Churches and imposing buildings within the walls of the Kremlin.
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The 202 tonne Tsar Bell in the Kremlin grounds - the cracked
piece alone weights 11 tonnes!
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The Tsar cannon, also in the Kremlin grounds.
Interestingly, the cannonballs on the ground in front of it are
too large to fit inside this monstrous cannon (diameter of 335
inches or 89cm).
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A palace in the estate of Kuskovo on the outskirts of Moscow.
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One of the impressive buildings in the VDNKh Exhibition grounds.
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A friendly comic artist will be pleased to sketch a caricature
of you while you visit the tourist area of the Old Arbat.
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The distinctive "Stalin Skyscraper" Ukraina Hotel
overlooks the Russian Parliament building known as "The
White House"
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Lenin's Tomb is no longer the semi-holy revered place it once
was, and few people bother to visit it these days (apart from
international tourists!).
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Moscow is home to the busiest McDonalds store of anywhere in the
world!
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Balloons and some bright color to an otherwise drab Moscow
street.
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Few people realise that St Basil's Cathedral on Red Square was
never intended to be a real working cathedral but instead was
erected as a monument in the style of a cathedral. |
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With a historical record dating back 850 and more years, there is a lot of history in
Moscow, although these days there is an unmistakeable air of modern bustling about the
city - new construction, cranes on the skyline, and definite prosperity.
Today home to at least 10 million people
(the official number probably understates the actual population due to
the large number of people living unofficially in Moscow without
residency permits) Moscow combines all the fast paced cosmopolitan
features of any other large European capital with undeniably uniquely
Russian elements.
Moscow is best known for the structure most refer to
as "The Kremlin" as if it is a unique structure. It is
interesting to note that the concept and name "Kremlin" is not unique
to Moscow - the word means "citadel" and hundreds of years ago, all
cities had a kremlin which really was nothing more than a defensive wall around
the inner city. Immediately outside the Kremlin wall on one side is Red Square and the uniquely distinctive St Basil's Cathedral, and the chances are
you'll find plenty to enjoy and experience during a Moscow vacation.
We also recommend a
day tour out of Moscow to one of the "Golden Ring" ancient monastery towns such
as Sergiev Posad, which is home to the Russian Orthodox Church's "holy of
holies", equivalent to the significance of Rome to the Roman
Catholic church.
General Information
Moscow's famous theatre (Bolshoi simply means "big"!)
Museum of fine art (mainly non-Russian)
Over 73,000 English listings for Moscow businesses
Not only phone numbers, but excellent maps and photo
tours of the city and area
Updated every minute, great view over Red Square, GUM, & Kremlin etc
A daily English language free newspaper in Moscow
An excellent summary of tourist and city
information, although - beware - like most such travel guides, some of it is
at least twelve months out of date and no longer accurate.
A fascinating revolving view from the center of Red
Square, with explanatory notes of some of the highlights that are very well
shown. Be sure to click on the link underneath the image for some
helpful tourist/touring information too.
Hotel Information
Russian hotels vary wildly in quality and price. Although prices and
values have improved in the last few years of the 1990s, Moscow's best hotels are
still among the most expensive in all of Europe, but as a redeeming feature,
their quality is also of highest world standards. Hotels tend to fit into
definite quality levels - highest quality, then quite a movement down from that
to second level - what might perhaps be styled as "average" hotels -
the next ones listed below. Then there is another quantum drop in standard
to hotels that involve major compromises in quality and comfort, and of course,
there are plenty of opportunities to find even worse hotels below these.
The cheaper the hotel, the less English that is spoken. In the highest
grade of hotels, all reception, bar, restaurant and porter staff will speak
acceptably good English. When you move down to the next grade of hotels,
some staff will speak English, and when you move down another grade, you may
quite likely find that, depending on who is on duty, perhaps no-one will speak
English at all.
One of the finest hotels in the city, immediately adjacent to Red Square,
the Kremlin, and GUM.
Another unabashedly five star highest quality hotel in a very central
location.
Yet another unabashedly five star highest quality hotel,
and again in a very central
location.
A joint venture with a Canadian hotel management company, this hotel has a
comforting western feel to it. A nice hotel, but quite a way out of the
city, and about a ten minute walk to the nearest metro station.
A new hotel built in 1997, and centrally located on Tverskaya Street.
You could be anywhere in Europe when in this hotel, but in actual fact,
you're in reasonably central but somewhat inconveniently located Moscow.
Rossiya
An ordinary hotel, but rooms on one of its four sides have extraordinary
views out over Red Square, St Basils, and the Kremlin. "A million
dollar view for about $100". The best location in Moscow.
One of the Stalin skyscrapers built after World War 2 in distinctive
neo-Gothic style and overlooking the White House (Russia's Parliament
Building), the major feature of this hotel is its unique architectural
style. Ordinary but okay rooms.
I like this hotel - another distinctive uniquely Russian type of
place. Built by Stalin in 1952 in the "Russian Empire" style
as a private hotel for Party dignitaries and visiting VIPs, it has a grand
interior, and somewhat ordinary rooms. Moderately convenient location.
If you're forced to stay overnight at Sheremetyevo-II airport, this is
where you'll want to stay. But you'd never choose to stay at the airport
if actually visiting/vacationing in Moscow city itself.
A typical characterless huge big Intourist style hotel, quite a distance
out of the center, originally built for the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
Not recommended.
A horrible huge complex of entry level accommodation (there is also a Beta
and a Vega block and probably an Alpha block as well, and as for Epsilon and
the other letters of the Greek alphabet, I really don't know!). Located
quite a way out of the city, nearby the Izmailovo flea markets. Not
recommended.
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