Moscow
The first public park in Moscow, Alexander Garden sits along the Kremlin’s western wall. Colourful flower beds and impressive Kremlin views make it a…
Moscow
The first public park in Moscow, Alexander Garden sits along the Kremlin’s western wall. Colourful flower beds and impressive Kremlin views make it a…
Moscow
A statue of the founder of Moscow, Yury Dolgoruky, presides over this prominent square near the bottom of Tverskaya ul. So does Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, as…
Moscow
From the Kutafya Tower, walk up the ramp and pass through the Kremlin walls beneath the 1495 Trinity Gate Tower. At 80m it's the tallest of the fortress…
Moscow
This grandiose complex was founded in 1656 near the picturesque Istra River (renamed the ‘Jordan’ by Patriarch Nikon). Unlike other Moscow monasteries,…
Moscow
Built for Patriarch Nikon mostly in the mid-17th century, the highlight of the Patriarch’s Palace is perhaps the ceremonial Cross Hall (Крестовая палата),…
Moscow
Named for its Italian Renaissance stone facing, the Hall of Facets was designed and built by Marco Ruffo and Pietro Solario between 1487 and 1491, during…
Moscow
Viktor Vasnetsov was a Russian-revivalist painter, who drew inspiration from fairy tales and village mysticism. In 1894 he designed his own house in…
Moscow
Occupying the entire block of Novaya pl, this giant museum showcases the history of Russian science, technology and industry. Indeed, it has claimed to be…
Moscow
Though this renowned Russian author is more closely associated with St Petersburg, Fyodor Dostoevsky was actually born in Moscow, where his family lived…
Gorki Leninskie Museum-Reserve
Moscow
In Lenin’s later years, he and his family spent time at the Morozov manor house, set on lovely wooded grounds, 32km southeast of the capital. The estate…
Moscow
Part Russian Revival, part neo-Renaissance, this red-brick beauty was built in the 1890s as the Moscow City Hall and later served as the Central Lenin…
Moscow
Dominated by the infamous KGB compound, Lubyanskaya pl made adults shiver in Soviet times, but children dreamed of coming here, because another stately…
Moscow
Beside (not inside) the Ivan the Great Bell Tower stands the world’s biggest bell, a 202-tonne monster that has never rung. Bas-reliefs of Empress Anna…
Moscow
The huge 'new' New Jersalem Museum is a modern, state-of-the-art museum, located across the river from the eponymous monastery. Exhibits draw on the…
Church of the Deposition of the Robe
Moscow
This delicate single-domed church was built between 1484 and 1486 in exclusively Russian style. It was the private chapel of the heads of the Church, who…
Moscow
This museum is an excellent place to start when you arrive in Borodino. You can study an interactive diorama of the Battle of Borodino before setting out…
Moscow
Now housing the Russian State University for the Humanities, this elaborately decorated edifice is where Ivan Fyodorov reputedly produced Russia’s first…
Moscow
About the holiest of Soviet icons, this powerful monument designed by Vera Mukhina depicts a fierce-looking couple raising the hammer and sickle,…
Moscow
In 2016 Vladimir Putin unveiled a new monument dedicated to his namesake Vladimir I, ruler of Kyivan Rus from 980 to 1015. At 17m high, the massive statue…
Moscow
Insightful exhibits examine the history, present and future of design, eg Soviet Design 1950–1980 and New Olds: Classics & Innovation in Design. Exhibits…
Moscow
Travelling with children who ask too many questions about life, the universe and everything? Here is a place that provides answers for them to ponder for…
Moscow
Completed in 1878, this is a good example of old Russian architecture, with a wood-carved exterior and chequer-painted roof. When the Mamontovs lived on…
Moscow
Several rooms of the manor house have been preserved intact, complete with artwork by various former resident artists. The main attraction is Mamontov’s…
Moscow
This monastery is the second-oldest in Moscow, founded in 1296 by Prince Daniil, son of Alexander Nevsky. The current Epiphany Cathedral – with its tall,…
Moscow
Founded by artists who were banned during the Soviet era, this gallery space includes 10 exhibit halls showing the work of top contemporary artists, as…
Moscow
The 40-tonne Tsar Cannon was cast in 1586 by the blacksmith Ivan Chokhov for Fyodor I, whose portrait is on the barrel. Shot has never sullied its 89cm…
Moscow
Out front of St Basil’s Cathedral is a statue of Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky, one a butcher and the other a prince, who together raised and led the…
Moscow
This monastery was founded by Boris Godunov in 1600, although the church was built in 1660. The name means ‘Behind the Icon Stall’, a reference to the…
Moscow
The obelisk in Alexander Garden has been restored to its original purpose, as a monument to the House of Romanovs, erected to commemorate the tercentenary…
Moscow
The little church occupying this site is a 1993 replica of the original 17th-century beauty, which was built in thanks for the 1612 expulsion of Polish…
Moscow
The Kutafya Tower, which forms the main visitors’ entrance today, stands apart from the Kremlin’s west wall, at the end of a ramp over the Alexander…
Chambers of the Romanov Boyars
Moscow
This small but interesting museum is devoted to the lives of the Romanov family, who were mere boyars (nobles) before they became tsars. The house was…
Moscow
The long, low neoclassical building is Moscow Manege, a vast space that is used for art exhibitions and other events. In the works is a permanent exhibit…
Moscow
This reconstructed 16th-century house, white with wooden roofs, was the residence of England’s first emissaries to Russia (sent by Elizabeth I to Ivan the…
Moscow
The green-columned House of Unions dates from the 1780s. Its ballroom, called the Hall of Columns, is famous as the location of one of Stalin’s most…
Moscow
An excavation of Voskresensky Bridge (which used to span the Neglinnaya River at the foot of Tverskaya ul) uncovered coins, clothing and other artefacts…
Moscow
The glowering State Duma was erected in the 1930s for Gosplan (Soviet State Planning Department), source of the USSR’s Five-Year Plans. It is now the seat…
Moscow
The pink-and-white St Barbara’s Church, built between 1795 and 1804, is now given over to government offices.
Moscow
Built in 1698, St Maxim the Blessed’s Church is now a folk-art exhibition hall.