SIGHTSEEING
Moscow has lots of attractions that beg to be seen. Do not miss Novodevichy, the
Kremlin or Red Square. There are lots of museums in the homes of famous literary figures.
A tour guide is useful if you do not speak Russian -- few museums cater to English
speakers. And bear in mind that most museums are closed Monday.
LANDMARKS AND HISTORIC SITES
The first place to go in Moscow is Red Square, a former marketplace in the
center of the city. The fantastical St. Basil's Cathedral dominates one end. It's
open Wednesday-Monday 9:30 am-5:30 PM. If you're facing the cathedral, the huge shopping
arcade GUM is to the left, and to the right is the Lenin Mausoleum, an
impressive, huge marble building. The guard of honor no longer goose-steps in front. The
only thing left now is Lenin's mummified body. Plans are under way to bury him next to his
mother in St. Petersburg, but there's no telling when he might be moved, and until then
you can view Lenin Tuesday-Thursday and Saturday 10 am-1 PM, Sunday 10 am-2 PM. Free.
The Kremlin, which means fortress in Russian, is the heart of Moscow. The first
fortress was erected there in AD 1147, but the buildings include everything from
spectacular 15th-century churches to the modern Palace of Congresses, an ugly construction
from 1961. The Cathedral of the Assumption, the Belltower of Ivan the Terrible
and the Cathedral of the Annunciation are marvels of Russian architecture and art.
Don't miss the Armory, which contains fabulous imperial carriages and gowns. About
150 rubles (US$7) for foreigners. Friday-Wednesday 10 am-noon and 2:30-4:30 PM. Right on
Red Square -- you can't miss it.
The entrance to the Kremlin is on the east side of the complex, via a footbridge over
the Alexander Gardens. You can buy entrance tickets to the Kremlin and the Kremlin
churches from a booth at the start of the bridge. Booth is open Friday-Wednesday 10 am-1
PM and 2-4:30 PM. Ticket office: 202-4256.
Consider taking an English-language tour with one of the freelance guides who wait
outside the Kremlin ticket booth. Most are very respectable and well qualified and offer
tours of the Kremlin, cathedrals and Armory. You can usually negotiate a price of around
200-300 rubles (US$10-$15), including entrance tickets.
The magnificent Christ the Savior Cathedral, prime restoration project of
Moscow's Mayor Luzhkov, was rebuilt from scratch between 1995 and 1997. The original 1912
cathedral at the site (commemorating Russia's victory over Napoleon) was dynamited on
Stalin's orders in 1930 to make way for a gigantic skyscraper to be topped by a 10-story
statue of Lenin. When the riverside site was found to be too soft for such a project, the
area was turned into a giant swimming pool. Exterior of the rebuilt white and gold,
onion-domed structure was completed in time for Moscow's 850th birthday celebration last
year. The interior is due to be completed by the year 2000. It's a few blocks south and
west of the Kremlin, near the Kropotkinskaya metro station, which was in part constructed
from the old cathedral's stones.
Novodevichy Convent is one of the most spectacular sights in Russia. The
16th-century convent was once home to a nobleman's inconvenient female relatives (such as
Peter the Great's half sister Sophia, who was sent there against her will). There's a
stunning gold chapel and the beautiful Smolensk Cathedral. Wednesday-Monday 10 am-5 PM;
closed the first Monday of each month. Museum tickets are 50 rubles (US$5). Bolshaya
Pirogovskaya, phone 246-8526. (Metro: Sportivnaya, to the southeast of the center.)
Around the corner to the right of the convent entrance lies the cemetery where
Prokofiev, Chekhov, Khrushchev, Gogol and other famous bodies lie. Erratic hours but
generally open till 5 PM. Tickets (20 rubles, a little over US$1) for the cemetery can be
purchased from the ticket booth across the road from the entrance.
MUSEUMS
The Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, near the Kremlin, is one of Moscow's main
attractions, with fine impressionist and antiquities collections. Often hosts good
exhibits. Admission around 50 rubles (US$5). Tuesday-Sunday 10 am-7 PM. Ulitsa Volkhonka
12, phone 203-9578.
The Tretyakov Gallery (Old) has recently been restored. It houses a lovely
collection of icons and Russian classic portraits. Tuesday-Sunday 10 am-6:30 PM. Admission
50 rubles (US5). Lavrushinsky Pereulok 10 (near the Tretyakovskaya metro station), phone
231-1362.
Tretyakov Gallery (New) is in the Central House of Artists -- the huge white
building across from Gorky Park -- and hosts a variety of exhibitions of Soviet and
post-Soviet art. Tuesday-Sunday 10 am-6:30 PM. Admission 50 rubles (around US$5). Krymsky
Val 10 (near Oktyabrskaya metro), phone 238-1378.
The Gorky House Museum, just off the Boulevard Ring, is one of the city's
art-nouveau treasures. Designed by Fyodor Shektel, it boasts the most extraordinary
staircase in the city, as well as the personal belongings of the modern Soviet novelist
Maxim Gorky, who lived there. Free. Wednesday and Friday noon-6:30 PM, Saturday and Sunday
10 am-4:30 PM. Closed the last Thursday of the month. Ulitsa Malaya Nikitskaya 6/2 (near
Pushkinskaya/Chekhovskaya metro), phone 290-0535.
Kolomenskoye, an open-air museum near the metro of the same name, is one of the
city's favorite weekend spots. Once the summer residence of the czars, the palace is gone,
but the lovely park on the banks of the Moscow River still boasts lovely churches and
Peter the Great's wooden cabin, transported from Arkhangelsk. Tuesday-Sunday 11 am-5 PM.
Admission is 20 rubles (around US$1). Prospekt Andropova 39, phone 112-5217, ticket office
115-2309.
PARKS AND GARDENS
Gorky Park is the most famous park in Moscow -- famous in the West because of
Martin Cruz Smith's thriller of the same name. It's southwest of the Kremlin and across
the river. Approximately 300 acres/120 hectares encompass an assortment of carnival rides,
cafes and beer gardens, buskers and skateboarders. In the summer, kids come to skateboard
to the music blaring over the loudspeakers, and families rent paddleboats to splash around
in on the small lake. In the winter, there's an ice-sculpture competition, and on a nice
day at any time of year, it's a wonderful place to walk, with miles of unkempt but green
paths. Open 9 am-10 PM because it has restaurants within its perimeter, but it's not
advisable to walk there after dark. Admission is about 100 rubles (US$5). On the Garden
Ring Road between the Oktyabrsky and Park Kultury metro stations.
Alexander Gardens, in the shadow of the Kremlin on Manezh Square, is a great
place to stroll or sit on a bench and read. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is at one end;
at the other is a slope that's a favorite sledding hill for children in winter.
Sokolniki Park, near the Sokolniki metro in the north of the city, is a good
place to cross-country ski in winter and to walk in summer.
SELF-GUIDED WALKING TOURS
Walk down the Arbat, once home to the finest artists and writers in Russia,
including Alexander Pushkin. Lined with beautiful pastel-colored houses, the Arbat is now
a popular place to stroll. The souvenir shops and stalls are the best place in the city to
shop for goodies to take back home. Don't be afraid to haggle with the street vendors and
artists. Don't miss the pirate CD vendors near the beginning, who sell noncopyright CDs
for 40-50 rubles (US$5-$6). Close to the Arbatskaya metro station, it's a 15-minute walk
from Red Square. It runs off the Boulevard Ring, in a V-shape away from Ulitsa Novy Arbat.
Patriarch's Pond offers good people watching, and the area around the park --
relatively traffic free and pleasant for walking -- boasts some of Moscow's best examples
of turn-of-the-century architecture. Made famous as the place where the devil first
appeared in Michael Bulgakov's fantastical novel, The Master and Margarita,
Patriarch's Park is a favorite spot for locals walking their dogs, strolling with their
babies or just seeing and being seen. In winter people clear the snow off the pond and
skate to popular music played over loudspeakers. The Cafe Margarita across the road offers
cheap meals and snacks (hours are erratic). Patriarch's Pond is on Ulitsa Malaya Bronnaya,
just two blocks inside the Garden Ring.
LOCAL TOURS
The costs of the following tours, all of which are conducted in English, vary widely
according to itineraries and companies. It's best to call with particular destinations in
mind to see what they can offer you. Remember that all of this initiative is fairly new to
Russia.
Akademservice, associated with Moscow State University, custom-designs tours for
specific interests and offers as well literary tours (such as Moscow in Tolstoy's War
and Peace). English-speaking guides charge around 250 rubles (US$25) per day.
Monday-Friday 10 am-6 PM. Ulitsa Arkitektora Vlasova 49, phone 128-7662, fax 128-4997.
Patriarchy Dom offers reasonably priced walking tours around Moscow. They'll
also provide guides to accompany visitors to specific places, such as museums, or they'll
lead tours on day trips out of Moscow. Their specialties are art, architectural and
literary tours, averaging 100-150 rubles (US$5-$7) per hour. Phone 255-4515.
Intourist offers stock tours, such as guided visits to the Kremlin. Not the
easiest company to reach, but it's a large organization, and its professionals have been
in the business longest. Daily 9 am-8 PM. Mokhovaya Ulitsa 13. To organize a tour in
English, call 292-1278 or 292-2365.
Riverboats operate in the summer. Schedules are posted at departure points, such
as in front of Kievsky Railway Station, in front of the Estrada Theater across from the
Kremlin and at Gorky Park. Hiring one for a party is popular and great fun, but you'll
need to negotiate with the individual captain. Rates run approximately 4000-6000 rubles
(US$200-$300) for three to four hours. |
