Description
The capital of Russia — Red Square, the Kremlin, the metro as a museum, the Tretyakov Gallery and a nightlife that does not stop.
Wiki
Moscow is the capital of Russia and the largest city in Europe — around 13 million people in the city proper, more than 20 million in the wider metropolitan area. One of the oldest European cities (founded in 1147), and the cultural, economic and political centre of the country. Stalin-era high-rises, a 15th-century Kremlin, Soviet architecture and the post-Soviet skyscrapers of Moscow City all in one place. Before travelling, be sure to check the current visa rules and sanctions restrictions.
Main sights
- Red Square — the country's principal square, a UNESCO site, and the start of a circular walk around the Kremlin.
- The Moscow Kremlin — the working residence of the president and the largest medieval fortress in Europe. A kremlin is a walled citadel, the fortified core of an old Russian city. Inside are Cathedral Square, the Grand Kremlin Palace, the Armoury Chamber and the Diamond Fund.
- St Basil's Cathedral (the Cathedral of the Intercession) — the most recognisable monument in Russia, its multicoloured domes dating from 1561.
- Lenin's Mausoleum — and the pantheon of revolutionaries behind it.
- GUM — the country's main department store, in the neo-Russian style of 1893.
- The Tretyakov Gallery — the largest collection of Russian art anywhere, with more than 180,000 works from icons to the avant-garde.
- The Pushkin Museum — the museum of foreign art, the second largest in Russia.
- VDNKh — a Soviet-era exhibition park, with pavilions for the republics of the USSR, a Vostok rocket and the Moskvarium aquarium.
- Sparrow Hills and Moscow State University — a viewpoint above the Luzhniki stadium, with the main university building the emblem of the Stalin high-rises.
- Gorky Park and Muzeon — the main contemporary park, with open-air art.
- The Bolshoi Theatre — the country's leading theatre, neoclassical, from 1825.
- The Moscow metro — a sight in its own right, a set of "palaces underground": Mayakovskaya, Ploshchad Revolyutsii, Novoslobodskaya, Komsomolskaya-Koltsevaya.
- Moscow City — the skyscrapers of the business district, with the Panorama360 viewing floor on the 89th storey of the Federation Tower.
Food and prices
The cooking is Russian: borsch, pelmeni dumplings, blini with caviar, herring under a fur coat (a layered salad of herring, beetroot and egg), beef stroganoff, medovik honey cake. Moscow has a powerful food scene, with several World's 50 Best restaurants (Twins Garden). Lunch in a cafe 650-1,200 ₽ ($8-15), dinner in a restaurant 2,000-4,900 ₽ ($25-60). Speciality coffee 250-400 ₽ ($3-5). A litre of petrol 50 ₽ ($0.6), the Moscow metro 60 ₽ ($0.7), a Yandex Go taxi (the local ride-hailing app) 250-1,000 ₽ ($3-12) across the centre. Prices are as of 2026.
Transport
International airports: Sheremetyevo (SVO), Domodedovo (DME), Vnukovo (VKO). The Aeroexpress rail link into the centre 400 ₽ ($5), a taxi 2,500-4,100 ₽ ($30-50). Around the city: the metro (15 lines), the MCC (the Moscow Central Circle, an overground rail loop integrated with the metro), the MCD (the Moscow Central Diameters, cross-city suburban rail lines), Yandex Go and buses. From Saint Petersburg, the Sapsan high-speed train takes 4 hours (3,300-8,200 ₽, $40-100).
When to go
May to September, 15-25°C. September brings the golden autumn in the parks. Winter (December-March) is cold, -5 to -25°C, but the New Year centre with its illuminations and the ice rink on Red Square is an experience of its own. Victory Day (9 May) brings the parade on Red Square.
