World Travels

Last updated: Jan 15, 2022

I lived in Russia (1988-94), the UK (1994-2006), and the US (2006-2016). I repatriated to Russia in 2016 and have been based in Moscow ever since. Apart from my travel reports, which are linked below, you can also peruse my national comparisons (2011) and my Russia/US comparison (2017).

As in my book reviews, the best places are highlighted to the appropriate extent. Places where I lived (spent >3 months) are underlined. Icons represent the following: ⭐ = major city or capital; 🏙️ = city; 🏞️ = national park or natural wonder, 🏖️ = beach, both are also italicized.

Note that Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, and (soon!) London have separate guides/pages. There is also a separate guide on expatriating/repatriating to Russia. I also have a “culinary page” at World Cuisines.

 

RWCountryCity/RegionRatingYearnotesShort Review:
AMUS🌐 .USA2006/8-2016theseriesmainUnited States ★★★★
• California ★★★★★ / 2006/8-2016
• Cascadia ★★★
• Midwest ★★★★
• Mountain ★★★★★
• Northeast ★★★
AMUS-Cal🌐 .USA-CALIFORNIAtheseries
AMUS-Cal🏙️ Berkeley (CA)52008-2014bestBeautiful city with high concentration of human capital.
• Institutions: UC Berkeley
• Communities: MIRI HQ; CSSC
• Restaurants: Chez Panisse (set menu, designed by Alice Waters); Great China; Gypsy's Court; House of Curries; Turkish Kitchen.
AMUS-Cal🏞️ Fort Ross52015
AMUS-Cal🏙️ Fresno3
AMUS-Cal🏙️ Los Altos42006/8
AMUS-Cal⭐ Los Angeles42013
AMUS-Cal🏙️ Monterey5oftengood
AMUS-Cal🏙️ Morro Bay4often
AMUS-Cal🏙️ Mountain View5often
AMUS-Cal🏞️ Napa Valley5good
AMUS-Cal🏙️ Oakland3often
AMUS-Cal🏙️ Palo Alto4
AMUS-Cal🏙️ Redding3
AMUS-Cal🏙️ Richmond1
AMUS-Cal🏙️ Sacramento22014
AMUS-Cal⭐ San Francisco5oftengood
• Restaurants: Samovar (chain); Sheba Piano Lounge
AMUS-Cal🏙️ San Jose4often
AMUS-Cal🏙️ San Leandro420014-2016
AMUS-Cal🏙️ San Diego42013
AMUS-Cal🏙️ Santa Barbara52006/8, 2013good
AMUS-Cal🏙️ Solvang42006
AMUS-Cal⛷️ Tahoe4oftengoodLake Tahoe is a major ski resort area.
Alpine Meadows ★★★★★
Homewood ★★★★
Kirkwood ★★★★
Northstar ★★★★
Olympic Valley ★★★★
AMUS-Cas🌐 .USA-CASCADIAtheseries
AMUS-Cas🏙️ Portland32014
AMUS-Cas⭐ Seattle42014
AMUS-High🌐 .USA-HIGHLANDStheseries
AMUS-High⛷️ Big Sky (MT)52012good
AMUS-High⛷️ Jackson Hole (WY)52011best
AMUS-High🌆 LAS VEGAS52013good
AMUS-High⛷️ Park City (UT)52010
AMUS-High🏘️ Reno3
AMUS-High⛷️ Winter Park (CO)5~2013good
AMUS-MW🌐 .USA-MIDWESTtheseries
AMUS-MW⭐ Chicago42013
AMUS-MW🏙️ Pittsburgh22013
AMUS-NE🌐 .USA-NORTHEASTtheseries
AMUS-NE⭐ Boston32013
AMUS-NE⭐ New York42013
AMUS-NE⭐ Washington D.C.32013
BRUK🌐 .UK1994-2006/8theseriesmainUnited Kingdom ★★★★
• England ★★★★ / 1996-2006/8
• Northern Ireland ★★★
• Scotland ★★★ / 1994-1996
• Wales ★★★
BRUK-Eng🌐 .UK-ENGLANDtheseries
BRUK-Eng🏙️ Bath4
BRUK-Eng🏙️ Battle42022
BRUK-Eng🏙️ Birmingham2
BRUK-Eng🏙️ Blackburn2often
BRUK-Eng🏙️ Blackpool3often
BRUK-Eng🏙️ Bolton2
BRUK-Eng🏙️ Bovington42018Visit for the Bovington Tank Museum.
BRUK-Eng🏙️ Brighton42019
BRUK-Eng🏙️ Cambridge5~2005good
BRUK-Eng🏙️ Canterbury52018
BRUK-Eng🏞️ Channel Islands4
BRUK-Eng🏙️ Chester42004
BRUK-Eng🏙️ Deal42022
BRUK-Eng🏙️ Durham3~2007
BRUK-Eng🏙️ Kendal3
BRUK-Eng🏞️ Lake District4often
BRUK-Eng🏙️ Lancaster4often
BRUK-Eng🏞️ Land's End3
BRUK-Eng🏙️ Leeds3
BRUK-Eng🏙️ Liverpool2often
BRUK-Eng⭐ London5Guide | 2016 / oftenbest GUIDE / 2016, 2018, 2019
• Restaurants: The Golden Chippy; The Olde Bank of England.
BRUK-Eng🏙️ Lytham St Annes2often
BRUK-Eng🏙️ Manchester3often
BRUK-Eng🏙️ Oxford52016, 2018best
• The Eagle and Child. Bodleian.
BRUK-Eng🏙️ Penzance4Most famous for St Michael's Mount.
BRUK-Eng🏙️ Plymouth3
BRUK-Eng🏙️ Portsmouth32016
BRUK-Eng🏙️ Preston21996-2006/8
BRUK-Eng🏙️ Salisbury42022Visit for Stonehenge, Old Sarum, and admire the 123 m spires of Salisbury Cathedral.
BRUK-Eng🏙️ Sheffield3
BRUK-Eng🏙️ St Albans52019good
BRUK-Eng🏙️ York4
BRUK-NI🌐 .UK-N. IRELANDtheseries
BRUK-NI🏙️ Belfast2~2001
BRUK-NI🏞️ Giant's Causeway3~2001
BRUK-Scot🌐 .UK-SCOTLANDtheseries
BRUK-Scot🏙️ Aberdeen21994-1996
BRUK-Scot🏙️ ⭐ Edinburgh4~1995
BRUK-Scot🏙️ Glasgow2~1995
BRUK-Scot🏞️ Grampian Mountains4~1995, ~1996
BRUK-Scot🏞️ Isle of Skye5~1996
BRUK-Wales🌐 .UK-WALEStheseries
BRUK-Wales🏙️ Bristol3
BRUK-Wales🏙️ Cardiff3
BRUK-Wales🏙️ Conwy42007Visit for Conwy Castle.
BRUK-Wales🏞️ Snowdonia4often
EUEU🌐 .EUtheseriesmainEurope ★★★★
• Belgium ★★★
• Finland ★★★
• France ★★★
• Germany ★★★★
• Ireland ★★★★
• Netherlands ★★★
• Poland ★★★★
• Portugal ★★★★
• Romania ★★★
EUBLG🌐 .BELGIUMtheseries
EUBLG🏙️ Antwerp32003
EUBLG🏙️ Brugge32003
EUBLG⭐ Brussels22018
EUEire🌐 .IRELANDtheseries
EUEire🏙️ Cashel3~2001Visit for Rock of Cashel.
EUEire🏙️ Drogheda4~2001Visit for Newgrance.
EUEire⭐ Dublin4~2001, 2006
EUEire🏙️ Limerick3~2001
EUFI🌐 .FINLANDtheseries
EUFI⭐ Helsinki32022
EUFR🌐 .FRANCEtheseries
EUFR🏖️ Arcachon Bay5~1998good
EUFR🏙️ Bordeaux3~1998
EUFR⭐ Paris3~1998, 2003, 2005
EUFR⛷️ Val d’Isère52007
EUDE🌐 .GERMANYtheseries
EUDE🏙️ Aachen42003
EUDE⭐ Frankfurt32003
EUDE🏙️ Heidelburg52003good
EUDE🏙️ Köln32003
EUDE🏙️ Worms32003
EUNL🌐 .NETHERLANDStheseries
EUNL⭐ Amsterdam42022
EUNL🏙️ The Hague32022
EUNL🏙️ Rotterdam22022
EUPL🌐 .POLANDtheseries
EUPL🏙️ Kraków42019
EUPL🏙️ Ostrołęka42019
EUPL⭐ Warszawa42019
EUPT🌐 .PORTUGAL2018theseries
EUPT🏖️ The Algarve4
EUPT🏙️ Albufeira4
EUPT🏙️ Estoril4
EUPT🏙️ Faro3
EUPT🏙️ Lagos3
EUPT⭐ Lisboa4
EUPT🏙️ Portimão4
EUPT🏙️ Sagres4
EUPT🏙️ Sines2
EUPT🏙️ Sintra4
EURO🌐 .ROMANIA2018theseries
EURO🏙️ Brașov3
EURO⭐ Bucharest3
EURO🏙️ Ploiești2
EURO🏙️ Râșnov2
EURO🏞️ Transylvania4
RURU🌐 .RUSSIA1988-1994, 2016+theseriesmainRussia ★★★★★
RURU-Mus🌐 .RU-MUSCOVYtheseries
RURU-Mus🏙️ Borovsk42019
RURU-Mus🏙️ Gus-Khrustalny32004
RURU-Mus🏙️ Ivanovo22004
RURU-Mus🏙️ Klin32004
RURU-Mus🏙️ Kolomna42017, oftengood
RURU-Mus🏙️ Kostroma22004
RURU-Mus⭐ Moscow5Guide | 1988-1991, 1993-1994, 2016+best GUIDE
RURU-Mus🏙️ Obninsk42019
RURU-Mus🏙️ Ozery3often
RURU-Mus🏙️ Pereslavl-Zalessky32004
RURU-Mus🏙️ Rybinsk32004
RURU-Mus🏙️ Sergiev Posad42019, 2020good
RURU-Mus🏙️ Suzdal42004good
RURU-Mus🏙️ Torzhok32019
RURU-Mus🏙️ Tver32019
RURU-Mus🏙️ Uglich32004
RURU-Mus🏙️ Vladimir32004
RURU-Mus🏙️ Volokolamsk31991-1993 / 2017, 2019, often
RURU-Mus🏙️ Yaroslavl42004good
RURU-Istria🌐 .RU-ISTRIAtheseries
RURU-Istria🏙️ Murmansk32021
RURU-Istria⭐ Saint-Petersburg5Guide | oftenbest GUIDE  / 2004, 2017, 2019, 2022
RURU-Istria🏙️ Veliky Novgorod42018good
• ZAVOD Bar
RURU-South🌐 .RU-SOUTHtheseries
RURU-South🏙️ Bryansk32018
RURU-VU🌐 .RU-VOLGA/URALStheseries
RURU-VU🏙️ Nizhny Novgorod42020