“Our trip went really well. Moscow and St. Petersburg were very interesting. We were surprised how much we enjoyed Moscow because others had told us not to expect much compared to St. Petersburg. I thought the Kremlin was fascinating, as was the Novodevichy cemetery. Both guides were very good, but we especially enjoyed Natasha in Moscow. The restaurants in both towns were excellent and very reasonably priced. The Kempinski hotels were both excellent.

The Hermitage was one of the best art museums I have ever visited (and we lived in Paris for 2 years). Catherine’s Palace was remarkable. We didn’t enjoy the Peterhof quite as much as the other sites because the crowds were horrific. Had we gone at a less busy time, it would have been much better. That said, the Peterhof shuts its fountains off in early October, so there aren’t many alternatives to visiting in the busy summer season.”