[RUSSIA] Moscow Travel Recommendation

Moscow, capital of Russia, has many attractions that draw visitors from around the world - the Red Square which is dominated by the glory that is St Basil’s Cathedral, the fortified Kremlin wall, the golden dome of Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, the unique wooden palace of Tsar Alexey Mikhailovich and the sumptuous decor of Moscow metro station…


Arriving in Moscow:

I arrived in Moscow by plane. Aeroflot is the flag carrier and largest airline of Russia. It has many local connecting flights within Russia.



This is the Sheremetyevo International Airport. To get to the city, you can either take a taxi, take an Aeroexpress train or even rent a car. There were many taxi drivers waiting at the arrival hall. Bargaining with the taxi driver and agreeing on a fix price beforehand is recommended if you want to take a taxi. I showed the taxi driver the location of apartment on my smart phone and managed to get a taxi to the apartment for RUB 1,500.



This is the apartment I rented for 3 nights. The nearest metro station to the apartment is Okhotniy Ryad.



The 1 bedroom apartment has a double bed and a sofa bed in the living room.





The apartment has everything we need. They even provide a washing machine in the bathroom. The owner,Dmitry Sterkhov can be contacted at dsmoscow4rent@gmail.com.


My travel itinerary in Moscow is as below:
Day 1: Arriving in Moscow from Volgograd in the evening
Day 2: Red Square –> Kremlin –> Moscow metro –> Wooden Palace of Tsar Alexey Mikhailovich
Day 3: Bolshoy Kamenny Bridge –> Cathedral of Christ the Saviour –> Arbat Street –> St Basil Cathedral –> Nikulin Circus


1) Red Square

Just a 5-minute walking distance away from the apartment is the Red Square.



Entrance is free for Lenin’s Mausoleum.
Opening time: 10am to 1pm, closed on Mondays and Fridays
What to see: the embalmed body of Lenin from his death in 1953
Do: Arrive early as the line can get very long.
Don’t: take photo inside the mausoleum



GUM shopping mall is on the eastern side of Red Square. Even if you don’t buy anything, a stroll down the aisles of GUM is still recommended while you are at Moscow. https://gumrussia.com/
Opening: Daily from 10am to 10pm



Do: buy ice cream in GUM. It’s tasty and cheap.



Free balloons and ice cream were given out at GUM while we were there. Pictured here with me is Irina Chulkova. I engaged her to be our guide for the first day. She can be contacted at 79031506795.



St Basil’s Cathedral
Entrance fee: RUB 500 per adult
Opening time: open daily from 10am to 6pm in summer (May – October) except Tuesdays.
What to see: a visit to both its interior and exterior is a must. Believe it or not, the cathedral actually hides eight churches around a central ninth church, representing the medieval symbol of the eight pointed stars.
Do: It is recommended to stay at least 2 full days in Moscow so that if the weather is bad on one day, you can go back to visit when the weather gets better. That was what I did.



Interior of St Basil’s Cathedral.


2) Kremlin

Do: Watch the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier around the noon.



Go inside the all three cathedrals that are open to visitors of Kremlin: Cathedral of the Assumption which is the oldest church in the Kremlin, Archangel Cathedral which contains the tombs of all the rulers of Muscovy and Russia until Peter the Great moved the capital to St. Petersburg and Annunciation Cathedral which contains some superb icons and a beautiful iconostasis.
Admission fee: RUB 500
Opening time: 9.30am to 6pm daily except Thursday (15 May to 30 September), 10am to 5pm daily (1 October to 14 May)



Don’t miss the Tsar Bell which is considered the biggest bell in the world. The broken piece alone weighs 11.5 tonnes.



Last but not least, take your time to see the Armoury Chamber and the Diamond Treasury inside Grand Kremlin Palace.
Armoury Chamber admission fee: RUB 700, free for visitor under 16
Armoury Chamber Opening time: 10am to 6pm daily except Thursday





After visiting Kremlin, you can have lunch at the food court in Okhotny Ryad shopping mall (opens 11am to 11pm).



The free observation view point on the rooftop of Children’s World Department Store (Tsentral'nyy Detskiy Magazin) is well worth a visit. It is within walking distance from the Red Square.



Signage for tourists are both in Russian and English.



For a breathtaking view over Kremlin, drop by Bolshoy Kamenny Bridge.



Cathedral of Christ the Saviour is the largest Orthodox cathedral. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to visit its interior.



For shopping, head to Arbat Street. There are plenty of interesting sculptures and historic buildings along the street.
Getting there: Walking or Arbatskaya metro station.



Moscow metro station is renowned for its beautiful and interesting decor inside the station, each with unique design or theme. I would recommend to anyone visiting Moscow to take the metro at least once.



No English alphabets at the metro station. You have to make sure the place you want to go matches the Russian alphabet.



For more information about how to use metro in Moscow, see my full article here.



Wooden palace of Tsar Alexey Mikhailovich is located outside Moscow city center.
Getting there: Kolomenskaya or Kashirskaya metro station.
Entrance fee: entrance to the Kolomensky Park where the palace located is free but entering the interior of palace (Male/Female chamber) requires ticket. Male chambers: RUB 250, Female chambers: RUB 200, Combined ticket (both male and female chambers): RUB 350
Opening time: 10am to 6pm daily except Monday
If you want to ride the buggy ride, the ticket is RUB 100.



At night, the Red Square is as beautiful as it is during daytime.





A perfect way to the evening is a visit to the Red Square.





To take Aeroexpress train to airport from city centre, change station at:

Sheremetyevo International Airport – Belorusskaya (green line)
Domodedovo International Airport – Paveletskaya (green line)
Vnukovo International Airport – Kivevskaya (dark blue line)



For ticket price and more information, see their website: https://aeroexpress.ru/en/





I had a great time in Moscow. Moscow is an amazing city. If you haven’t visit the city, you definitely should put it in your list.