This year we have a holiday on February 22, 23 and 24, from Saturday to Monday, which means this is a great opportunity to go on a short but interesting trip. Find a list of eight cities, with prices and leisure options, and choose yours!
Across Russia
Voronezh
Photo: DedMityay/Shutterstock.com
The plan is this: we leave Moscow on Friday evening – a convenient and inexpensive train leaves at 21:04 from Paveletsky station, one-way ticket from 1,880 rubles. You will arrive in Voronezh the next morning at 8:30. Accommodation in the city is also inexpensive: in a well-rated hotel near the center you can stay from 1,400 rubles per night, and if you are willing to walk a lot, a hotel on the outskirts will cost even less – from 500 rubles.
Voronezh is not very popular with tourists, and this is strange: there is where to walk and what to see. This is a city with a rich history, there are many museums, memorials and unusual sculptures. Take a photo with everyone: the monument to the kitten from Lizyukova Street, the White Bim Black Ear, the sculpture of the Stranger and the wild boar. You can also sit on the anti-redneck chair.
If you prefer more traditional sights, go to the Assumption and Annunciation Cathedrals and look at the monument to Peter I. And to get involved in art, add the Regional Art Museum named after. I. N. Kramskoy, which houses a unique collection of Egyptian antiquities, as well as Western European and Russian painting of the 18th-20th centuries.
Vyborg
According to OneTwoTrip statistics, St. Petersburg is one of the most popular cities for short trips. No wonder: you can get there quickly and inexpensively from Moscow (a round-trip plane ticket costs from 5,000 rubles). But we are almost sure that you have already been to the city on the Neva – but Vyborg, located next to it, is definitely worthy of your attention. Three days off is just enough!
You can get from St. Petersburg to Vyborg by bus (one-way ticket costs about 300 rubles, the journey is a little less than three hours). There are not too many hotels here, but they are inexpensive: pay from 750 rubles per night.
Vyborg is sometimes called a window to Europe – like Kaliningrad, only much closer to the capitals. The town really does not look like the province we are used to: narrow streets, pointed turrets, discreet but bright buildings. Today Vyborg is a Russian city, but previously it belonged to Sweden and Finland, so the architecture here is appropriate. Spend time walking and exploring the ruins of Swedish bastions and old Finnish castles. Be sure to visit the Vyborg Castle of the 13th century.
Many buildings, unfortunately, today do not look very smart and are clearly in need of restoration – this, by the way, is another reason to come to the city: they say that if there are no funds in the budget, after a while some of the houses will simply collapse. Enjoy them and support the local tourism industry at the same time.
Kaliningrad
There is an excellent morning flight from Moscow: you take off on Saturday at 7:20 and have breakfast in Kaliningrad. A round trip ticket will cost approximately 10,000 rubles. A good hotel near the center can be found for 600 rubles per night.
Königsberg – this is the name Kaliningrad once bore – is perfect for a change of scenery without leaving Russia. It has everything that we love Europe so much for: medieval architecture, tiled roofs, pleasant cafes. There are not too many tourists in the winter city, so you can calmly walk around the forts, go to the Cathedral and view the exhibition of the Kaliningrad Art Gallery. It is also worth visiting the Amber Museum and the Museum of the World Ocean. And if you’re lucky with the weather, you can rent a car and drive to the Curonian Spit – look at the sand dunes and breathe the sea.
Sochi
The most profitable time to travel from Moscow to the southern city is on Saturday afternoon: a direct flight at 15:00, a round-trip ticket costs 11,800 rubles. And if you can extend the weekend a little and return home on Thursday, you can find options from 6,800 rubles. There is a good hotel near the city center from 1,000 rubles per night.
It’s not in vain that we talk about extending your vacation: a couple of days in Sochi and the surrounding area may not be enough. After all, you really want to see everything and go everywhere: in the winter Krasnaya Polyana, and in the Sochi Arboretum, and in the Oceanarium, and to see the Olympic Park. But you can rent a room in one of the sanatoriums (from 1,200 rubles per night), to relax in the spa and swim in the warm pool.
Abroad
Baku
Photo: Photographer RM/Shutterstock.com
The direct flight to Baku leaves Moscow a little after midnight, and for 19,300 rubles and a three-hour journey you find yourself in the capital of Azerbaijan. Hotels in Baku are inexpensive: a room near the center can be booked from 1,500 rubles per night.
Why fly to Baku? Firstly, it’s warm here: the weather at the end of February is about the same as ours in the middle of spring – +10 and sunny. Secondly, Russian citizens do not need a visa. The city will also delight those who miss Tbilisi: there is excellent cuisine, hospitable locals and delicious wine.
Experts have been saying for years that the city is about to become a fashionable destination, because Baku has everything for this: ancient history, oriental flavor and a modern part with skyscrapers (it is sometimes compared to Dubai). Walk through the fortresses, climb the Maiden Tower, explore the Shirvanshahs’ palace and caravanserais, admire the mosques. Bargain for souvenirs at one of the bazaars (local ceramics are a great gift), and then go to a trendy restaurant or bar.
Vilnius
It’s best to fly on Friday – however, you’ll have to take one day off as your vacation, but you’ll spend relatively little on a ticket (from 14,300 rubles for a direct flight). Plus, you will have another almost full day for walking – and the city is worth it. Housing prices start from 2,400 rubles per night. To travel you need a Schengen visa.
Vilnius is a great option for a mini-trip. In a couple of days you can walk around it up and down several times, admire the architecture, see the main attractions and reboot.
Explore the city from Gediminas’ Tower, stroll through the Old Town, climb Castle Hill and walk along Cathedral Square. Half a day is enough for this, and the second can be spent on cute cafes and shops. Another obligatory point of the tourist program is the Church of St. Anne and the unusual district of Užupis – the local Montmartre, where creative personalities live. It even has its own constitution and an army of 12 people.
Budapest
Inexpensive tickets to the capital of Hungary disappear very quickly — the city is popular with travelers. You can fly on Saturday for 14,550 rubles with a short transfer to Helsinki. A hotel in Budapest costs from 2,800 rubles per night.
In two days you will have time to get to know the city and take a walk – here you want to constantly walk, look around and take photographs. In addition, it will not be too cold – around +9. Admire the Parliament Buildings, take the funicular up to Buda Castle and explore the city from Fisherman’s Bastion. Be sure to leave one evening for visiting the famous baths (the most popular are Széchenyi and Gellert), and spend the second on a tour of ruin bars, a unique local specialty. We are sure that you will definitely fall in love with the city and want to return here.
Baden-Baden
Photo: Vivvi Smak/Shutterstock.com
A popular Russian low-cost airline flies here, which means you will have to fly on Friday, February 21 – there are no flights on Saturday. The ticket will cost 15,3650 rubles, the journey takes three and a half hours. Hotel rooms in Baden-Baden cost from 4,400 rubles – not too budget-friendly, but we are talking about hotels in the center of a popular resort town.
You should come here for relaxation: the city has two large thermal complexes – the modern “Caracalla” and the ancient “Friedrichsbad”, which houses Roman-Irish baths. It is not necessary to undergo treatment, you can just have a great time in baths, saunas and swimming pools.
Baden-Baden is a very beautiful town with many cafes and restaurants and a picturesque promenade along the river. You can also go to the casino here – it’s best to take a tour, but if you want, you can also play (most importantly, don’t follow the example of Dostoevsky, who left all his fortune at the gambling table plus his wife’s jewelry).
A convenient site for finding hotels – OneTwoTrip.
