As it’s always the case with big cities, 2.5 days are not enough to see every sight, but it’s enough to discover the most important places, and to get a feel of life here. Now, I’ll share those places of interest briefly, that I found the most important, and I thought to be able to cover in such a short time.
First of all, we don’t have to worry about the transport upon arrival; it’s fairly easy to get into the centre by the modern, double-decker Aeroexpress train, and then navigate further by metro. The sights in the city centre are in walkable distance, hence I barely used the underground, especially that my accommodation was also central.
So what sights could fit into my time? (this can be used as a sample to get a bit of everything out of the visit, like I prefer it, but obviously can be tailored for one’s special taste)
Bolshoi Theatre – it’s worth going for a ballet or an opera here, but tickets sell real quickly. I’ve managed to get one for a Tchaikovsky opera, the Iolanta, for my first evening. Don’t forget your nice clothes if you opt for an evening here! 🙂
Red Square – on one side, it’s bordered by the wall of the Kremlin, on the other side, by the GUM department store. In its far end, you’ll see the iconic Cathedral of Saint Basil the Blessed with its colourful onion-shaped cupolas. The Lenin mausoleum stands ont he square, too; however, it was closed due to reconstruction (it seems even Lenin needs some maintenance from time to time 🙂 ).
The Cathedral of Saint Basil the Blessed – it would be a huge mistake no to go inside Moscow’s symbolic building. Each tower is basically a separate church, which were then merged into one. The entrance fee is 700 Rubel out of season, and 1000 Rubel in high season.
GUM department store – whereas, long ago it echoed from emptiness, today, hundreds of luxury boutiques await for the shoppers. If not for shopping, but it’s definitely worth looking around here. Its architecture and design with the background music embrace you in a unique atmosphere. It is 3 corridor wide and 3 floor high, so its spacious enough to wander around and admire the stunning interior.
Kremlin – „city in the city”surrounded by wall. At the entrance, you have to decide what you’d want to see, as there are two types of tickets: one into the armoury and one into the cathedrals. I only bought into the cathedral square and the cathedrals. I’d highly recommend buying at least this one, as it allows you to visit 5-6 specially beautiful and significant churches. Apart from the cathedrals and the armoury, you can also find here the Senate and the Palace; moreover, a park, which is probably more spectacular when its lush green. This huge complex is surrounded by towered walls.
Zaryadye Park – it could be particularly enjoyable walking here in sunny weather, especially when the nature turns lush green. The slightly artificially looking park lies right on the bank of the Moscow river, with a stream, wood bridges, a restaurant, a cafe, an amphitheatre, an ice cave, small churches, and a lookout terrace reaching in above the river.
Sretensky Monastery – this monastery is probably not among the top 10 sights, though I’d definitely put it in there. I found it as it was in the neighbourhood of my hostel, I could even see it from the window. In the yard, you can find the huge monastery as well as a smaller church, where you’ll find yourself in a dim place soaked with the scent of incense and candle smoke. Icons cover all the walls, where believers walk up, and light long, slim, yellow candles in front of them, then they make the sign of the cross, kiss the corner of the picture, touch them with their foreheads, and murmur a prayer. They repeat this procedure as they walk from icon to icon. Of course, this is not exclusive for this church, but I managed to see it more thoroughly here.
Duma – giant grey building; the Russian Parliament couldn’t get much more depressing but grandiose than this
Christ the Saviour Cathedral – it’s worth visiting and even climbing up to the terraces under the cupola. Apart from the richly decorated interior, you can see the city from above in all directions.
Russian National Library and Book Museum – monumental building with a giant statue of Dostoevsky at its entrance.
Leo Tolstoy Museum – as I really like Russian literature, I would have probably devoted a whole day just to visit the museums of different Russian writers. However, due to lack of time, I chose Tolstoy. For a 400-Rubel entry fee, I could visit quite a few halls, where detailed English descriptions revealed pieces from Tolstoy’s life, Russian history, and how the two are linked together, and how the masterpieces got to life. One room was devoted to War and Peace, one for Anna Karenina, with pictures and manuscripts. Moreover, the different editions of Tolstoy’s books were exhibited, along with pictures and paintings of the writer and his family. There was only one tiny problem: the descriptions of the individual objects, manuscripts and pictures were only in Russian in cyrillic letters, so my only guides were the more general descriptions of the halls.
Arbat street – a mall with many souvenir shops, cafés, restaurants, people dressed as plush cartoon figures, and street musicians. It has a rather pleasant atmosphere to walk here, but I can imagine how busy and crowded it could get in high season.
Nikulina Circus – the famous big Russian circus with the statue of Nikulina as he’s getting out of his car and is about to go in.
Apart from the main buildings, it’s worth just getting lost in the streets, wandering around with no particular destination. There are plenty of interesting things to see – such as the giant statues of Gogol, Dostoevsky, Engels or Marx, the monument of St. Vladimir, beautiful buildings like the Pushkin Museum of Arts, the University, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or even an old man selling old pins. You don’t have to be afraid of getting lost in the city, as Moscow is a logically structured city with city maps seen quite often. If we get tired or we would like shake things up with a bit of underground beauty, take the metro. There are very nice underground stations; my personal favourite is the Ploschad Revolyutsii.
One thing is sure: somehow all the routes lead to the Red Square, which I don’t think I could ever get bored with anyway! 🙂