Three Days in Moscow: A Perfect Plan

The heart of Moscow is Red Square and the Kremlin. Stroll along the cobblestones of the country's main square, admiring the domes of St. Basil's Cathedral, and listen to the chimes ringing on the Spasskaya Tower — they play the Russian national anthem every six hours.

In the Alexander Gardens, watch the changing of the guard at the Eternal Flame by the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (every hour on the hour). Refresh yourself near the fountains, and then explore the Ruins Grotto, created from Moscow buildings destroyed during the French invasion of Russia in 1812 — a symbol of the resilience of the city reborn from the ashes. Walk under the Troitskiy Bridge to reach the Kremlin ticket office.

During a sightseeing tour you’ll get to visit three Kremlin cathedrals (of the Archangel, Annunciation, and Dormition) and see the treasures of the Armoury Chamber. The shortened version of the excursion includes a walk along Cathedral Square with a visit to only one cathedral. Also, you can just buy the necessary tickets and opt for an audio guide. After visiting the museums, ask someone to take a photo of you next to the Tsar Cannon and Tsar Bell — a selfie will not convey their sheer size.

After that, head to Zaryadye Park for lunch and a short rest. Restaurant Voskhod prepares traditional dishes from the former Soviet republics, and the park's gastro-centre serves Russian cuisine. You can order food to go and have a picnic in the meadow. Plants from all of Russia's regions were gathered to decorate the park, and the landscapes of different climate zones have been recreated — there is even an Ice Cave that takes visitors to the far north. In the Media Centre, a moving platform which generates wind, splashing water, and smells, will definitely make you feel like you’re flying over Moscow or Russia. Take a look at the contemporary art exhibits in the Parking Gallery, the Northern Underpass, or the exhibition in the interactive Underground Museum.

The Pushkin Museum is not related to the great poet's work. Instead, it displays fine art from a variety of eras and countries: from severe antique statues, monuments of ancient Egypt and the treasures of Troy to paintings by outstanding European Renaissance and modern artists. You can continue enjoying the sublime at the permanent exhibition of the Gallery of 19th and 20th century European and American Art or at one of the temporary exhibitions of the Department of Prints and Drawings or the Department of Private Collections.

Relax in the small park near the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, the largest Orthodox church in Russia, built to commemorate victory in the Patriotic War of 1812 against Napoleon. Under Stalin, it was destroyed, and then it was later restored.

The pedestrian Patriarshy Bridge leads to Bolotny Ostrov. Here, in the building of a former power plant, there is the GES-2 House of Culture, a unique public space and a hotbed of modern art. GES-2’s remarkable openness makes it different from ordinary museums and galleries, and it involves guests in the living and breathing process of creativity. Here, cinema, theatre, music, dance, and fine art are intertwined.

You can see Zamoskvorechye, a quiet historic district with churches and quaint mansions, from the observation deck on the opposite bank of the Vodootvodny Canal. You can wrap up your day there.

Places

• Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts
• Cathedral of Christ the Saviour
• GES-2 House of Culture
• Tretyakov Gallery

Take a ride on the Moscow Metro, one of the most astoundingly efficient and gorgeous public transportation systems in the world. Its stations, especially the oldest ones, are markedly luxurious, and almost a quarter of them have been designated as cultural heritage sites. Various valuable materials have been used to adorn them: marble, jasper, onyx, and malachite. At 50 stations, you can find numerous fossils – corals, sea lilies, and shells – in the marble walls and columns.

Your route goes to the VDNH metro station. We will walk around the vast complex and gain a better understanding of Soviet architecture – most of the majestic pavilions were built in the Art Deco or Stalinist Empire style. Each of them was originally dedicated to one of the republics of the Soviet Union or, later, to a separate branch of the country’s economy. Now temporary and permanent exhibitions are held inside. The most interesting ones are part of the Museum of the Roerichs and the exposition at the Cosmonautics and Aviation Centre. Here you can explore outer space in more depth by looking at the Vostok rocket or visiting the Buran Interactive Museum Complex, which is inside a spaceship. There is the Cosmopark with the Museum of Cosmonautics and the Academician Korolev Memorial Apartment Museum just outside of VDNH. The Moskvarium, the largest aquarium in Europe with 12,000 inhabitants, is also invariably popular.

Be sure to experience the richness of Russian cuisine. The Matryoshka Restaurant treats you to delicacies from all over Russia: jellied muksun, a type of whitefish common in the Siberian Arctic, and crab from the Russian Far East coexist on the menu with Moscow pike perch or sterlet soup.

The interior of Grand-Café Dr. Zhivago is designed to reflect the setting of Pasternak's Nobel-Prize-winning novel. In addition to traditional Russian meat and fish dishes, pelmeni, and pies, you can try cabbage rolls with crayfish tails and crab salad with pike caviar and oranges.

Gastro markets are very popular in the capital. The Depo Moscow Food Mall offers cuisines from different countries around the world. Also, it has a fresh food market, as well as souvenir and grocery stores. In addition to numerous restaurants, bars and nightclubs open their doors to patrons in the evening.

Another place where you can spend an exciting evening with a cocktail or a glass of craft beer is the unique Black Swan Pub. The interior was collected bit by bit from all over the world. In this eclectic space full of vintage items and antiques, it seems that there is not a single thing less than 100 years old. The lower hall, the Secret Room, is part of what used to be salt cellars, and nowadays, you can see stained glass windows, benches, and even an organ brought to Russia from churches in Ireland and Wales.

At VDNH, it is worth visiting Ottepel. All dishes are prepared from local products, bread is baked on site, and you’ll remember the flavour and presentation of the dishes for a long time. Try the rabbit and truffle pelmeni or the duck leg with apricots and currant sauce.

Places

• Matryoshka Restaurant
• Grand-Café Dr. Zhivago
• Depo Moscow Food Mall
• The Black Swan Pub
• Restaurant Ottepel