People all over the world have been picnicking for centuries now, and it’s easy to see why: Nothing can compare with sitting back with your beloved under a clear blue sky with a bottle of nicely chilled champagne and a romantic meal and sharing a few gorgeous moments.

In order to get everything just right, you need to start making the necessary preparations early. Make a menu of what you will make. Prawn salad, asparagus, bread, and caviar are all possible appetizers. For the main course, try something exotic like a curry, or perhaps garlic roasted chicken or baked flatfish. If your cooking skills aren’t up to par, order some take-out from one of your favorite restaurants. And don’t forget to take napkins, plastic ware, cups and water.

Planning a picnic isn’t just about the food. It doesn’t do any good to prepare a romantic meal if the setting isn’t romantic. Fortunately, there are many peaceful nooks tucked away in quiet corners not far from Moscow’s urban hustle and bustle. Here’s a list of some of the best outdoor places that seem to be cut out for memorable picnics.

Fabulous picnics can be held on any open patch of meadow in famous Yasnaya Polyana situated near Tula. It only takes about three hours to get to Tula by car or you can catch the electrichka from Kursky Station.

For their third wedding anniversary, my close friends packed up a nice basket with sushi rolls, goat cheese, fruit, croissants and a bottle of champagne, and drove out to Zvenigorod. They enjoyed the majestic scenery and the gentle warbling of the nightingale so much that they felt like honeymooners again.

The natural beauty of the Serebryany Bor area offers outstanding picnicking opportunities. This popular camping destination provides visitors with plenty of activities. You can hike, play volleyball or basketball and ride water bikes in the Moscow River.

Pick up some food at Ramstore and head off for a picnic on the picturesque Klyazma River in Vladimir. To get to Vladimir catch the electrichka from Kursky Station.

Or take your picnic basket to Sergiyev Posad, a small town about an hour north of Moscow. Sergiyev Posad is a great place to spend a few spring hours.

Another breathtaking spot is Abramtsevo, several kilometers from Sergiyev Posad. Abramtsevo offers a variety of picnic areas to suit just about everyone. Many outstanding artists lived here, such as stage director Konstantin Stanislavsky, actress Maria Yermolova, painters Ilya Repin, Valentin Serov, Vasily Surikov, the Polenov brothers, Mikhail Vrubel and singer Fyodr Shalapin.

While your first picnicking experience may not be ideal, remember that practice makes perfect.