St. Petersburg or Moscow...If you had to choose ONLY one

[Iamthesea]

If you have previously visited both St. Petersburg and Moscow, and had to choose ONLY one to go back to for a full day visit, which would you choose and why one over another? Please also vote. Thank you! :)

Edited November 24, 2013 by Iamthesea

[obriendan]

If you have previously visited both St. Petersburg and Moscow, and had to choose ONLY one to go back to for a full day visit, which would you choose and why one over another? Please also vote. Thank you! :)

 

Undoubtedly St. Petersburg! The Hermitage, Catherine's Palace, Peterhof, etc., etc. give it the edge, perhapds only slightly over Red Square, and the Kremlin. How do you vote?

 

Oopd! Didn't see the boxes before I scrolled down. I did vote.

 

 

 

Dan

Edited November 24, 2013 by obriendan

[scubacruiserx2]

We have been to both and St. Petersburg has more to see and do. You can see a lot in the 8 hour travel time needed to go to Moscow and 2 days in St. Pete cost less than 1 day in Moscow

[TLCOhio]

If you have previously visited both St. Petersburg and Moscow, and had to choose ONLY one to go back to for a full day visit, which would you choose and why one over another? Please also vote. Thank you!

 

With all due respect, this "poll" is a bit of a "false choice"!! Sorry to be so blunt in my opinion. Before making your cruise booking, you need to consider AHEAD your priorities, budget, personal interests and needs. Clearly, if sailing in the Baltics, St. Petersburg is and will be THE "super star" with so much wonderful history, charm, architecture, arts/culture, etc. During our 2008 cruise, we did BOTH!! One day in Moscow and two days via a wonderful private tour of the key locations in and nearby to St. Petersburg. It worked perfectly and seeing both allowed a nice, interesting contrast between these two cities with great tradition and history as Russian Capitals. Our cruise had three days in St. Petersburg, making a hugely positive difference and allow such flexibility. Don't even think about booking a cruise that only allows one day in St. Petersburg. Wrong! Bad with that narrow of a one-day schedule in Russia. Two days only? Hard to do both Moscow and St. Petersburg over only two days, hoping and wishing to do it ALL justice. If we only had two days in StP, we would probably as first-timers just stick there.

 

Think and plan ahead. Below are just a few of my photo samples as "evidence" for why both great cities are worth seeing, experiencing and comparing. How often do you get to Russia?

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 125,642 views.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

 

 

Here are some of the fountains and water at the spectacular Peterhof outside of St. Petersburg. The greatest technological achievement of Peterhof is that all of the fountains operate without the use of pumps. Water is supplied from natural springs and collects in reservoirs in the Upper Gardens. This elevation difference creates the pressure driving most of the fountains for the Lower Gardens, including the Grand Cascade.: : [/b]

 

 

 

As we entered Catherine's Palace in St. Petersburg, here was the welcoming band. This Rococo summer residence of the Russian Czars is located in the town of Pushkin, 15 miles SE of St. Petersburg. The residence originated in 1717, when Catherine I engaged a German architect to construct a summer palace for her pleasure. In 1752, Empress Anna found her mother's residence outdated and had her court architect demolish the old structure and replace it with a much grander edifice in a flamboyant Rococo style. Construction lasted for four years and in 1756 the new 325-meter-long palace amazed courtiers, foreign ambassadors and other visitors. During Elizabeth's lifetime, the palace was famed for its lavish exterior, including more than 100 kilograms of gold used to gild the sophisticated stucco façade and numerous statues erected on the roof.:

 

 

 

At St. Petersburg’s Hermitage, here is just one of the many, many great galleries with so many different and great architecture details, soaring ceilings, dramatic floors, etc., in areas where the Czars entertained and impressed other Royals and nobility. Even without the art items, these five palaces are so spectacular! This room is adorned with 19th-century Russian lapidary works and feature Italian and Spanish canvases of the 16th-18th centuries, including Veronese, Tintoretto, Velázquez and Murillo.:

 

 

 

Walking on the famed Red Square of Moscow. This square separates the Kremlin, as the former royal citadel and the current official residence for Russia's President, from a historic merchant quarter. Red Square is often considered the central square of Moscow and all of Russia, because Moscow's major streets originate from here. The name Red Square comes neither from the color of the bricks nor from the link between the color red and communism. The name came about because of a Russian word that can mean either "red" or "beautiful". This word, per Wikipedia, has the meaning "beautiful", was originally applied to Saint Basil's Cathedral. Then, later, the meaning was transferred to the nearby square. It is believed that the square acquired its current name in the 17th century. Red Square was the leading stage and trade center for Moscow. Ivan the Great decreed that trade should only be conducted from person to person, but later these rules were relaxed and permanent market buildings began appearing on the square. After a fire in 1547, Ivan the Terrible reorganized the lines of wooden shops on the Eastern side into market lines and part of that transitioned into what is now GUM department store that adjoins this famed square.:

 

 

 

This is the interior for Moscow's most historic church, Assumption Cathedral or the Cathedral of the Dormition, inside the Kremlin walls. It is the mother church of Muscovite Russia. The church stands on Cathedral Square and was built in 1475–1479 by the Italian architect Aristotele Fioravanti. It was erected on the spot of an older 14th century cathedral of the same name:

 

 

 

Here is a small sampling of the Kremlin Royal Treasures of the Czars: Eggs & Jewels inside the famed State Armoury in Moscow. One of the oldest museums in Moscow, it was established in 1808 and located within the Kremlin Walls. It originated as the royal arsenal in 1508 during when it was in charge of producing, purchasing and storing weapons, jewelry and various household articles of the Tsars. There are ten Fabergé eggs in the Armoury collection (all Imperial eggs). This is the most Imperial eggs, and the second-most overall Fabergé eggs, owned by a single owner. The Trans-Siberian Railway Egg is a jeweled Easter egg made under the supervision of the Russian jeweler Peter Carl Fabergé in 1900 for Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. It was presented by Nicolas II as an Easter gift to his wife. The exterior of the 1900 Trans-Siberian Railway egg is made of onyx, silver, gold, and quartz, and is decorated with colored vitreous enamel. The lid of the egg is hinged, has an overlay of green enamel, and is decorated with inlaid leaves of acanthus. On top of the lid is a golden three-headed eagle in gold with the Imperial Crown. The interior is lined with velvet. A route map of the Trans-Siberian Railway is engraved in silver across the face, with major stations marked by a precious stone, forming a belt around the egg. The egg is supported by three griffins made of gold-plated silver on a stepped triangular base of white onyx.:

 

[Iamthesea]

Thank you all! Sounds like we are sticking to SPB.

 

TLC - We have 2 days in Russia on our Celebrity cruise. We had been thinking of doing Day 1 in SPB and then taking the ship's excursion to Moscow on Day 2. That's why I asked which city was more worth seeing. Sounds like the consensus is SPB and 2 days is needed. ;) Budget was no object, but we wanted our time there well spent in Russia. The chances of ever going back to Russia are probably nill unless we are blown away with it.

 

PS - I try not to ever look at photos of places I am traveling to (and never been before) because I like to be surprised when seeing them for the first time. :D Therefore, I flew past your photos to post this reply. Sorry. ;)

[TLCOhio]

Thank you all! Sounds like we are sticking to SPB. TLC - We have 2 days in Russia on our Celebrity cruise. We had been thinking of doing Day 1 in SPB and then taking the ship's excursion to Moscow on Day 2. That's why I asked which city was more worth seeing. Sounds like the consensus is SPB and 2 days is needed. ;) Budget was no object, but we wanted our time there well spent in Russia. The chances of ever going back to Russia are probably nill unless we are blown away with it.

PS - I try not to ever look at photos of places I am traveling to (and never been before) because I like to be surprised when seeing them for the first time. :D Therefore, I flew past your photos to post this reply. Sorry. ;)

 

Appreciate your follow-up and added information. Understand the challenge with only two days there in St. Petersburg. If I was in your situation, I would probably make the same decision. Fortunately we had three days there in St. P. and knew about doing the one-day Moscow choice. On preview visuals, YES, there are pro/con factors in being surprised versus knowing more in advance for considering your many options there. Good luck!!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Celebrity Solstice Visual Highlights? From our June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in France, Italy, Kotor and Dubrovnik, I have pull together a number of wonderful visuals of the Solstice, its features, food, entertainment, options, etc. We are now at 12,775 views for this shorter version of my larger full review of that cruise and all of the port pictures/details. Check these postings and added info at:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1803477

[swoonx]

St. Petersburg and Moscow are both great cities. You need for both more than one day. Actually you will need more than two days.

 

So if you cruise to St. Petersburg, you should stay there. You would lose too much time by driving to Moscow (>8 hours).

 

But come back one day and visit Moscow. It's worth it.