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see + do
Moscow see + do
Sightseeing in Moscow is both rewarding and frustrating: To explore the city's rich history and dramatic transformation to a market economy, you have to deal with its rough-and-tumble pace, lapses in service, unreliable schedules, and price gouging. If you're traveling on your own and want to see more than Red Square and the Kremlin, plan on spending at least five days in Moscow; seven if you want to explore sights outside the city. While some top attractions (Red Square, the Kremlin) are stunningly obvious, others, such as such as Winzavod (a trendy contemporary art center), the Tolstoy House-Museum, and the river boat tour, can be hard to locate. Once you find your destination, expect to pay a stiff premium at the ticket office unless you can speak Russian without an accent, or are accompanied by Russian friends. And carry your passport and hotel registration slip at all times. The police are known for shaking down tourists: If anything is out of order—and even if it's not—they may demand a "fine," often $100. But it's not all gloom and doom in the capital. The city is trying to become more visitor-friendly by installing English-language signs and developing a tourist route that links central sites with pedestrian bridges. You can walk across a bridge near the Kremlin to the Tretyakov Gallery, for example. For visitors who want to explore the city with fewer hassles than they might encounter on their own, Patriarshy Dom Tours offers a daily selection of tours in English, starting at about $20 plus admission fees.
"This doesn't feel like Moscow," is a common reaction to Russia's oldest botanical garden, founded by Peter the Great in 1706. Located in the center of the...more
After a bad run in the 1990s, when it was overshadowed by St. Petersburg's Mariinsky Theater, the Bolshoi is fast regaining its status as one of the best opera...more
Built in honor of Russia's victory over Napoleon in 1812, the original Cathedral of Christ the Savior was dynamited at Stalin's orders and slated for...more
Stemming in part from the Russian tradition of balagan (clowning and tomfoolery), the circus is a national art form. Moscow has two: The Big Moscow State Circus...more
There were some snickers when Dasha Zhukova, the It girl companion of billionaire Roman Abramovich known more for her interest in fashion than in serious art,...more
Maksim Gorky's plays, novels, and short stories did much to glorify the proletariat before the Russian Revolution, but after a falling out with Lenin, he moved...more
Lenin's embalmed body—or, some contend, a wax likeness—has lain in this eerie pyramid-shaped mausoleum since his death in 1924 (except for a brief...more
The Moscow Conservatory, one of the largest and most famous music schools in the world, can be an amazing concert bargain. While tickets to concerts by visiting...more
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