Saint Petersburg vs Moscow: What are the Main Differences?

Russia’s biggest two cities have a lot to offer. Saint Petersburg is the artist-driven cultural city of Russia, with a lot of gardens and museums. It is well known for art and culture. Saint Petersburg has about 9 million inhabitants. It offers a lot of nice places to visit; many islands, canals and a beautiful city centre. On the contrary, Moscow is known as a money driven city that is famous for work and more typical Russian architecture. It is more lively, with crowded streets and traffic. If you use the metro in rush hour it is really hard to keep your own personal space! Moscow is also over 600 years older than Saint Petersburg. So what are then the main differences between Moscow and Saint Petersburg?

Saint Petersburg

This beautiful and artsy city is located in the north west of Russia, in the bay of the River Neva. The city was founded by “Peter the Great” in the year of 1703. Saint Petersburg has changed its name three times: From 1914-1924 it was called Petrograd and then Leningrad until 1991. In the historic city centre there are more than 2300 palaces so it has also been nicknamed the “Venice of the North”.

Moscow

The capital of Russia is also the political, economic and scientific centre of the country. It is also the largest city in the whole European continent and one of the most expensive cities in the world. Moscow is the coldest and northernmost megacity on Earth. The city is known for its architecture, especially the typically Russian, historical buildings such as “Saint Basil’s Cathedral”. The most famous in Moscow are the Kremlin, Red Square and the metro stations. If you love the vibrancy and buzz of a big city, Moscow is the place for you.

As for my self, I have stayed in both of these cities for at least a month and I must say that I prefer Saint Petersburg. The difference between these cities is enormous. The influence of art and the student-lifestyle is much more pronounced in St Petersburg than in a megacity like Moscow.

I would tell anyone that has the chance to visit these two cities, that it’s certainly worth the trip. You’ll get to enjoy Russia in two completely different ways. Moscow, on the one hand, is very active and busy, all day and all night. It has a lot of nightclubs and places to go 24/7. On the other hand, Saint Petersburg is more laid back and has an artistic feel to it. As well as having had a lot of influence in Europe.

Have you been to either of these cities?

If you could choose one, which would you prefer?

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Posted by Russian Courses