Tourism in Russia

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Tourist highlights of Russia
Peter's summer residence, Peterhof Palace , the Russian Versailles : Large cascade, with the Gulf of Finland in the background
During the night in St. Petersburg between 2 and 5 a.m. the Neva bridges are opened, after which there is no longer any connection between numerous parts of the city. During the White Nights from the end of June to mid-July, the passage of the ship convoys is a spectacle that thousands of people watch despite the sleep time.
The spit of Nizhny Novgorod, known as the merger of the Oka and Volga . On the spit is the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and Mass . On the other bank of the Oka is a Church of the Nativity .
The island of Kizhi is an island in Lake Onega in Russia. Its ensemble of churches made of wood, called the Kizhi Open-Air Museum, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990. It currently comprises about 80 buildings of Karelian timber architecture.
The Solovetsky Monastery is one of the most important centers of Orthodox Christianity in northern Russia. In its long history, the monastery, located on the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea , experienced numerous sieges and epochs.
Express train of the Transsib somewhere between Omsk and Novosibirsk .
Fireworks during the Graduation Festival Scarlet Sails on June 20th. It is considered the main event and highlight of the White Nights . With the support of the state, the city and television, the festival has developed into a major event on the scale of the Love Parade.
The Altai region enables an active holiday in almost untouched nature. Are u. a. Multi-day walking and horse tours, fishing, hunting, rafting, paragliding, etc. In 2008 more than 1 million people from over 60 countries visited the Altai region.
The "Golden" Ring ("Golden" because of the golden domes) of old Russian cities northeast of Moscow is one of the most famous travel destinations in Russia. Hardly a longer study trip to Russia can do without at least one trip to the Golden Ring. The ring gives visitors an insight into the history of the creation of Russia, which was significantly shaped from here.
Since the UNESCO added the Baikal region to the world cultural heritage in 1996, the interest of tourists in Lake Baikal has grown. Lake Baikal, also called “The Pearl of Siberia”, is just as interesting for adventure vacationers as it is for divers, mountain hikers, cyclists or those looking for relaxation. The Great Baikal Trail organization is trying to promote ecotourism by building a hiking trail around Lake Baikal. The picture shows the Frolikha Adventure Coastline Track .
The Stavropol region in the North Caucasus has partially muster due to its wealth of mineral and thermal springs several russia widely known resorts with many, from the 19th-century spa buildings.
The Black Sea coast in Sochi

Russia is one of the most important tourist destinations in the world, with 28 million foreigners traveling to the country in 2013. Significant attractions are the 24 Russian UNESCO World Heritage Sites , the varied nature and cities such as Moscow , Saint Petersburg , Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan . In the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017 of the World Economic Forum, Russia ranks 43rd out of 136 countries.

Nevertheless, Russia is still not one of the classic travel destinations in Western Europe. Individual tourists in particular are often deterred by the difficulties associated with visiting this country (e.g. bureaucratic obstacles to obtaining a visa , overpriced accommodation, language problems). Lately the Russian side has been trying to make individual trips easier. In 2001, 21.2 million foreign guests poured around 7.5 billion US dollars into Russia. Between 1995 and 2011, tourism in Russia grew by 27 percent. The largest group among foreign guests in 2011 were tourists from Germany , followed by travelers from China and the USA . Tourism accounts for three percent of Russia's GDP .

The Baikal lake

However, some cities and areas were already very popular with tour groups during the times of the Soviet Union. This has not changed until today:

Destinations

Moscow

City tour in Moscow

Moscow , the largest and most important city in the country, is usually the starting point for further trips. Sights here include the Kremlin , the old town around Red Square with the Lenin Mausoleum and Manege Square , the Arbat shopping street , the GUM department store , the Bolshoi Theater , St. Basil's Cathedral , the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and numerous museums. The metro is also a sight because of its decoration with chandeliers and stone sculptures .

St. Petersburg

The old tsarist city of Saint Petersburg with its old palaces, museums and canals is a frequent destination for cruises on the Baltic Sea . The renovated old town, the Hermitage , St. Isaac's Cathedral , the Peter and Paul Fortress , the White Nights , Peterhof Palace and various theaters and museums are particularly worth seeing .

Nizhny Novgorod

The capital of the Volga region, Nizhny Novgorod, is the center of a river cruise along the Volga and the so-called "younger brother" of Moscow. Here are the Old Kremlin , the famous Fair (where you can find the Main Museum, the Transfiguration Cathedral and the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral ), Nizhny Novgorod Arbat ( Bolshaya Pokrovskaya Street ), Roshdestvenskaya Street and the Church of the Nativity , the Volga - Cable car and a large number of theaters, museums and other attractions. Here is Gorkier Automobile Plant - the largest Russian automobile plant.

Kaliningrad region

After the area opened in the early 1990s, the former Königsberg and its surroundings were the main destination of homesick tourists from Germany. In the meantime, however, more and more domestic tourists are coming here. Homesick tourism has largely died down.

Altai (Altai Mountains)

The Altai is a high mountain range surrounded by steppes in the west and deserts in the east. It is located in western Siberia on the four-country corner between Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan. The destination area, which is well developed for tourism, offers a wide range of recreational opportunities: from sports tourism (rafting, climbing, and mountain hiking) to local recreational tourism.

The Altai region was legally declared one of the four game zones in Russia in December 2006. From 2009, according to the new regulation, arcades and casinos may only be opened and operated here in accordance with strict requirements.

Baikal lake

The Baikal is heavily developed and has already in Soviet times visited by foreign tourists. In addition to boat tours and a visit to the hot springs, long-distance hikes in nature are among the possibilities. Well-known hiking trails include the 1,800 km long Great Baikal Trail around the lake and the Frolikha Adventure Coastline Track . Starting points for a tour to Lake Baikal are the city of Irkutsk, about 50 km west of the lake, and the village of Listvyanka .

Black Sea

The main travel destination of the Soviet Union in this area, besides the Crimea , was always Sochi , which has its very own climate. There are also some seaside resorts on the coast of the Black Sea in Russia, e.g. B. Tuapse and Anapa . The Black Sea is called Tschornoe More ( Чёрное море ) in Russian .

Golden ring

The name Golden Ring is used to designate a group of very old cities in the vicinity of the capital Moscow with interesting old towns, cathedrals and monasteries.

Kamchatka

The Kamchatka Peninsula in the northeast of Russia offers trekking tourists many nature parks with active volcanoes , hot springs, geysers , crystal clear lakes and impressive nature. Some areas can only be reached by helicopter .

Trans-Siberian Railway

For the Trans-Siberian Railway there are both package deals in the form of rail cruises in luxury trains as well as offers for backpacking tours in regular trains. Sights along the route are various cities such as Nizhny Novgorod , Yekaterinburg , Irkutsk , Ulan-Ude , Khabarovsk or the end point Vladivostok as well as the Siberian landscape (especially Lake Baikal ).

River cruises

River cruises on the Volga , Ob , Lena or Yenisei are enjoying increasing popularity. These trips are mostly organized by Western European travel agencies. The ships also have Western European equipment.

Entry requirements

The passport and the temporary passport are accepted as travel documents for entry into Russia (valid for six months). Child entries in a parent's passport are no longer valid as of June 26, 2012. Every child needs their own children's passport, from 12 years with a photo.

For German, Austrian and Swiss citizens, entry into Russia is only possible with a valid visa. The validity of the visa is based on the entry and exit dates stated in the visa application. For applicants with German citizenship, the passport must be valid for at least three months at the time of departure stated in the application, otherwise six months (for other citizenships ). The visa must be applied for before the start of the journey, there is no so-called visa on arrival (visa on arrival) when entering Russia.

To apply, German travelers need a passport, a signed visa application and a passport photo (3 × 4 cm) stuck into the application form, proof of the existence of health insurance abroad and a guarantee of willingness to return (proof of salary, home ownership, bank statement, etc.). Further documents can be requested from the consulate. Since January 8, 2013, only electronically completed visa applications are processed after they have been printed out and signed by the applicant. For a transition period from November 2012 to January 7, 2013, both the conventional A4 forms from the consulates and printouts of electronic visa applications were accepted. The visa can be applied for in person at the consulate, in the office of Visahandling Service GmbH, through a visa service provider or a trusted person. If you are staying for more than a week, you have to register with the migration authority or the hotel within the first seven working days. Registration can also be carried out at post offices, but not at all. Swiss Post carries out an identification and forwards the completed registration form to the migration authority. The receipt of the registration at the migration authority counts for the 7 working days period. The delivery time must therefore be taken into account.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Archived copy ( Memento of the original dated November 27, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.russiatourism.ru
  2. ^ The Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2018 .
  3. ^ Rosstat statistics 1995-2003
  4. Rosstat statistics 2010–2011
  5. Archived copy ( Memento of the original dated August 4, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.gks.ru