Moscow

ABOUT

About Moscow

Moscow, on the Moskva River in western Russia, is the nation’s cosmopolitan capital. In its historic core is the Kremlin, a complex that’s home to the president and tsarist treasures in the Armoury. Outside its walls is Red Square, Russia's symbolic center. It's home to Lenin’s Mausoleum, the State Historical Museum's comprehensive collection, and St. Basil’s Cathedral, known for its colorful, onion-shaped domes. The Garden Ring district has bars, nightclubs, and museums like the Pushkin State Museum, with many Impressionist works, and the State Tretyakov Gallery, specializing in Russian art. Nearby are the Bolshoi Theatre, known for ballet and opera, and Tretyakovsky Proyezd, a street lined with luxury shops. To the north, the Ostankino TV Tower offers panoramic views. Wintertime brings ice-skating to Gorky Park, plus the Russian Winter Festival, featuring music and dance. South of the city center is the open-air architecture museum Kolomenskoye, showcasing a wide range of building types.

TOP SIGHTS

Moscow Kremlin

Moscow Kremlin, or simply the Kremlin, is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow, overlooking the Moskva River to the south, Saint Basil's Cathedral and Red Square to the east, and the Alexander Garden to the west.

Saint Basil's Cathedral

The Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed, commonly known as Saint Basil's Cathedral, is an Orthodox church in Red Square of Moscow and is one of the most popular cultural symbols of Russia. The building, now a museum, is officially known as the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos on the Moat, or Pokrovsky Cathedral. It was built from 1555 to 1561 on orders from Ivan the Terrible and commemorates the capture of Kazan and Astrakhan.

Gorky Park

Gorky Central Park of Culture and Leisure is a central park in Moscow, named after Maxim Gorky. Gorky Park is the central park of Moscow and is attended by more than 20 thousand people on weekdays and more than 100 thousand on weekends and holidays.

Gum

Gum is the main department store in many cities of the former Soviet Union, known as State Department Store during the Soviet era. Similarly-named stores operated in some Soviet republics and in post-Soviet states.

Novodevichy Convent

Novodevichy Convent, also known as Bogoroditse-Smolensky Monastery, is probably the best-known cloister of Moscow and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The convent was directly associated with the political, cultural, and religious history of Russia, and closely linked to the Moscow Kremlin.

Pushkin Museum

Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts is the largest museum of European art in Moscow, located in Volkhonka street, just opposite the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The International musical festival Sviatoslav Richter's December nights has been held in the Pushkin Museum since 1981.

Poklonnaya Hill

Poklonnaya Hill is one of the most famous landmarks of Moscow which reminds everyone about victims of WWII. Poklonnaya Hill is situated between Kutuzovsky prospekt and Minskaya ulica. It is a memorial park. This is a very popular recreational spot with Moscow residents and tourists.

Tsar Bell

Tsar Bell, also known as the Tsarsky Kolokol, Tsar Kolokol III, or Royal Bell, is a 6.14-meter tall, 6.6-meter diameter bell on display on the grounds of the Moscow Kremlin. The bell was commissioned by Empress Anna Ivanovna, niece of Peter the Great. It has never been in working order, suspended, or rung.

Ivan the Great Bell Tower

Ivan the Great Bell Tower is a church tower inside the Moscow Kremlin complex. With a total height of 81 meters, it is the tallest tower and structure of the Kremlin. The Ivan the Great Bell Tower is an ensemble with three components. All of the buildings are made of brick and are whitewashed in accord with the neighboring buildings of Cathedral Square.