The seven-millionth visitor to the RUSSIA EXPO went on a trip to the Ladoga region

Alexei Maximov from Volzhsky, Volgograd region, who became the seven-millionth visitor to the RUSSIA EXPO in February, went on a family trip to the Ladoga region with his wife Anastasia and their children: four-year-old Katya and eight-year-old Varya. The guests received a gift from the Exposition and the travel operator Igora Tour, an expert in the Leningrad region and Karelia.

The "Energy of Ladoga" route, on which the guests set off, goes around the largest lake in Europe — Ladoga Lake. It was included in the list of 30 best tourist routes according to the results of the project of the Government of the Russian Federation and ASI "Discover Your Russia".

The six-day tour became a guide to the main symbols of the Ladoga region and to the history of small towns in Russia. On the first day of the trip the family visited the automobile museum — a unique space where some of the rarest and most iconic cars of the 20th century are displayed.

After that, the family traveled to Karelia, where they visited the ancient fortress Korela, where the family of the rebel Emelyan Pugachev was imprisoned for several decades, and then took an ancient train to the Ruskeala Mountain Park — the calling card of the Republic. The rich program of the trip included a water walk along the Ladoga skerries, a visit to the Alexander-Svirsky Monastery and the Old Ladoga Fortress, as well as immersion in authentic cuisine and life of the Karelians. Alexei and his family lived at the Point on the Map hotel and at the Igora resort.

Photo: Oleg Khokhrin

"In Ladoga everything is very unusual — like in another universe or a magical world. In Russia we have traveled only in the South, on the Black Sea coast, but the North is new to us and we will definitely not forget this trip. We especially enjoyed the local natural beauties, including the mesmerizing skerries.  We also enjoyed trying the local cuisine, which we really liked. We were surprised by the unusual presentation, interesting combination of flavors and uniqueness of the food — you can't make such food at home," Alexei Maximov shared his impressions.

The International RUSSIA EXPO takes place at VDNH in Moscow from November 4 to July 8. Visitors are presented expositions of 89 Russian regions, leading federal departments, corporations and public organizations. More than 16 million people have already visited the Exposition.