Tallinn, Helsinki, Moscow, St Petersburg

[katieh]

Any recs for the above cities? We're going in three weeks and are set on the obvious major attractions, but it you know of any lesser-know museums, things to do, attractions, etc or if you just have any tips for getting around, I'd love to hear them!

We're also still looking for more restaurant recommendations (both local cuisine and international, from quick and casual to places suited for a fancy night out).

[frlcb]

We stayed at the Merchant House Hotel in Tallinn and really liked it. I have been to the other 3 but it has been so long I will leave reviews to other people Are you on a cruise or going to each city on your own?

[anna7602]

I thought St. Petersburg was very walkable. My favorite restaurant there was The Idiot. But I also found a lot of great blini spots and excellent Georgian food in the city. If you haven't had Georgian cuisine before, definitely seek it out. I wish I could remember the name of one particular restaurant that I really enjoyed in St. Petersburg, but you'll also see quite a few Georgian restaurants in Moscow. Regarding Russian cuisine, don't leave without trying pickled garlic. They serve it at The Idiot. Mmmmm. I also developed a great fondness for pelmenis.

If you're inclinations are literary at all, I found the Bulgakov house/museum in Moscow to be interesting, and also visited his grave in Novodevichy Cemetery (where many other illustrious Russians are buried). I also followed the trail of Raskolnikov in St. Petersburg, since I had just read Crime & Punishment about a week before landing in Russia.

Also in St. Petersburg, I found the bookstore housed in the Singer building on the main drag to be very interesting. They had a decent collection of foreign language books (especially Portuguese language, for whatever reason), but the space itself is also worth seeing.

I was sad that the re-enactment of Rasputin's murder at the Yusupov palace was in Russian when I was there since my Russian is not so good. But look into whether there's now an English version going on.

[katieh]

Thank you all for the info and advice! This is just the type of info I was looking for.

frlcb - We are doing it all on our own. We have two days in Tallinn, 4 in Moscow, 5 in St. Petersburg and 2 in Helsinki. It's going to be so cold, but I'm still very excited!