Direct flights from across Russia
Moscow is the country's main aviation hub. Up to 40 flights daily from St Petersburg, 15 from Kazan, daily from Sochi. Aeroexpress from SVO, DME and VKO — city centre in 35 minutes.
Moscow is not just a capital. It's a world unto itself.
Best fares
Hotels in Moscow
From historic 5★ properties by the Kremlin to design boutiques on the Arbat. Best districts — Kitay-gorod, Arbat, Khamovniki.
Districts of Moscow
When to go to Moscow
Moscow welcomes visitors year-round. Summer — festivals. December — markets on Red Square.
Ready-made tours to Moscow
What you need to know before you go
Transport
Troika card — unified pass for metro, MCC, buses. Aeroexpress to centre in 35 minutes. Taxis via Yandex Go.
Museums and theatres
Kremlin, Tretyakov, Bolshoi — book tickets online in advance. Third Sunday of the month — free museum day.
Restaurants
White Rabbit, Selfie, Twins Garden — Russia's finest. Budget-friendly: Teremok, restaurants at Danilovsky Market.
Connectivity
All operators work perfectly. Sales.Travel eSIM — from 4 € per week, QR activation. Current plans on the eSIM page. Free Wi-Fi in metro and parks.
Must-try experiences
Armoury Chamber, Diamond Fund. Changing of the Guard at 12:00. Online tickets skip the queue.
Red Square is the heart of Russia that everyone must see. Inside the Kremlin — the Armoury Chamber with tsarist regalia, the Diamond Fund with the Monomakh's Cap and eight cathedrals from the XIV–XVII centuries. Changing of the Guard at the Eternal Flame — daily at 12:00. Best to buy tickets online — queues at the ticket office can be hour-long even on weekdays.
World-class opera and ballet. Historic stage after 2011 restoration. Book 2–3 months ahead.
The Bolshoi is one of the world's finest opera houses. The historic stage reopened after a 6-year restoration in 2011: gilding, velvet, crystal chandeliers — everything restored from XIX-century archive drawings. Repertoire — Swan Lake, Spartacus, Boris Godunov. Tickets for top performances sell out 2–3 months ahead; book early.
Rublev, Repin, Surikov, Malevich. Main building — Lavrushinsky Lane, New Tretyakov — Krymsky Val.
The world's largest collection of Russian art: 190,000 exhibits from Andrei Rublev's icons to Malevich's Black Square. The main gallery in Zamoskvorechye — XIX-century classics. The New Tretyakov on Krymsky Val — avant-garde, Soviet art, contemporary. Third Sundays of the month — free entry.
Floating bridge over the Moskva River, ice cave, concert hall. Opened 2017. Free entry.
A park right by the Kremlin, built on the site of the demolished Hotel Rossiya. The Floating Bridge — a cantilevered bridge over the Moskva River with Kremlin views from both sides. Inside — an Ice Cave at −5°, florarium, media centre and the 1,500-seat Zaryadye Concert Hall. Park entry is free 24/7.
49 Soviet pavilions, fountains, Cosmos. Ostankino Tower — observation deck at 337 m.
A Soviet Disneyland in Moscow's north-east corner. 49 monumental pavilions, the Friendship of Nations fountain, an atomic rocket in front of the Cosmos pavilion. Nearby — Shekhtman's Garage Museum and Ostankino Tower: observation deck at 337 m, the revolving Seventh Heaven restaurant and 60 km views on clear days.
Business district skyscrapers. OKO observation deck — 85th floor, 356 m. Best city view.
23 skyscrapers rose from nothing on a bend of the Moskva River in 20 years — a financial Manhattan in the heart of Russia. The tallest — Federation Tower (374 m) and Mercury City (339 m). On the observation deck of OKO Tower, 85th floor, the entire city is visible: up to 60 km on clear days. At night the City glows across the entire horizon; best shots from Sparrow Hills opposite.
Stroll down the Arbat, Bulgakov's 'bad apartment' on Bolshaya Sadovaya. 2–3 hour walking route.
The Old Arbat — 1 km of pedestrian street with artists, musicians and souvenir shops. At the end — the Pigit apartment building at 10 Bolshaya Sadovaya: flat 50 — the 'bad apartment' from The Master and Margarita. Fifteen minutes away — Patriarshy Ponds, where Bulgakov's novel begins. In the evening all of bohemian Moscow gathers here.
Kolomenskoye — Church of the Ascension 1532 (UNESCO). Tsaritsyno — Catherine II's palace. Both free.
Kolomenskoye — the former tsarist residence on a bluff above the Moskva River. The Church of the Ascension, 1532 — Russia's first tent-roof church, UNESCO-listed. In May the apple orchards blossom here. Nearby is Tsaritsyno — Catherine II's Gothic palace, which she never saw completed: construction lasted 25 years and stopped after her death. Both parks have free entry.
Boat on the Moskva River. Evening — illuminated Kremlin and bridges. Or walk along Krymskaya Embankment.
Route from Kievsky Station to Novospassky Monastery: 2 hours, 14 bridges, views of the Kremlin, Gorky Park, Zaryadye and Neskuchny Garden from the water. In the evening the lighting comes on — Kremlin, bridges, embankments glow gold. Alternative — walk along Krymskaya Embankment from Gorky Park to Zaryadye: 6 km without a single car, with water views.