The Trans-Siberian Railway

The Trans-Siberian is travel's superlative kept honest: 9,288 kilometres from Moscow's Yaroslavsky station to Vladivostok's Pacific terminus, seven days if ridden straight, crossing seven time zones while the window runs its endless film - birch taiga, Ural markers, Siberian rivers a kilometre wide, Baikal's curve hugged for hours. The carriage is the destination: the samovar's constant hot water, the provodnitsa's rule, chess and instant noodles with strangers who become a temporary family, platform sprints for smoked omul and pirozhki. Ride it whole for the badge or in segments - Baikal the classic pivot - for the mercy.

What you actually see

• The window film - taiga, steppe and great rivers for days.
• Baikal's shore run - the lake curve the line hugs.
• The carriage culture - samovar, provodnitsa and platform feasts.
• Vladivostok's finale - the 9,288-kilometre marker at the Pacific.

When to go

May to September gives green taiga and long light; deep winter is the harder, more Russian epic - white to every horizon. Book compartments ahead in summer; segments sell separately.

Honest expectations

Seven straight days tests romance - most travellers wisely break at Baikal or Krasnoyarsk; third-class platskart is the social deep-end, second-class kupe the sane default. Check current travel practicalities and international routings as standard before planning.

Nearby

Every stop is the point: Kazan, Yekaterinburg, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk and the lake.