Moscow

No reviews yetCity Moscow, Russia

Arbat Street in MSK, Moscow, Moscow, Russia

Museo Estatal de Historia, Moscú, Rusia, 2016 10 03, DD 49, Moscow, Moscow, Russia

Moscow MayakovskayaMetroStation 0943, Moscow, Moscow, Russia

About Moscow

Red brick towers, onion domes and wide Soviet boulevards give Moscow a skyline unlike any other in Europe. At its heart the Kremlin, Russia's historic seat of power, looks out over Red Square, where the multicoloured domes of Saint Basil's Cathedral form one of the most famous views in the world.

Founded in the 12th century, Moscow grew from a wooden fortress on the Moskva River into the capital of a vast state, lost that role to St Petersburg in the 18th century and regained it in 1918. Each era left its mark: medieval monasteries, grand neoclassical mansions, Stalin-era skyscrapers known as the Seven Sisters and a metro system whose stations are decorated like palaces.

Culture runs deep here, from ballet at the Bolshoi Theatre to the Russian art of the Tretyakov Gallery. Modern Moscow adds landscaped riverfront parks such as Zaryadye and Gorky Park, lively cafes and long summer evenings. Winters are long and snowy, and travel rules for foreign visitors change, so check entry requirements carefully.

Best seasonMay-September for long days; December-February for snow and winter scenes

Ideal stay3-4 days

ArrivingSheremetyevo, Domodedovo and Vnukovo airports, linked to the centre by Aeroexpress trains; long-distance trains to the city's mainline stations

What to See in Moscow: 12 Favorites

Landmarks 3

Red Square

The cobbled square beside the Kremlin walls is framed by Saint Basil's Cathedral, the red-brick State Historical Museum, the long...

Moscow Kremlin

Behind red brick walls and towers built in the late 15th century lies a complex of palaces, government buildings and golden-domed...

Moscow Metro

Opened in 1935, the metro is famous for stations designed as underground palaces of marble, mosaics and chandeliers. Komsomolskaya...

Sacred Sites 1

Saint Basil's Cathedral

Built in the 1550s on the orders of Ivan the Terrible to mark the capture of Kazan, this cathedral at the end of Red Square is fam...

Museums 2

State Tretyakov Gallery

Merchant Pavel Tretyakov's collection grew into the country's leading museum of Russian art, housed in a fairy-tale building in La...

Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts

Opened in 1912 on Volkhonka Street, this museum holds one of Russia's major collections of European art along with Egyptian antiqu...

Entertainment 1

Bolshoi Theatre

Facing Theatre Square, the Bolshoi's neoclassical facade with its bronze chariot of Apollo is one of the city's great sights, and...

Parks 3

Gorky Park

Moscow's best-known park stretches along the Moskva River with lawns, fountains, cafes, sports areas and a long embankment for wal...

Zaryadye Park

Opened in 2017 right beside the Kremlin, this park recreates the natural zones of Russia, from tundra to forest and steppe, on ter...

VDNKh

This vast exhibition park was created to showcase Soviet achievements, and its grand pavilions, golden fountains and broad alleys...

History 1

Novodevichy Convent

Founded in 1524 and listed by UNESCO, this fortified convent by a quiet pond is one of the most beautiful ensembles in the city, w...

Neighborhoods 1

Arbat Street

One of the oldest streets in Moscow, the Arbat is now a cobbled pedestrian promenade lined with 19th-century facades, cafes, souve...

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Photo: U.S. Department of State, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: Florstein (Telegram:WikiPhoto.Space), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

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