The Village Guide to Mother Russia Tourist tips and a guide to World Cup’s 11 host-cities.
The final stage of the 21st FIFA World Cup will be held in Russia from June 14th to July 15. This is the first mundial hosted in Russia and Eastern Europe. The Cup will take place at 12 venues in 11 Russian cities. Apart from Moscow and St. Petersburg football fans will visit Kaliningrad, Kazan, Samara, Ekaterinburg, Sochi, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod, and Saransk. Some of the cities have never hosted an event of this scale, so the welcome party might be a little unpredictable.
The Village has created a comprehensive guide to World Cup’s cities in English and Russian and collected the tips on housing, transportation, avoiding fraud, street fights, and police issues.
Moscow
Explore Stalin-era skyscrapers, noisy parks, craft-spirit bars and ancient monasteries — all found in the Russian capital
Moscow is the heart of Russia. Explore where to go and what to watch, except the Kremlin and the Red Square.
DOWNLOAD offline route around Moscow for MAPS.ME
Saint Petersburg
Palaces, islands, cathedrals, bar-hopping areas and bridges — in Russia’s northern capital.
St. Petersburg is the furthest northern million-plus city in the world and a city proud of its cultural and architectural heritage.
DOWNLOAD offline route around St. Petersburg for MAPS.ME
Sochi
A Russian resort with the recent Olympic past
Stretching over an area of 146 km along the Northeastern coast of the Black Sea, Sochi is one of the world’s longest cities, second only to Mexico.
DOWNLOAD offline route around Sochi for MAPS.ME
Yekaterinburg
The industrial capital with a rich cultural background
Yekaterinburg (sometimes alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg) is the home city of Russian Federation’s first President, Boris Yeltsin, and an important industrial center.
DOWNLOAD offline route around Yekaterinburg for MAPS.ME
Kazan
A city with a thousand year history, incredible national character, eastern flavor and top bars
Kazan combines multiple cultures — Russian, Muslim and Asian. It's a port and a popular tourist spot at the same time. You can walk the historic center that has most of the city landmarks in half a day.
DOWNLOAD offline route around Kazan for MAPS.ME
Volgograd
Express trams, wide avenues, and tragic memory of the past
Volgograd was called Tsaritsyn in the imperial times and then Stalingrad before the Thaw period. This city is significant for Russian people as the site of the pivotal battle of World War II with in a total toll of about one million on both sides.
DOWNLOAD offline route around Volgograd for MAPS.ME
Samara
The hedonistic capital of Russia
Despite its temperate climate, Samara is a self-proclaimed resort. The city stretches along the Volga bank and wisely occupies every centimeter of the coastline.
DOWNLOAD offline route around Samara for MAPS.ME
Rostov-on-Don
The Southern Capital of Russia: wines, Russian fish soup (ukha), crawfish and Cossacks
The Southern Russian city with a million-plus population, Rostov is the native soil for the Don Cossacks and the brutal Russian hip-hop music.
DOWNLOAD offline route around Rostov-on-Don for MAPS.ME
Saransk
The cozy capital city of Mordovia
Saransk is one of the smallest cities in Russia hosting the FIFA World Cup: there are just over 300,000 people living here.
DOWNLOAD offline route around Saransk for MAPS.ME
Foreigners vocabulary
Basic expressions, useful for travelling across Russia
Russian language is admittedly a difficult language, but for everyday communication focus on a few important words and basic phrases. Especially since few people speak English in the Russian regions.
Things to Bring back
Apart from clichéd caviar and vodka
Balalaikas, Russian dolls, vodka, and caviar are not bad per se, however, you can bring something more interesting from Russia, like clothes with Cyrillic prints, local gastronomic treats and other heartwarming trifles. Read on our guide and find out where to get some offbeat Russian clothing brands, pins, and other cool souvenirs.
DOWNLOAD offline route around Moscow's souvenirs for MAPS.ME
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