Moscow

Why Moscow works

Moscow rewards travellers who linger. Red Square anchors the city: St. Basil's Cathedral's onion domes, the Kremlin's fortified walls and cathedrals, and Lenin's Mausoleum sit within a few hundred metres of each other, with the GUM department store's glass-roofed arcade facing the square from the east. The Moscow Metro is a sight in itself — stations like Komsomolskaya and Mayakovskaya were built as underground palaces, with chandeliers, mosaics, and marble columns. Along the Moskva River, the Zaryadye Park floating bridge gives a fresh view back toward the Kremlin, while a river cruise at dusk catches the illuminated embankments and the Stalin-era "Seven Sisters" skyscrapers. Tretyakov Gallery holds the definitive collection of Russian icon and realist painting, and the Bolshoi Theatre remains one of the world's great stages for ballet and opera. Beyond the historic core, Moscow's newer districts — Zamoskvorechye's quiet lanes, the converted Krasny Oktyabr chocolate factory, Gorky Park's riverside promenades — show a city that keeps reinventing its public space. Winters bring snow-dusted domes and steaming bowls of borscht; summer evenings stretch long over open-air cafes on Nikolskaya Street.

Trip Snapshot

Suitable For