The first-ever staging of the World Cup in Eastern Europe gives travellers the chance to visit some stunning cities.

Fans prepared to add some culture into their visit to Russia will be rewarded with some iconic sights that will live long in the memory.

Read on for our top four recommended cities to visit during the tournament.

Moscow

Russia’s capital city is one the largest and most beautiful cities in the world.

Moscow is the main political, economic and cultural centre of Russia and will host several matches during the tournament including the final on July 15.

Use the William Hill promotional code 2018 to boost your budget to visit The Kremlin, A.S. Pushkin Fine Arts Museum and the Tretyakov Gallery.

Lenin’s Mausoleum, Red Square and Gorky Park are also well-worth visiting, while food lovers can enjoy the city’s numerous world-class restaurants.

Sochi

Sochi has become famous for the doping scandal that shamed Russian sport at the 2014 Winter Olympics, but it remains one of the most beautiful cities in Eastern Europe.

Situated on the Black Sea, Sochi is a summer beach resort and boasts a wide range of restaurants, bars, entertainment centres and water attractions.

There are also a vast array of museums including Stalin’s Summer Residence, while the Sochi State Circus is also based in the city.

Sochi offers numerous opportunities for sports including mountain climbing, diving, sailing, skiing and much more.

St Petersburg

St Petersburg is one of the most iconic cities in the world and contains thousands of cultural heritage monuments.

The city is famous for its design of large squares, straight streets, rivers and canals. There are also numerous gardens and parks worth visiting.

Fountains are amongst the other famous sights of the city, with the most spectacular being a delightful complex of fountains in Peterhof.

Nizhny Novgorod

There are over 600 historic, architectural and cultural monuments in Nizhny Novgorod including its own Kremlin.

The two-kilometre brick fortress with 13 towers features the beautiful the Cathedral of Archangel which was completely rebuilt during the 17th century.

Narodnogo Edinstva Square is situated the Volga River and here you can find a monument to Minin and Pozharsky – a smaller version of the monument standing on Red Square in Moscow.

Whilst in Nizhny take a walk up the Chkalov stairs which run from the Minina Square to the lower Volga embankment.

Built during the Soviet era they are the longest flight of stairs on the banks of the Volga.