One Day in Moscow: Must-See Attractions
See the Capital's Main Sights All in One Day
The capital of Russia is an enormous city with a large historic centre, and one day is far insufficient to get a good feel for it, so we’d like to offer a detailed plan for a walk around Moscow, which will enable you to take a wonderful experience, a variety of photographs, and original souvenirs back home with you for your family and friends.
By the Kremlin
Start with the most important thing: photos of Red Square. The shots will include the Kremlin’s battlement, some of its most famous towers — Spasskaya and Nikolskaya — the intricate domes of St. Basil’s Cathedral, the intimate Kazan Cathedral, restored after the fall of the Soviet Union, and the State Historical Museum.
Before looking at its rich collection of ancient coins, books, weapons, and art objects, have a cappuccino or a dessert at BOSCO Cafe. Enjoy a view of Red Square from the terrace of the GUM department store.
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Zaryadye Park and the Kitay-Gorod Area
Drop by Zaryadye Park and take a photo of the birch grove against the backdrop of the Kremlin and the view from the Floating Bridge, which hovers elegantly over the Moscow River. You can have lunch at Restaurant Voskhod. The interior has a Soviet 1960s theme to it, with the menu featuring classic cuisine of the former Soviet republics and signature versions of traditional dishes: aspic with crab, Olivier salad with hazel grouse or eel.
Varvarka, a quaint street with a string of Orthodox churches from different eras, runs along the park. After that, you can make your way down Moscow’s storied alleys or along Ilyinsky Square in the neighbourhood of Kitay-Gorod to the Ploschad Revolyutsii (Revolution Square) metro station, and if you didn’t get a bite to eat in Zaryadye, you can eat a hearty burger along the way at Vysota 5642, a restaurant with a rooftop view.
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Moscow Metro
The capital's metro, one of the largest in the world, has been operating since 1935. It currently has 15 lines, and the number of stations recently exceeded 250. Even among the more modern ones, there are several with outstanding interiors, and those in the city centre oftentimes look like underground palaces — 44 stations are designated as cultural heritage sites. Dozens of realistic bronze sculptures decorate the Ploschad Revolyutsii metro station. You will notice that some figures of people and animals have shiny noses, knees or other body parts, because it is believed that touching these sculptures brings good luck.
Walk over to the Teatralnaya metro station. It's inside the same building as Ploschad Revolyutsii, so you don't even have to hop on the train or exit the metro. Be sure to track down the metre-long porcelain figurines of men and women in national costumes. From there, you have to go one stop to the Novokuznetskaya metro station. Its decor — mosaics, plaster friezes, metal shields — is dedicated to the Great Patriotic War as represented in the lives of Red Army soldiers and officers, as well as workers on the homefront.
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Pyatnitskaya Street
Once you exit the Novokuznetskaya metro station, you’ll find yourself on Pyatnitskaya Street in the quaint Zamoskvorechye District. Here you can feel how cosy Moscow was in the olden days. Among all the historic buildings, it is especially worth noting the 18th-century baroque St. Clement's Church, the graceful, almost airy bell tower of the Church of the Beheading of John the Baptist, and the eclectic Korobkova Mansion.
An alternative way to get to Pyatnitskaya without going down to the metro is to walk 15 minutes from Zaryadye: across the Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge and then across the Chugunny Bridge. By the way, there are many bars in this area. One establishment worth visiting is the Masters&Margaritas gastrobar, which also has its own signature cocktails.
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Tretyakov Gallery
Just a short 5- or 10-minute walk from Pyatnitskaya Street is the historic building of the Tretyakov Gallery — you will recognize it by its magical Russian-style facade. There is only Russian art from the 12th to the early 20th century in its sixty halls, which you can cover in an hour-and-a-half or two if you’d like. Of particular value are the exhibits in the halls of ancient Russian icon painting — there are even icons from the pre-Mongol period — and the Treasury of the Tretyakov Gallery’s artistic, as well as church, silver. Tickets for the visit and guided tours can be purchased online or directly at the ticket offices, where cash payments are also accepted.
Be sure to check out the souvenir shop. In addition to art albums, magnets, and postcards, you can find many practical souvenirs of the highest quality with the works of Russian artists on them: bags, makeup bags, passport covers, eyeglass cases, umbrellas, and even articles of clothing.
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Zamoskvorechye District
Right next to the Tretyakov Gallery in Bolshoy Tolmachyovsky Lane, you will probably notice a cast-iron, yet lace-like fence and gate. Behind them is the former Demidov Mansion: a building in the early classicism style of the late 18th century. There are many such architectural gems in the Zamoskvorechye District, and if you still have some strength, you can wander around this pleasant area a little more. Don't miss the Resurrection Church in Kadashi Sloboda and the Voznesensky Centre, an architectural monument of the early 19th century. Give your weary feet some rest at the Nitka teahouse in Bolshaya Ordynka Street, where the pre-revolutionary traditions of Russian tea drinking are being restored.
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Boulevards in the Evening
The abundantly illuminated spaces of the Boulevard Ring can be a wonderful conclusion to your day. In the evening, there can be a lot of traffic in the centre, so you may want to take the metro again. From Novokuznetskaya metro station, you only need to go two stops to the Tverskaya metro station, where you’ll see the street of the same name — one of the oldest and most famous in the capital — and Tverskoy Boulevard.
Here you’ll find the Cafe Pushkin, which frequently appears on ratings of the best restaurants in the world. Hundreds of old recipes from the era when the great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin lived were studied to develop an extensive menu featuring what the Russian nobility once ate. Diners are allocated two halls in this late-18th-century building. In the Pharmacy Hall, where medicine was once actually sold, the atmosphere is less grand than in the Library Hall, where after 5 p.m. neither sportswear nor sneakers are allowed. The walls are decorated with authentic cabinets, which are filled from top to bottom with books published between the 18th century and early 20th century — patrons are glued to their phones while taking pictures of everything in sight.
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