St. Petersburg
Russia's most elegant and graceful city. 300 years ago, Peter the Great chose this site at the head of the Gulf of Finland for his namesake imperial city and "window on the West". Filled with museums, public monuments, and princely palaces, this is where Pavlova danced, Pushkin dueled, and revolutionaries plotted. In 1764 Catherine the Great founded in St. Petersburg one of the world's great art collections—the Hermitage.

Eliseev Palace Hotel
59 Naberezhnaya Reki Moiki (Moika River Embankment)
St. Petersburg, Russia
T: +7 812 324 9922. 29 rooms. US$ 345-
www.eliseevpalacehotel.com
Once the mansion of a powerful czarist-era merchant family, it is now an elegant old-world club hotel (it houses the Taleon Club & casino). Each guestroom is individually styled; ask for a room with river views.

Siberia
Is Sibera romantic? Well, we confess a soft spot for places located at the ends of the world, especially those with dark, deep lakes, raging weather that makes you feel fully alive, and inhabited by Buddhists and shamans.

Usa'ba
Baikal Island, Siberia
nikita@olkhon@waytorussia.net. US$ 30-
Nikita Bencharov's guesthouse is the nicest one on Baikal Island, the world's deepest and largest freshwater lake.