Featuring beautiful Siberian Orthodox churches, traditional wooden houses that have survived a turbulent history, a city centre that’s super easy to navigate on foot, and the incredible Lake Baikal on it’s doorstep, Irkutsk proves why it should be top of your list of places to visit on a trip across Russia. Here’s all the things to do in Irkutsk in winter.

The Trans-Siberian Railway is one of those adventures that conjures up dreamy scenes of snowy tundras, exotic oriental cities, onion domed churches and fur-coat wrapped bubushkas, all washed down with a few shots of vodka for good measure. This third stage of the Trans-Mongolian Railway will head west from snowy Siberia to the opulent and intriguing capital of Moscow.

The Trans-Siberian Railway is one of those adventures that conjures up dreamy scenes of snowy tundras, exotic oriental cities, onion domed churches and fur-coat wrapped bubushkas, all washed down with a few shots of vodka for good measure. The second leg of the Trans-Mongolian Railway will whisk you from the chaotic capital of nomadic Mongolia to the edge of Lake Baikal in Siberia.