Things to do in Moscow
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St Basil’s Cathedral
At the southern end of Red Square, framed by the massive facades of the Kremlin and GUM department store, stands the icon of Russia: St Basil’s Cathedral. This crazy confusion of colours, patterns and shapes is the culmination of a style that is unique to Russian architecture. Before St Basil’s, this style of tent roofs and onion domes had been used to design wooden churches. In 1552 Ivan the Terrible captured the Tatar stronghold of Kazan on the feast of Intercession. He commissioned this landmark church, officially the Intercession Cathedral, to commemorate the victory. From 1555 to 1561 architects Postnik and Barma created this masterpiece that would become the ultimat…
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Shinok
In case you didn’t think Moscow’s themed dining was over the top, this restaurant has re-created a Ukrainian peasant farm in central Moscow. Servers wear colourfully embroidered shirts and speak with Ukrainian accents (probably lost on most tourists). The house speciality is vareniki (the Ukrainian version of pelmeni ). As you dine, you can look out the window at a cheerful babushka while she tends the farmyard animals (very well taken care of, we’re assured).
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Armoury
The Armoury dates back to 1511, when it was founded under Vasily III to manufacture and store weapons, imperial arms and regalia for the royal court. Later it also produced jewellery, icon frames and embroidery. During the reign of Peter the Great all craftspeople, goldsmiths and silversmiths were sent to St Petersburg, and the armoury became a mere museum storing the royal treasures. A fire in 1737 destroyed many of the items. In the early 19th century, new premises were built for the collection. Much of it, however, never made it back from Nizhny Novgorod, where it was sent for safekeeping during Napoleon’s invasion in 1812. Another building to house the collection was …
reviewed
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Cathedral of Christ the Saviour
This gargantuan cathedral now dominates the skyline along the Moscow River. It sits on the site of an earlier and similar church of the same name, built between 1839 and 1860, and finally consecrated in 1883. The church commemorates Russia’s victory over Napoleon. The original was destroyed during Stalin’s orgy of explosive secularism. Stalin planned to replace the church with a 315m-high Palace of Soviets (including a 100m-high statue of Lenin), but the project never got off the ground – literally. Instead, for 50 years the site served an important purpose: the world’s largest swimming pool. This time around, the church was completed in a mere two years, in time for Mosc…
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Gulag History Museum
In the midst of all the swanky shops on ul Petrovka, an archway leads to a courtyard that is strung with barbed wire and hung with portraits of political prisoners. This is the entrance to a unique museum dedicated to the Chief Administration of Corrective Labour Camps and Colonies, better known as the GULAG. Guides dressed like guards describe the vast network of labour camps that once existed in the former Soviet Union and recount the horrors of camp life. Millions of prisoners spent years in these labour camps, made famous by Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s book The Gulag Archipelago. More than 18 million people passed through this system during its peak years, from 1929 to…
reviewed
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TsDL (Central House of Writers)
The acronym stands for Tsentralny Dom Literatov, or Central House of Writers, which is the historic building housing this fancy restaurant. A glittery chandelier above, plush carpets under foot and rich oak panelling all around create a sumptuous setting for an old-fashioned Russian feast.
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16 Tons
This club is widely believed to be the hottest live music venue in the capital, attracting top local and foreign bands, who almost always play to a packed house. The brassy English pub-restaurant downstairs has an excellent house-brewed bitter.
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Tretyakov Gallery
The exotic boyar castle on a little lane in Zamoskvorechie contains the main branch of the State Tretyakov Gallery, housing the world’s best collection of Russian icons and an outstanding collection of other prerevolutionary Russian art. Show up early to beat the queues.
The building was designed by Viktor Vasnetsov between 1900 and 1905. The gallery started as the private collection of the 19th-century industrialist brothers Pavel and Sergei Tretyakov. Pavel was a patron of the Peredvizhniki, or Wanderers, a group of 19th-century painters who broke away from the conservative Academy of Arts and started depicting common people and social problems. Nowadays, these are…
reviewed
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Kolomenskoe Museum-Reserve
Set amid 4 sq km of parkland, on a bluff above a bend in the Moscow River, this Museum-Reserve is an ancient royal country seat and Unesco World Heritage Site. Many festivals are held here, so check if anything is happening during your visit. From Bolshaya ul, enter at the rear of the grounds through the 17th-century Saviour Gate to the whitewashed Our Lady of Kazan Church, both built in the time of Tsar Alexey. The church faces the site of his great wooden palace, which was demolished in 1768 by Catherine the Great. Ahead, the white, tent-roofed 17th-century front gate and clock tower mark the edge of the old inner-palace precinct. The golden double-headed eagle that top…
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Alexandrovsky Garden
The first public park in Moscow, Alexandrovsky Garden sits along the Kremlin’s western wall. Colourful flower beds and impressive Kremlin views make it a favourite strolling spot for Muscovites and tourists alike. Back in the 17th century, the Neglinnaya River ran through the present gardens, with dams and mills along its banks. When the river was diverted underground, the garden was founded by architect Osip Bove, in 1821. Enter through the original gates at the northern end. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Mogila neizvestnogo soldata) at its north end is a kind of national pilgrimage spot, where newlyweds bring flowers and have their pictures taken. The tomb contains…
reviewed
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Izmaylovsky Park & Royal Estate
Izmaylovo is best known for its extensive arts and crafts market, held every weekend beside the royal estate. After shopping, Izmaylovsky Park and the crumbling royal estate are nice for a picnic or more serious outdoor activity. A former royal hunting reserve 10km east of the Kremlin, Izmaylovsky Park is the nearest large tract of undeveloped land to central Moscow. Its 15 sq km contain a recreation park at the western end and a much larger expanse of woodland (Izmaylovsky Lesopark) east of Glavnaya alleya, the road that cuts north–south across the park. Trails wind around this park, making it a good place to escape the city for hiking or biking. From Partizanskaya metro…
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ZKP Tagansky Cold War Museum
On a quiet side street near Taganskaya pl sits a nondescript neoclassical building. This is the gateway to the secret Cold War–era communications centre, ZKP Tagansky. Operated during the Cold War by Central Telephone and Telegraph, the facility was meant to serve as the communications headquarters in the event of a nuclear attack. As such, the building was just a shell and served as entry into the 7000-sq-metre space that is 60m underground.
Now managed by private interests, the facility is being converted into a sort of museum dedicated to the Cold War. Unfortunately, not much remains from that era. The vast place is nearly empty, except for a few exhibits set up for …
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Novodevichy Cemetery
Adjacent to the Novodevichy Convent, the Novodevichy Cemetery is one of Moscow’s most prestigious resting places – a veritable who’s who of Russian politics and culture. Here you will find the tombs of Bulgakov, Chekhov, Gogol, Mayakovsky, Prokofiev, Stanislavsky and Eisenstein, among many other Russian and Soviet cultural notables.
In Soviet times Novodevichy Cemetery was used for eminent people the authorities judged unsuitable for the Kremlin wall, most notably Khrushchev. The intertwined white-and-black blocks round Khrushchev’s bust were intended by sculptor Ernst Neizvestny to represent Khrushchev’s good and bad sides.
The tombstone of Nadezhda Alliluyeva,…
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Izmaylovo Market
This sprawling area, also known as Vernisazh market, is packed with art, handmade crafts, antiques, Soviet paraphernalia and just about anything you might want for a souvenir. You’ll find Moscow’s biggest original range of matryoshki, palekh and khokhloma ware, as well as less traditional woodworking crafts. There are also rugs from the Caucasus and Central Asia, pottery, linens, jewellery, fur hats, chess sets, toys, Soviet posters and much more. Feel free to negotiate, but don’t expect vendors to come down more than 10%. This place is technically open every day, but many vendors come out only on weekends, when your selection is greater.
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Real Mccoy
This ‘bootlegger’s bar’ has walls plastered in old newspapers, two-for-one happy-hour specials (5pm to 8pm) and a dance floor crowded with expats. There is live jazz and rock music in the evenings (9pm Wednesday to Sunday) then, after 11pm, the serious drinking begins. The later it gets, the more they drink. The Real McCoy is considered to be the last of Moscow’s old-fashioned debauched and depraved dive bars, where women are invited to dance on the bar (preferably without a shirt on) and men are practically guaranteed to take home a new friend, if they are not too picky.
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Turandot
If you wanted to go to Disney World, but somehow ended up in Moscow, Turandot should be at the top of your dining wish list. Completely costumed in wigs and gowns, musicians play chamber music and servers scuttle to and fro. The decor is unbelievably extravagant, with hand-painted furniture, gilded light fixtures and frescoed cupola ceiling. It is certainly every bit as elaborate as Cinderella’s castle. Turandot is named for a Puccini opera set in old Peking, which is as good a reason as any to serve Chinese and Japanese food in this baroque interior.
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Borodino Panorama
Following the vicious but inconclusive battle at Borodino in August 1812, Moscow’s defenders retreated along what are now Kutuzovsky pr and ul Arbat, pursued by Napoleon’s Grand Army. Today, about 3km west of Novoarbatsky most and Hotel Ukraina (where Russian commander Mikhail Kutuzov stopped for a war council) is the Borodino Panorama, a pavilion with a giant 360-degree painting of the Borodino battle. Standing inside this tableau of bloodshed – complete with sound effects – is a powerful way to visualise the event.
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Tsaritsyno Palace
On a wooded hill in far southeast Moscow, Tsaritsyno Palace is a modern-day manifestation of the exotic summer home that Catherine the Great began in 1775 but never finished. Architect Vasily Bazhenov worked on the project for 10 years before he was sacked. She hired another architect, Matvey Kazakov, but the project was eventually forgotten as she ran out of money. For hundreds of years, the palace was little more than a shell, until the government finally decided to finish it in 2007.
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Scandinavia
In most parts of the world, Swedish cuisine is not really celebrated; in Moscow, it is. Much beloved of Moscow expats, Scandinavia offers an enticing interpretation of what happens ‘when Sweden meets Russia’. A delightful summer café features sandwiches, salads and treats from the grill (including the best burgers in Moscow, by some accounts). Inside, the dining room offers a sophisticated menu of modern European delights.
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Beige Cafe
Beige might sound boring, but subtle lines and soft colours render this romantic cafe anything but. The setting is so sensual due in part to the circular room, arched doorways and rounded ceilings. The lack of sharp angles is cosy and comfortable, but still sophisticated. Dine on grilled fish and steaks, pasta, soup and salad, with an emphasis on fresh vegetables - this place is a great find for the health conscious.
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Night Flight
This continues to be one of Moscow's most popular spots for business travellers on expense accounts, despite - or because of - its dubious reputation. Indeed, it's hard to miss the crowds of working women hanging around this club. Nonetheless, the restaurant continues to receive rave reviews, thanks to Swedish ingredients and chefs. And the dance floor is always hopping. No cover charge for restaurant guests.
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A Korkunov
That this candy company was founded in 1997 may come as a surprise, as the shop’s interior feels like an old-fashioned confectioner. The seductive line of handmade chocolates – 15 kinds of filled candies and two types of bars – are lined up in a glass case, defying your will power. There are also a few tables, in case you care to indulge in a hot chocolate (R75 to R120).
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Shafran
While ethnic restaurants in Moscow tend to be overdone, Shafran is understated and sophisticated. Strewn with colourful pillows, it is otherwise simply decorated. Arabic music wafts through the air, but does not obstruct conversation. The menu includes a wide range of hot and cold meze (small plates), as well as a selection of kebabs, all expertly prepared and perfect for sharing.
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Tchaikovsky Concert Hall
Home to the famous State Philharmonic (Moskovsky Gosudarstvenny Akademichesky Filharmonia), the capital’s oldest symphony orchestra, the concert hall was established in 1921. It’s a huge auditorium, with seating for 1600 people. This is where you can expect to hear the Russian classics such as Stravinsky, Rachmaninov and Shostakovich, as well as other European favourites.
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Sportland
Non-stop sports on three giant screens and countless smaller plasma TVs around the bar. You will undoubtedly be able to catch your team's big game here, no matter who your team might be. Otherwise, there is no reason to frequent this casino-bar, unless you enjoy glaring lights, blaring slot machines and greasy food. The Rbl500-cover charge gets subtracted from your bill.
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