Federation guarantees freedom of faith. Therefore all the leading world religions - Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism - are represent in Russia. The majority of Russians are Orthodox Christians.

Money. The official monetary unit in Russia is rouble. Paper notes of the value of 10, 50, 100, 500, 1000 rubles and coins of the value of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 1, 5, 10, 50 kopeck are current. There are no limits about the amount of currency taken into the country. You need just to declare it by entry. In shops, restaurants, hotels, etc. you may pay only in rubles, despite that sometimes prices are shown in dollars. To receive payment in dollars is officially forbidden. You can easily exchange currency. It's easy to find an exchange point in large shops and hotels the same as on the streets. But it's better not to use the service by street people. The most widespread currency for exchange in Russia are USA dollar and Deutschmark. The exchange rate of rouble to dollar is approximately 28,0 roubles = $1. It is set by the Central Bank of Russia and usually changes a little bit every day. More and more shops, restaurants, hotels, air-companies, etc appears where you can pay using credit cards. Now in Moscow there are as a minimum a hundred thousand users of Visa International, Eurocard / MasterCard, Diners Club, American Express, and others international payment systems. There are 5,5 thousand points you can pay credit cards in Moscow.

Working time - Shops are usually opened from 8-9 a.m. to 8-10 p.m. There are some night-shops and round-the-clock chops in Moscow and other big cities.

Russian cuisine is renowned for its meat dishes, uha (fish soup), schee (vegetable soup), okroshka (cold vegetable soup), pancakes with sour cream or caviar, pies and others. In Siberia you will taste pelmieni (boiled meet in pastry). The traditional drinks that refresh you and quench your thirst are kvass and cranberry juice, lemon tea. Among old traditional light-alcohol drinks the most well-known is medovukha.

Tips are not required, but if you want to express your high evaluation of service made for you in taxi or restaurant, 5-10% of reward will be perceived with understanding and gratefulness.

National Holidays:

Art and Folk festivals:

Climat.

In Russia you may see all types of climates of the world except tropical. We'd like to advise tourists to consider the following average temperatures depending on the region they've chosen for holidays: