Russia's capital grew in rings around the Kremlin: the walled Kitay-gorod merchant quarter, the Boulevard Ring and the Garden Ring, with the Moskva river curving south past Zamoskvorechye and Gorky Park. Muscovites eat at Georgian and Uzbek places as much as Russian ones, ride a metro whose stations are museums of Soviet design, and spend weekends in the old estates, parks and banyas.
Must-see
The sights to fit in even on a short trip.
- 01Moscow Kremlin
- 02Red Square
- 03St Basil's Cathedral
- 04State Tretyakov Gallery (Lavrushinsky)
- 05Zaryadye Park
- 06Komsomolskaya metro station (Circle line)
- 07Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (Main Building)
- 08Novodevichy Convent
- 09Gorky Park
- 10Bolshoi Theatre (Historic Stage)
History & museums 100
- Church of the Ascension, Kolomenskoye
- Danilov Monastery
- Sretensky Monastery
- Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
- Alexander Garden
- Andronikov Monastery and Andrei Rublev Museum
- Annunciation Cathedral
- Donskoy Monastery
- Dormition Cathedral
- Gallery of European and American Art of the 19th-20th Centuries
- Kolomenskoye Museum-Reserve
- Korolev Memorial House-Museum
- Kotelnicheskaya Embankment Building
- Mayakovskaya metro station
- Museum of Cosmonautics
- Narkomfin Building
- Ploshchad Revolyutsii metro station
- Poklonnaya Hill and Victory Park
- Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (Main Building)
- Red Square
- St Basil's Cathedral
- State Tretyakov Gallery (Lavrushinsky)
- Tsaritsyno Museum-Reserve
- Victory Museum
- Worker and Kolkhoz Woman
- Arbatskaya metro station
- Armoury Chamber
- Cathedral of Christ the Saviour
- Chistye Prudy (Clean Ponds) and Chistoprudny Boulevard
- Gorky Park
- Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center
- Kazan Cathedral
- Kievskaya metro station (Circle line)
- Kosmos Pavilion (Space Centre at VDNKh)
- Kudrinskaya Square Building
- Kuskovo Estate
- Leo Tolstoy Estate Museum in Khamovniki
- Manege
- Marina Tsvetaeva House Museum
- Melnikov House
- Moscow State University Main Building
- Multimedia Art Museum (MAMM)
- Muzeon Park of Arts
- New Tretyakov Gallery (Krymsky Val)
- Nikolskaya Street
- Novodevichy Convent
- Novoslobodskaya metro station
- Old Arbat
- Orlov Paleontological Museum
- Ostankino Tower
- Pashkov House
- Patriarch's Ponds
- Sokolniki Park
- Sparrow Hills Viewpoint
- State Darwin Museum
- State Museum of Oriental Art
- Vernadsky State Geological Museum
- Archangel Cathedral
- Borodino Battle Panorama Museum
- Chambers of the Romanov Boyars
- Elektrozavodskaya metro station
- GUM
- Kropotkinskaya metro station
- Lermontov House Museum
- Mosfilm Museum and Studio Tour
- Museum of Archaeology of Moscow
- Old English Court
- Ryabushinsky Mansion (Gorky House Museum)
- Shukhov Tower
- State Historical Museum
- Arkhangelskoye Estate Museum
- Belorusskaya metro station (Circle line)
- Chekhov House Museum
- Komsomolskaya metro station (Circle line)
- Moscow Museum of Modern Art (Petrovka 25)
- Novodevichy Cemetery
- Pushkin Memorial Apartment on Arbat
- Tsar Cannon
- Zaryadye Park
- Garage Museum of Contemporary Art
- Lenin's Mausoleum
- Rusakov Workers' Club
- GES-2 House of Culture
- Bulgakov Museum ("Bad Apartment")
- Boulevard Ring
- Cathedral Square (Kremlin)
- Centrosoyuz Building
- Diamond Fund
- Herzen House-Museum
- Izmailovo Royal Estate (Izmailovsky Island)
- Kitay-gorod Wall
- Manezhnaya Square
- Moscow Kremlin
- Pokrovsky (Intercession) Convent
- Povarskaya Street
- Pyatnitskaya Street
- Timiryazev State Biological Museum
- Tsar Bell
- Tverskaya Street
- VDNKh (Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy)
Where to eat 163
- Lyubov Pirogova
- Manul
- Pole
- Sandra Bulok
- Boris Sonny
- Chito-Ra
- Darbazi
- Khinkali Point
- Kooperativ Chernyi
- Lao Lee
- Lepim i Varim
- Maestrello
- Ostankino Ponchiki
- Oxus
- Padron
- Skvorets
- Vizir Makhallya & Graf Orlov
- Altargana
- Beirut
- Beluga
- Café Pushkin
- Cantinetta Antinori
- Capito
- Chaynaya Vysota
- Chebureknaya Druzhba
- Chemodan
- Chuanyu
- Ekspeditsiya. Northern Cuisine
- Elardzhi
- Eli Satsebeli
- Erwin. RekaMoreOkean
- Hite
- Izumi
- Kitayskaya Gramota
- Krasota
- KU: Ramen Izakaya Bar
- Kuvshin
- Mama Tuta
- Matryoshka
- Meat Point
- Mirazh
- Oblomov
- Olluco
- Probka na Tsvetnom
- Saigon
- Sakhalin
- Scrocchiarella
- Selfie
- Semifreddo
- TsDL (Central House of Writers)
- Twins Garden
- Yuzhnoye
- 6am Bread Kitchen
- Aeroplan
- Arfa
- Atelier de Tartelettes
- Bely Zhuravl
- Burger Heroes
- Grand Cru
- Kazbek
- Koji
- KrabyKutaby
- La Bottega Siciliana
- La Maree
- Laffa Laffa
- Lucky Izakaya Bar
- Mari Vanna
- Mr. Lee
- Natakhtari
- Pelmeni on Lenivka
- Pizza 22 cm
- Ra'men
- Salyut
- Severyane
- Tiflissky Dvorik
- U Burcho
- Uhvat
- Urozhay Café at VDNKh
- Voronezh
- Zhi Est
- Bulka
- Chebureknaya SSSR (Bolshaya Bronnaya)
- Dr. Zhivago
- Est Khinkali & Pit Vino
- Flip
- House of Scientists canteen
- Jun
- Maya
- Meraki
- Niki
- Pechorin
- Ruski
- Saperavi Cafe
- Savva
- SibirSibir
- Stolovaya No. 57
- Volkonsky
- Vostochny Kvartal
- Vse Tvoi Druzya
- White Rabbit
- Gvidon
- Kremlyovsky Café-Stolovaya
- Moscow-Delhi
- Okhotka
- Senti Menti
- U Pirosmani
- Zhiguli Self-Service Hall
- Dagestanskaya Lavka (Danilovsky Market)
- Druzhba (Chinese restaurant)
- Shchepka at Danilovsky Market
- Valiko
- Kalinka na Neglinke
- La Poste
- Saviv
- Finch
- Gastrodacha Vselug
- Uzbekistan
- +39 Pizzeria & Mozzarella Bar
- Aaark
- Aina
- Blinnaya on Vorontsovskaya
- Cappuccino Kids
- Chapa
- Chelovek i Parokhod
- Chikho
- Dachniki
- DNA
- Dodgy
- Dürüm Kebab
- Eklernaya Kler
- Eshki Matreshki
- Floo
- GES-2 Canteen
- Gorbufet Pelmennaya
- House of Russian Cuisine (VDNKh)
- JNKL
- Joli
- Klyukva canteen
- Litsey
- Masa Madre
- Mashenka
- Mini Turkish Spot
- Neighborhood Bar
- Niki Piano Bar
- Ø36 Kebab
- On Sight
- Orda
- Öz Kebab
- Piu Piu
- Rébellion Clubhouse
- Rogozhskaya Trapeznaya (Old Believers' refectory)
- Rubel
- Rusty Rat & Pizza
- Sasha's Bread
- So Far Kebab
- Stolovaya
- Stolovaya in Golyanovo
- Tricky
- Varenichnaya No. 1 (Arbat)
- Veriko
- Voskhod
- Vysoko-Petrovsky Monastery Refectory
- Zoe
Night out 89
- Butler The Japanese Bar
- Tchaikovsky Concert Hall
- The Hat
- Alexey Kozlov Jazz Club
- Bolshoi Theatre (Historic Stage)
- Chekhov Moscow Art Theatre (MKhT)
- Helikon Opera
- Kabinet 3.14
- Maly Theatre
- Moscow Conservatory (Great Hall)
- Moscow International House of Music
- Pioner Cinema
- Pyotr Fomenko Workshop
- Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theatre (MAMT)
- Still Stand-Up Club
- Vakhtangov Theatre
- Zaryadye Concert Hall
- Dom, v Kotorom
- Esse Jazz Club
- Korobok
- Lenkom Mark Zakharov Theatre
- Method Beer & Munchies
- Nikulin Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard
- Novaya Opera Theatre
- Pushkin Drama Theatre
- Riesling Boyz
- Rule Taproom
- Ryumochnaya Mechty
- Sovremennik Theatre
- The Abbey Players Pub
- The Bix
- Theatre of Nations
- Bambule
- Connolly Station
- Dry&Wet
- Electrotheatre Stanislavsky
- Mandy's Apothecary Irish Pub
- Mission Ethical Beer Cafe
- Mitzva Bar
- Na Kranakh
- Ryumochnaya Zyuzino
- Shortlist Books & Spirits
- Stand Up Club na Trubnoy
- Svoboda
- The Black Swan Pub & Shop
- Touché Wine Bar & Kitchen
- Veladora
- 13° Wine Bar
- 16 Tons
- Craft Republic
- Igor Butman Jazz Club
- Lion's Head Pub
- Na Vina!
- Shashlychnaya (Alko-buffet)
- Shirokuyu na Shirokuyu
- Soyuz Kompozitorov Jazz Club
- Stand Up Patriki
- Strelka Bar
- The Nest
- Voda
- Zhuravli
- Big Wine Freaks
- Insider Bar
- Zelenaya Sobaka
- Dezhurnaya Ryumochnaya
- Dom Kultur
- Noor Electro
- Sixty
- StandUp Cafe
- Yuzhnaya
- Zinziver
- Intelligentsiya
- Rovesnik
- Avtomoyka
- Belgian Brasserie 0.33
- Botafogo
- Chainaya Tea & Cocktails
- Delicatessen
- Dex
- Fonoteca Listening Bar
- Hanky 3/7
- Ryumka
- Segreto
- Silencio
- Studio 3
- Taganka Theatre
- Tsirk
- Urban Winery
- Vinfak (Wine Faculty)
Locals only 80
- Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
- Church of St John the Warrior on Yakimanka
- Marfo-Mariinsky Convent
- Museum of Russian Icon
- Novospassky Monastery
- Church of St Clement
- Church of St Nicholas on Bersenevka
- Church of the Resurrection in Kadashi
- Falanster
- Golosov Ravine (Kolomenskoye)
- Illuzion Cinema
- Ivanovsky Convent
- Krutitsy Metochion
- Lutheran Cathedral of Sts Peter and Paul
- Moscow Cable Car (Vorobyovy Gory - Luzhniki)
- Museum of Cryptography
- Neskuchny Garden
- Patriarshy Bridge
- Perlov Tea House
- Pokrovskoye-Streshnevo Park
- Rostokino Aqueduct
- Serebryany Bor
- Viktor Vasnetsov House-Museum
- Voznesensky Centre
- Vysokopetrovsky Monastery
- All-Russian Museum of Decorative Art
- Aptekarsky Ogorod (MSU Botanical Garden)
- Bauman Garden
- Biblio-Globus
- Bitsevsky Forest
- Bogdan Khmelnitsky Bridge
- Fili Park
- Hermitage Garden
- Khitrovka and Ivanovskaya Gorka
- Khlebozavod No. 9
- Main Botanical Garden (Tsitsin)
- Moskva Bookshop
- Museum of Russian Impressionism
- Museum of Soviet Arcade Machines
- Ogni Moskvy (Museum of Moscow Street Lighting)
- Russian Academy of Sciences viewpoint
- Sanduny (Sandunovskiye Baths)
- Scriabin Memorial Museum
- Vorontsovsky Park
- Artplay Design Centre
- Central Children's Store rooftop deck
- Flacon Design Factory
- Gogol House
- Krasnaya Presnya Park
- Lefortovo Park
- Losiny Ostrov National Park
- Lumiere Brothers Centre for Photography
- Moscow House of Dostoevsky
- Seleznevskiye Baths
- Shchusev Museum of Architecture
- Timiryazevsky Park
- Vernissage and Flea Market at Izmailovo
- Vorontsovskiye Baths
- ZIL Culture Centre
- Bunker-42 on Taganka (Museum of the Cold War)
- Danilovsky Market
- Krasnopresnenskiye Baths
- Kuzminki Estate Park
- Leo Tolstoy State Museum (Prechistenka)
- Museum of Russian Lubok and Naive Art (Dacha)
- Preobrazhensky Market
- Vadim Sidur Museum
- Vagankovo Cemetery
- Winzavod Centre for Contemporary Art
- Usachevskiye Baths
- Usachevsky Market
- Dorogomilovsky Market
- Rizhsky Market
- Church of the Resurrection on Uspensky Vrazhek
- Knizhny v Klube (bookshop in Klub)
- Piotrovsky Bookshop
- River electric tram, Kievsky - Fili Park route
- Savvinskoye Podvorye courtyard
- Strogino Floodplain and Bay
- Zotov Centre
Walking routes 10
- 01Kremlin, Red Square and Kitay-gorodFrom the Alexander Garden into the Kremlin cathedrals, then out across Red Square, up Nikolskaya Street and back down to the old boyar houses on Varvarka and the river terraces of Zaryadye Park.
- 02Zamoskvorechye: Bolotny Island lanes and churches to the TretyakovCross the Patriarshy Bridge from the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour to Bolotny Island and GES-2, then walk the quiet merchant lanes south of the river past Kadashi and the Tretyakov Gallery to Bolshaya Ordynka and Pyatnitskaya.
- 03Boulevard Ring: Prechistenskiye Vorota to Chistye PrudyThe horseshoe of tree-lined boulevards laid out on the line of the old White City walls, walked from Kropotkinskaya past Gogol House, Tverskoy and Petrovsky boulevards and Trubnaya Square to the pond at Chistye Prudy.
- 04Patriarch's Ponds and Bulgakov's MoscowFrom the Bulgakov Museum in the 'bad apartment' on Bolshaya Sadovaya to Patriarch's Ponds, where The Master and Margarita opens, then through the lanes to Chekhov's house, Shekhtel's Ryabushinsky mansion and the church at Nikitskiye Vorota.
- 05Khitrovka, Ivanovskaya Gorka and PokrovkaThe hilly lanes east of Kitay-gorod: Gilyarovsky's old Khitrovka slum, now a quiet square, the Ivanovsky Convent and the Lutheran cathedral on Starosadsky lane, then up to Pokrovka and the pond at Chistye Prudy.
- 06Arbat side-lanes to PrechistenkaOld Arbat only as the spine: the walk turns off into the lanes for Scriabin's house, Melnikov's cylinder house, Pushkin's flat and Herzen's wooden house on Sivtsev Vrazhek, then ends on Prechistenka at the Tolstoy museum.
- 07Gorky Park, Neskuchny Garden and Sparrow Hills along the riverA long riverside walk from the Muzeon sculpture park through Gorky Park and the shady Neskuchny Garden, along the Andreevskaya embankment to the Academy of Sciences terrace and the classic panorama by Moscow State University.
- 08VDNKh pavilions and the space trailThe Soviet exhibition ground on foot: the Cosmonautics Museum under the Monument to the Conquerors of Space, Mukhina's Worker and Kolkhoz Woman, the main arch, the Central Pavilion and the two great fountains to the Kosmos pavilion.
- 09Metro palaces rideA ride, not a walk, through the stations Wikivoyage and RUSSPASS single out: Kropotkinskaya, Ploshchad Revolyutsii, Arbatskaya and Kievskaya, then round the Circle line via Belorusskaya (one stop out to Mayakovskaya), Novoslobodskaya and Komsomolskaya, ending at Elektrozavodskaya.
- 10Taganka to Andronikov Monastery and Rogozhskaya SlobodaEast of the centre, past the Cold War bunker and the Museum of Russian Icon to the 14th-century Andronikov Monastery with the Rublev museum, then out to the Old Believers' Rogozhskaya Sloboda with its cathedral, bell tower and refectory.