Moscow always used to be one of the cities I was curious to discover. This plan was always prevented by two things: Firstly, there was no direct flight from the airport closest to where I live, which obviously increases the hustle to get there (especially when taking the time ratio of being in a city and being at airports into account). Secondly, being a European Union inhabitant, a visit to the Russian Federation requires a full-fledged visa. In 2019, Aeroflot launched a direct flight from my “home airport”. Seeing no perspective that the visa requirement will be dropped anytime soon, I decided to go for it. I booked my trip with a travel agency in order to ease the process of obtaining the visa.
After an arrival in the late evening, we started the exploration of the city on the next day with a visit of Moscow’s Lomonosov University. The university is located a bit outside of the inner city ring, but Moscow’s public transport is definitely top notch (more on that later), so it is quite easy to get there. Why visit a university? The building itself is one of Stalin’s seven sisters, all built between 1947 and 1953. The architecture of those buildings is quite remarkable and there are no other major buildings in the surroundings of the Lomonosov University, making it a great place to take some pictures and have a detailed look. Back in the day, Stalin’s seven sisters were Europe’s tallest buildings. Very close to the university, you will find a platform with a great view of the city and its local Moskva River. From there, you can take a cable car down to the river, which is a perfect spot to continue your way into the city.
The next stop of our city tour was the Novodevichy Cemetery where many famous people are buried. Visiting a graveyard might sound a bit odd, but some of the graves are quite beautiful and exceptional. Talking about exceptional places, the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour is a must-see in Moscow. The exceptional thing about this immense cathedral is the fact that it is quite new. The old cathedral was destroyed on the order of Stalin in 1931. He wanted to build another Soviet skyscraper (sister number eight), but, apparently, the ground was not stable enough to build it. Between 1995 and 2000, the original cathedral was rebuilt. Being inside the cathedral, it is hard to believe that this building with all of its glory is so young. Going up inside the cathedral, you will have quite a few amazing city views. From the cathedral, it is a short walk to the former factory of Krasny Oktyabr, also known as Red October, a manufacturer of confectionery. Today, the large factory premises might be Moscow’s hippest neighborhood, offering galleries, bars and restaurants – definitely a good place for a short break.
Next to pure sightseeing, Moscow offers some great cultural experiences. We went to the world famous Bolshoi Theatre two times, once attending an opera presentation and once a ballet presentation. In fact, there are two theatres: the old building and a new stage. The construction of the latter building was completed in 2002 in order to bridge the time for a major renovation of the old theatre which was done between 2005 and 2011. Today, both stages are in service, and both are absolutely worth a visit with their beautiful, splendid architecture and interior. Next to that, attending such events in Moscow is a real cultural event. The atmosphere before and during the presentations is hard to describe but it is just great. The presentations are not only followed by tourists but also by many local people who are dressed more than elegantly, enjoying champagne and caviar in the breaks, giving the famous artists an euphoric applause. While attending an opera might be a bit tedious for some, ballet is in my opinion a must-see. A very active orchestra in combination with the fast and unbelievably synchronic dances is definitely a world class experience. If you want to go, book tickets in advance and do it on the official website (some resellers have questionable high prices).
Back to city explorations, the famous Red Square is obviously another must-see. The square’s buildings are all unique and extremely remarkable – be it the Kremlin’s clock tower, the stunning St. Basil’s Cathedral, the town hall, or the GUM, a luxurious shopping center. The GUM’s architecture is quite beautiful from the inside, too. Quite close, you can find the fairly new Zaryadye park which offers interesting architecture, nice city views and, last but not least, an exhibition of all of Russia’s climate zones, including an ice cave.
Being a bit tired from the many tourists in the city center, we headed a bit outside to the Museum of Cosmonautics. For people interested in cosmonautics, it is well worth a visit. Russia undoubtedly contributed a lot to space science and exploration – and unlike during the times of the Cold War, space science nowadays is a field of great international collaboration. From there, you can also walk to VDNKh – an exhibition of the achievements of national economy, constructed between 1935 and 1939. The exhibition area is huge and ostentatious, having monuments, fountains and pavilions for many of the former Soviet republics like Armenia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus. The size and Soviet-style glory of VDNKh is pretty surreal, making it, from my personal point of view, a must-see.
Talking about must-sees, the Kremlin has to be mentioned. To visit the Kremlin, make sure to book tickets in advance online (book way in advance, not only a couple of days). We visited the cathedral square. Next to that you can visit various buildings and museums. The Kremlin has been the center of Russia’s power for long periods of time, even having an important role while the capital city of the tsardom was located in Saint Petersburg. There are also not many old buildings left in Moscow, leaving the Kremlin as a bit of an exception. The Kremlin itself is extremely crowded by tourists and the many cathedrals seem to be a bit fallen out of time, but that makes the affair quite unique and interesting. At the walls of the Kremlin, outside of the “ticket zone”, you can find various interesting monuments like the Tomb of the Unknown Solider, a beautiful memorial for the Soviet victims of World War II. You can even visit Lenin’s grave (unfortunately, it was closed during our visit). Having enough of old buildings? Maybe visit Moscow’s new city which offers a few nice skyscrapers.
To visit all of the mentioned places, you will use Moscow’s metro quite a lot. Sounds boring? It is far from it! Next to the fact that Moscow’s metro is fast, efficient and convenient (there is literally a train every few minutes), many stations are just breathtaking. I recommend the following “grand tour de metro”: Ploshchad Revolyutsii -> Arbatskaya -> Kievskaya -> Belorusskaya -> Mayakovskaya -> Novoslobodskaya -> Komsomolskaya. Trust me, you will be continuously amazed and stunned. However, in order to have an enjoyable experience, avoid the rush hour on your “grand tour de metro”, in best case tackle the tour on a weekend day. Moscow’s metro is not only world class in efficiency, it might also be world class in usage frequency.
Talking about picturesque places, I highly recommend to visit the Red Square not only by day but also by night. The illuminations of the buildings are spectacular. The roof-top bar of the nearby Ritz-Carlton hotel offers, next to expensive drinks, priceless views.
To finish off this travel guidance, I want to return to my initial words: Moscow – a world capital. When we talk about “global cities” in the so-called West we often refer to cities like London or New York. And yes, those cities are true melting pots. But at the same time, they became melting pots for a reason, e.g. in the case of London being the capital city of an empire, attracting many immigrants from the countries of this empire. This empire was big, but not all-encompassing. Giving those world famous cities so much attention, we West Europeans tend to forget that there are more “global cities”. Moscow used to be the center of its own world, first in the tsardom, then during the times of the Soviet Republic. Just like in the British Empire, this was not always to the advantage of everyone. However, today, Moscow benefits from a rich, diverse cultural heritage: Next to the many pavilions at VDNKh, this is reflected in many different culinary treats. Treats which are hard to find elsewhere. Next to Russian food, I had dishes from Armenia, Uzbekistan and Georgia. “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach” – delicious and not at all imperialistic. One day, I hope to be able to explore the home countries of those culinary treats.
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