Moscow
Food and drink: try the local Russian Borsch – beetroot soup served hot with sour cream, blini (small) pancakes filled with caviar, fish and melted butter. A meal in a traditional Russian restaurant is about £5 for three courses.
Things to see and do: the Armory inside the Kremlin, home to priceless treasures of all the Tsars. Try to see the inside of an Orthodox Church. Art lovers should visit the Tretyakov Gallery which has the world’s largest collection of Russian art.
Souvenirs: Russian stacking dolls, Matryoshka, are a fun item. Traditional Russian fur hats cost around £10.
Tips: you cannot import or export any Russian currency. Take either US dollars or sterling notes. I took sterling travellers cheques and found them difficult to change.
Sample package: a three-night stay on a bed-and-breakfast basis at the five-star Hotel Metropol costs from £812 with Abercrombie and Kent.
Visa requirements: all visitors need a visa, obtainable from the Russian embassy for £15 (tel: 0171-229 8027). Allow three weeks’ waiting time. Using a visa agency such as Inntel (tel: 0171-937 7207) is another option. Inntel can obtain visas within 48hrs at a cost of £50. City-break operators can obtain visas for an extra cost with about three weeks’ notice.