Russia
The world's largest country – all 17 million sq km of it! – is an amazing place to visit, particularly now as its economic and political resurgence has displaced memories of Soviet stagnation and post-Soviet crash and burn. In Moscow and St Petersburg, in cities and towns all the way down to Astrakhan on the Caspian Sea, contemporary sights and pleasures stand side by side with ancient traditions and cultural treasures. In parts of the countryside, it's as if time has stood still with beautiful landscapes, walled monasteries, wide lakes and lazy rivers, and everywhere, clusters of glistering onion domes.