Moscow travel destination

Moscow is considered as the billionaire capital of the world with most billionaires living in the city. Moscow is also an extremely popular city for business and tourism. It is a city of wide avenues and massive Soviet buildings – from the Lenin Russian State Library which has 275 km of shelves, to Stalin skyscrapers representing Stalin’s Empire style. It has grown rapidly in recent decades, and, as a result, comprises high-rise suburbs surrounding a relatively compact historic centre with plenty of fascinating ancient architecture. Apart from being a major political player on the world stage.

The city is said to date back eight-and-a half-centuries, with the first references to it in chronicles from 1147. It was built by Suzdal's Prince Yuri Dolgorukiy on the sweeping curve of the Moskva River. From its humble beginnings as a hunting village, it grew steadily into a fortress city, to become later the central point of the whole Russian state.

Russia's most intense human aspirations, be it artistic, religious or political, have found their most passionate expression in Moscow. The reflection of these aspirations can be seen in the beautiful architecture created over several centuries, particularly in Moscow's symbols — the Kremlin, Red Square and St Basil's Cathedral.

Moscow — the capital of the Russian Federation and one of the country's most popular destinations for foreign visitors.

Quick facts –

Climate: average temperature in winter — between -10 and -15C; spring – 0-10C; summer – 18-24C; autumn 10C.

Where to stay: there are more than 200 hotels in Moscow. The hotels can be defined according to Western standard ratings (newly built) and local standard ratings (old/renovated hotels). The type of a hotel does not affect the price very much.

Where to eat: most of Moscow's best restaurants and bars are located in central Moscow. Arbat Street has the highest concentration and variety of restaurants..

Shopping: there are numerous Western-style supermarkets and department stores. The most interesting shopping districts are located within the Garden Ring. The main department stores are around Red Square, the biggest and most famous of which is the State Department Store — GUM. For the best souvenirs and antique shops, head for the pedestrianised Arbat Street.

Main sightseeing: Red Square, Kremlin, St Basil's Cathedral, Lenin Mausoleum, State Armoury, Tretyakov Gallery, Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Bolshoy Theatre, Kuskovo, and Kolomenskoye.

Entertainment: Moscow offers many forms of entertainment, from museums, theatres, ballets and operas, to musicals and concerts, from world-famous exhibitions to a wide variety of night life.

Getting around: There are nine railway stations and five airports. Inside the city, the most reliable way of travelling is by Metro, which has stations close to all the major sights. Moscow is also served by buses, trams and trolley buses. Taxis can be found in any part of the city.

Must visit places

Red Square remains, as it has been for centuries, the heart and soul of Russia. Few places in the world bear the weight of history to the extent that Moscow's central square does. Red Square began life as a slum, a shanty town of wooden huts clustered beneath the Kremlin walls that housed a collection of peddlers, criminals and drunks whose status left them outside the official boundaries of the medieval city. It was cleared on the orders of Ivan III at the end of the 1400's, but remained the province of the mob, the site of public executions, and rabble rousing, until much later.

Red Square came into its own in the 20^th Century, when it was most famous as the site of official military parades demonstrating to the world the might of the Soviet armed forces. Two of these will be remembered forever. The first was the parade of 7 November 1941, when columns of young cadets marched through the square and straight on to the frontline, which by that point was less than 50km from Moscow. The second was the victory parade on 24 June 1945, when two hundred Nazi standards were thrown in front of the mausoleum and trampled by mounted Soviet commanders in celebration. The year 2000 saw the return of troops to Red Square, with a parade to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of World War Two.

Moscow Underground is one of the masterpieces of the Soviet era created in the Socialist Realism style. The Moscow Metro with its stations decorated with marble, mosaics, stained glass panels and bronze sculptures looks like a vast art museum. It was one of the proudest achievements of the Soviet era and it’s still beating many other European underground systems.

Arbat Street is one of the most famous streets in Moscow. The Arbat is also one of the symbols of old Moscow, which was celebrated in poems, novels, songs and movies. Nowadays the Arbat is the name of the pedestrian street, but actually the Arbat is the whole district of Moscow that marked its 500th birthday in 1993.

Kremlin Walls and Towers

The existing walls and towers of the Kremlin were erected during the reign of Grand Duke Ivan III, from 1485-1495, under the supervision of the Italian architects Antonio Gilardi, Marco Ruffo, Pietro Antonio Solari, and Aliosio de Carcano, who came to Moscow to work on the project by special invitation.

The towering red-brick Kremlin walls, following the contours of the Kremlin hill as they have done for over 5 centuries, form an irregular triangle, with its southern flank against the Moskva River, its western wall rising high above the Alexandrovsky Gardens, and its north-eastern side following the edge of Red Square. The walls are a total of 2,205 metres long, between 3.5 and 6.5 metres thick, range from 5 to 19 metres in height, and are topped by swallow-tailed crenellations. Punctuating the walls are no less than 20 separate defensive towers of varying heights and shapes, topped with green tent roofs and gilt weathervanes or red stars. Each tower has its own name, distinctive features, and absorbing history. Running along the top of the walls is a walkway up to 4 meters in width. In this way, walking from one tower to the next, it is possible to complete a circuit of the citadel's perimeter, and get a closer look at the mighty towers that have protected Moscow's heart since medieval times.

Saviour's Tower The main entrance to the Kremlin, famous for its historic chiming clock.

Tsar's Tower The smallest and youngest of the Kremlin towers is named after Ivan the Terrible.

Alarm Tower This 15th Century watchtower once housed a famous bell that was 'punished' by Catherine the Great.

Konstantion-Yeleninskaya Tower An entrance tower to the Moscow Kremlin which once housed a torture chamber.

Beklemishevskaya Tower This tower was at the very centre of the Kremlin's defences.

Peter's Tower This Kremlin defensive tower has twice been destroyed and restored.

Secret Tower A secret escape route from the Kremlin was hidden in the structure of this tower.

Annunciation Tower This tower shows traces of the white walls of the original medieval Kremlin.  

Commandant's Tower This tower owes its name to the proximity of the Poteshniy Palace, residence of the Kremlin Commandant.

Trinity Tower The tallest of the 20 towers that surround the Kremlin.

Senate Tower A tower that waited 300 years for a name. 

The Palaces and Buildings of Kremlin Extremely varied, even eclectic in style - from ancient Russian to classical and even pseudo-gothic - the palaces and buildings of the Kremlin nonetheless form an organic whole. This unique combination of styles and eras lends the Kremlin's architectural ensemble a quite incomparable charm. Each historical era has left its immortal traces on the facades and interior appointments of the palaces and chambers of the Kremlin.

Moscow River trip  Moscow river boat trips are best when it's hot, sunny, and you've seen the city in any other way possible! There are basically two types of Moscow river boat trips. One is called "river tram" or "river shuttle", and the other is more like a cruise.  The shuttle follows a typical route through Moscow river, from "Kievskiy Vokzal" to "Novospasskiy bridge" and back, with several stops in the way. The cruise boats usually do not stop, and the entire trip make take up to two hours. There are many cruise boat operators, each one has got its own route.

Metro It is one of the world’s best metro services. It has palace like structure with the glories of many of the central stations, halls of palatial elegance and excess that have no equivalent in any other public transport system in the world. 

The metro works from 05.30 to 01.00 daily, and trains run regular as clockwork every three minutes during the day, and about every seven minutes late at night or very early in the morning. Interchanges between the lines are either between platforms at the same station, or between two stations with different names. Some stations have more than one entrance, so you need to know which street you want to surface on. All these things are made easier if you take the time to familiarize yourself with the Cyrillic alphabet.

Religious excursion

Sergiev Posad is an excellent destination for a day trip from Moscow as it is very easy to get to and is only 75km from Moscow. It is home to one of the most revered monasteries in Russia – the UNESCO-protected Troitse-Sergeiva Lavra.  Ever since St. Sergii founded the monastery in the 14th Century, it has been a hugely popular destination for pilgrims, revered by all from Tsars to Soviet pensioners. If you have the chance to make only one day trip out of Moscow, then this is certainly where you should go.

This imposing, white-stone building, with unusual sloping walls and gold dome, became a blue-print for Russian church architecture and the inspiration for the Kremlin's Cathedral of the Assumption. In 1458 a brick chapel was added to house the tomb of Sergii's successor, Nikon of Radonezh. Inside the Cathedral there is a silver shrine containing the relics of St. Sergii, and an iconostasis with many works by Andrei Rublev.

There are several other churches and chapels within and just outside the monastery walls, but the other main architectural attractions are the Refectory, a palatial building with intricate and brightly colored decorations, completed in 1692, and the ornate Tsar Palace of the same period, which later became the Theological Academy.

Getting there: To get to Sergiev Posad, you can either book an organized tour or - a considerably cheaper option - take the suburban train from Yaroslavl Station (Metro Komsomolskaya). Trains go about every 20-30 minutes, and take an hour and a half. The first train leaves Moscow just after 05:00, and the last train back departs just before midnight. In case you have plenty of time, then take a car and drive along the beautiful villages of Russia and reach Sergiev Posad in 2 to 3 hours drive.

Opening hours: The monastery is open daily from 0:800 to 18:00, but the churches are not open to the public at weekends, and the Lavra's museum, which has a collection of icons and royal portraits, is closed on Mondays.

Souvenirs: On the square outside the monastery there is usually a souvenir market selling the traditional range of Russian souvenirs, as well as icons especially ones of St Sergii of Radonezh.  You can also buy water bottles here to fill up with holy water from the monastery.

Where to Eat: There are plenty of nice restaurants across the road where you can find from traditional Russian food to food of your choice.

Moscow is one the most beautiful city in the world. It should definitely be on your travel list. People are very nice and welcoming. Learn small Russian before you travel, saying thank you, yes no in Russian will earn you love of beautiful Russians.

The author of this article is an extensive traveller and love exploring new places and practising Spiritual Healer.

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