Travel Notes

Nice Train

Russia’s rail monopoly Russian Railways has launched service from Moscow to Nice, in the South of France. The 53-hour trip to the French Riviera passes through Belarus, Poland, Austria, and several other European countries, leaving Belorussky Train Station every Thursday afternoon. The cost of savoring such a journey ranges from €306-1,200, depending on class. Russian Railways claimed it sold 90 percent of its seats on the maiden journey to Nice, which was a popular resort in tsarist times and is home to the largest Russian Orthodox cathedral outside of Russia.

Novgorod Inn

The global hotel company Rezidor Group has opened a new hotel under its Park Inn brand in Novgorod. The hotel was formerly known as the Beresta Palace Hotel, but was renovated and re-opened with additional restaurant and conference space. The four star hotel has 225 rooms and is one of 25 in the Park Inn chain in Russia and the CIS.

Khakassia Drawings

A petroglyph museum opened in Khakassia to showcase a large stone covered with drawings dating as far back as 2 BC. The stone, located near Malye Arbaty, a village southwest of the regional center of Abakan, has turned into a major tourist attraction, with some visitors leaving handwritten wishes in the cracks of the stone, which damages the drawings, local museum worker Nadezhda Lukonina told Abakan Radio. Tourists will now be led about the site in a more organized fashion, and the stone will be protected from vandalism, she said.

Solovetsky Drama

The northern Solovetsky islands may become increasingly difficult to access if a plan to restrict tourism in the area is enacted, Interfax reported. The governor of Arkhangelsk region has proposed a scheme whereby the islands, the site of an important monastery that is a World Heritage site, would only be open for day visits, and only pilgrims would be allowed to spend the night. The plan, which is supported by the monastery, has local island residents up in arms: most make their living by renting out flats and hotel rooms to summer tourists. The monastery has long argued that tourism has gotten out of control on the island and has restricted passage to Anzer island, which is now only accessible after a blessing from the monastery. But locals living in Solovetsky village accuse the monastery of monopolizing tourism in their interests. (See Russian Life Jan/Feb 2009)

Underground Museum

An underground museum is opening in November under what was formerly Zachatyev Monastery in central Moscow. Archeologists have uncovered an entire former street of the monastery, along with foundations and nuns’ rooms, as well as pottery and other items. The dig lasted seven years, clearing the subterranean space of debris that accumulated through the Soviet period, when most of the monastery’s buildings above ground were razed. Zachatyev Monastery dates from the fourteenth century and was the first nunnery in Moscow. The city is also planning to rebuild some of the monastery’s cathedrals, though it is unclear how much they will resemble the original buildings.