I have never been, but I heard,from friends that went,that St Petersburg is beautiful. I would suggest going in the warmer months though, unless you are hardcore and love below zero F temperatures

The most often traveled and I think the most beautiful cities in Russia are the two capitals - Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Moscow is the current capital of Russia, vibrant and at the same time tranquil, an exaggerated version of everything you can get in Russia, as if conforming the quality of Russian character to push everything to extreme.

St. Petersburg is a beautiful city of channels and impressive architecture, is completely untypical Russian city. Being the closest Russian city to Europe St.Petersburg expresses everything European Russia has to offer, but in a unique and a strange way mixing with old traditions. Here you can see a lot of sights. Most popular of them are: St. Isaac’s Cathedral, Letnyi Sad also know as Summer Gardens, Peterhof Palace, Dvortsovaia Ploshchad’ otherwise know as the Palace Square, Edmond J Safra Grand Choral Synagogue e.t.c

If to be more original, there are other cities, woth to mention, for example Sochi, Ivanovo (The city of brides), Kaliningrad, Novgorod, Yekaterinburg, Volgograd and so on.

The most often traveled destinations in Russia are Moscow and St. Petersburg, the two great and very different cities.
Moscow is the capital of Russia, vibrant and at the same time tranquil, an exaggerated version of everything you can get in Russia, as if conforming the quality of Russian character to push everything to extreme.
St. Petersburg is a beautiful city of channels and impressive architecture, is completely untypical Russian city. Being the closest Russian city to Europe St.Petersburg expresses everything European Russia has to offer, but in a unique and a strange way mixing with old traditions.
For those, who want to escape the busy life of the big cities, there are many small towns around Moscow (Sergiev Posad, Kolomna, Tver, Tula) and around St Petersburg (Petrodvorets, Pushkin, Zelenogorsk, Vyborg), which can give you the 'taste' of provincial life.
The best time to visit the both cities is, perhaps, May, June, September, Januar and February. In May and June there are many things happening in both cities: carnivals, exhibitions, concerts, and other special events. Besides, people are happy that the colds and snows are gone and prepare to enjoy short four months of heat. In the end of June - beginning of July St. Petersburg becomes a really special place: there's daylight all day long. This period is called "White Nights" and is definitely worth seeing. In September, many people have just
St Petersburg in autumn / photo by Celina Smith
came back from the holidays and are relaxed and in a good mood. It means more parties and more people outside. Also, autumn is one of the most beautiful periods in Russia: yellowish and red trees, sunny weather, cool winds and the mood of change. People want to have as much fun as possible outside, before the colds start.
January and February are good because there's much snow, and the city looks magic. Both cities are covered with snow and look very beautiful, like in a fairytale. City dwellers are sitting in clubs, sipping 'hot' drinks, talking and listening to music. To me, Moscow is the most interesting and beautiful in that period.