By Varia Makagonova
Russia Travel Expert, about.com
So you've decided to celebrate New Year's Eve in Russia - excellent choice! For many Russian people, New Year's is the most important holiday of all the winter festivities and the celebrations are some of the biggest and best in the world. But where is the best place to welcome the New Year? The huge, crazy metropolis capital city of Moscow? Or the slightly quieter, beautiful, northern St. Petersburg? Both have fantastic New Year's celebrations. To help you decide, here are the pros and cons of both:
The Weather[post_ads_2]
Both
cities are going to be COLD on New Year's Eve - as you may be aware,
Russian winters are notoriously harsh! However, while you will need to
bring your warmest coat to Moscow, you might want to bring two, and lots
of layers, to St. Petersburg. Winter temperatures of -30 degrees
Celsius (- 22 Fahrenheit) are normal in St. Petersburg, and 2011 saw the
coldest New Year's night in 1000 years! Also, at this time of year, St.
Petersburg experiences polar nights - almost 24-hour darkness.
Moscow has short days, but you will still see
daylight on New Year's Day - something to keep in mind, especially if
you are expecting to be jet-lagged!
The Big City Square Celebration[post_ads_2]
In
St. Petersburg's Dvortsovaya Square (right outside the Hermitage), you
can experience a big crowd of people watching the President's address on
a big screen, fireworks, champagne and a huge celebration. Then, when
you finally manage to get out of there, you can wander along the banks
of the river Neva or walk down Nevsky Prospect to see if you can find a
bar in which to warm up! (I'm pretty sure you will). Or you can go to the Strelka on Vasilyevski Island to watch the fireworks, then walk into the city afterwards to see the celebrations.
In Moscow's Red Square, the celebration
is much more epic. In fact, I would say the crowd - and the party - is
of Times Square proportions. On the one hand, the atmosphere you will
experience at Red Square is unparalleled. On the other hand, it's going
to be really, insanely, crowded - so avoid it if you don't deal well
with huge crowds of people, because they're not all going to be polite
(since most will be rather inebriated at this point).
Bars & Clubs[post_ads_2]
In
both Moscow and St. Petersburg, the eating and drinking establishments
are going to be packed. If you want to go for dinner on New Year's Eve
in St. Petersburg, book a restaurant well in advance… and if you want to
go in Moscow, book EXTREMELY well in advance, especially if you want to
go for dinner somewhere central. Also, know that in both cities the metro
will be extremely crowded on New Year's Eve - although it will
undoubtedly still be better to take the Metro than to brave the traffic
in a taxi!
With regards to parties, Moscow will, again, be more
crowded. If you want to attend a club party in Moscow, there is almost
no chance that you will find tickets still available at the door (in St.
Petersburg, you have a small chance.) Moscow clubs will have gigantic,
lavish, and extravagant (and expensive!) club parties, whereas St.
Petersburg parties will tend to be smaller and more intimate (they have a
few huge clubs but less than Moscow). It may also be easier to find a
bar with some space left in St. Petersburg than in Moscow!!
