If you want to visit the Prophet’s Mosque before or after Hajj, you should have the intention of visiting the mosque, not the grave. You should enter with your right foot first and say the reported Du`a. Then  you should pray as you like. It is better for you to pray in Ar-Rawdah. When you have prayed and want to visit the grave of the Prophet, you should stand in front of it in a dignified manner and say the reported Du`a. Then you should move a little to your right and send Salams upon Abu Bakr As-Siddiq. Then you should move a little further to your right and send Salams upon `Umar ibn Al-Khattab.

Menstruating women are not forbidden to enter Makkah or Madinah. There is nothing in the texts to suggest that they are not allowed to enter these cities.

Some virtues of Makkah and Madinah: 1. The best spot on earth, in and of itself, is Makkah, then Madinah. 2. One prayer in Al-Masjid Al-Haram in Makkah is better than one hundred thousand prayers offered in any other mosque. 3. Makkah is unique in that it is the place where Hajj and `Umrah. 4. Allah, may He be Exalted, swears by Makkah. 5. Allah, may He be Exalted, decreed Makkah to be a sanctuary the day He created the heavens and the earth. 6. Madinah is the location of Hijrah. 7. In Madinah, most of the verses on rulings and laws were revealed. 8. In Madinah there is the Prophet’s Mosque and the blessed Rawdah.