4 reasons you must visit Russia now that South Africans don't need a visa

Russia has dropped its visa requirements for SA-passport holders - exciting news for those looking to cut the costs (and hassle) of travel and still have exotic experiences.

Whether you're into art and history or amusement parks and shopping, here are some reasons why a trip to Russia might be just right for you:

1) THOSE EPIC LANDSCAPES

At more than 17-million km², Russia is the largest country in the world, spanning eight time zones and constituting about one-eighth of Earth's landmass.

It is home to 49 national parks and six natural World Heritage Sites, including the Virgin Komi Forests, covering 3.28-million hectares of tundra and mountain tundra in the Ural Mountains; the Volcanoes of Kamchatka; and Lake Baikal, the deepest lake in the world (1,700m).

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2) ITS DRAMATIC HISTORY

Russia's history stretches back more than 1,150 years, during which it has been involved in more than 100 wars and conflicts and was ruled by more than 120 leaders, including grand princes and tsars.

It was the first country to send a human (Yuri Gagarin) into space.

It also built the world's longest railway - the 9,200km Trans-Siberian Railway crosses almost the entire county, making it the single longest railway in the world. Its main line runs from Moscow to Vladivostok on the Pacific Ocean, a journey that, non-stop, totals 152 hours and 27 minutes.

3) THESE MAJOR CITIES

With its impressive history in arts and culture, Russia's major centres are waiting to be discovered as being just as thrilling as the likes of London and New York, with some of the world's best theatres, museums, shopping and restaurants.

MOSCOW

The capital is also the most populous city in Europe, with 13.2 million residents within its limits. It's also home to the tallest skyscraper in Europe.

Its major sights include:

• Red Square: The heart of Moscow has several attractions around it, including the 16th-century St Basil's Cathedral, the iconic symbol of the country with its bright, onion domes; Lenin's Mausoleum, in which you can actually gawk at the preserved remains of the first Soviet leader; and GUM (Russia's most famous shopping mall).

Also here is the Moscow Kremlin, in fact one of several "kremlins" in the country (the word means "citadel") though this one is the official residence of the President of Russia. The Armoury Chamber museum here houses crown jewels, hand-forged armour and weapons, royal carriages and sleighs and world-famous bejewelled Fabergé eggs.

• Tretyakov Gallery: The Tretyakov has more than 150,000 works and masterpieces of Russian art. The Pushkin State Museum, meanwhile, has Moscow's largest collection of European art.

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• The VDNKh complex, also known as the All-Russia Exhibition Centre, is an amusement and exhibition park. In winter, it's home to the largest ice-skating rink in Russia. Here, you'll also find the Museum of Cosmonautics, featuring relics of the space race - including the taxidermied remains of Belka and Strelka, the first dogs to orbit the Earth and return alive.

• The Metro: The Moscow Subway was built on Stalin's order to display the advantages of socialism. Today it carries millions daily and is its own sort of beautiful underground city, a great example of Soviet architecture sometimes referred to as "the underground palaces of Moscow".

ST PETERSBURG

Founded in 1703 by Peter the Great, St Petersburg on the Baltic Sea was the imperial capital for two centuries and is still considered Russia's cultural centre, with a rich history of art, architecture, music and dance. It boasts 2,000 libraries, 221 museums, 80 theatres, 45 art galleries, more than 100 concert halls, and 80 nightclubs, with over 100 concerts and festivals a year.

As the Neva River flows through much of the city, it is known as "the Venice of the North". The Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments constitute a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Its main attractions include:

• The Hermitage: One of the largest and oldest museums in the world, founded in 1754. Today, its collections comprise over 3 million items. Here you will also find the Winter Palace, a former residence of the tsars, famously stormed by the Bolsheviks in the revolution of 1917.

• Peterhof: The former summer residence of the tsars. With its opulent buildings and lavish gardens, it's sometimes called the Versailles of Russia.

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4) LOTS AND LOTS OF SHOPPING

Souvenir hunters, watch out for Matryushka nesting dolls, lace and linen items, fur hats, lacquer boxes, old coins and Soviet memorabilia including badges, pins, belts and even WW2 gas masks.

For flea-market aficionados in Moscow, Izmailovo offers antiques and original art. Fashionistas should note that Petrovka Boulevard is Moscow's version of Rodeo Drive - and also where you'll find hundreds of flavours of vodka not sold in the rest of the world.