The best way to introduce yourself to the capital of Russia is to head straight for Red Square, in the very center of Moscow. There you'll find three of the most enduring symbols of Russia: onion-domed St. Basil's Cathedral, the Kremlin (the centuries-old seat of Russian rulers) and Lenin's Tomb, in which the embalmed body of the Soviet Union's founder lies.
Be sure to visit the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, especially the shimmering, gold-roofed chapel. Another must-see is Christ the Savior Cathedral, which has been totally rebuilt. (Stalin had the original destroyed.)
The city's top museums include the Pushkin Museum and the Tretyakov Galleries. (We like the old Tretyakov better than the new one.) A tour guide is useful if you do not speak Russian—few museums cater to English speakers. Note: Most museums charge extra if you take photographs.
| Historic Sites | Top  |
This magnificent cathedral was a prime restoration project of Moscow's Mayor Luzhkov. The original 19th-century cathedral at the site (commemorating Russia's victory over Napoleon) was dynamited in 1931 on Stalin's orders to make way for a gigantic skyscraper topped by a 10-story statue of Lenin. When the ground at the site was found to be too soft for such a project, the area was turned into a giant swimming pool. The gold-and-white exterior of the rebuilt, onion-domed structure is especially impressive. Daily 10 am-6 pm, closed the last Monday of the month. A tour of the cathedral, including entrance to a sightseeing platform at the top, is available for 20 rubles. 4 Volkhonka Ulitsa (a few blocks south and west of the Kremlin, near the Kropotkinskaya Metro station), Moscow. Phone 495-201-2847 for tours; 495-202-4743, ext. 331, or 495-602-4717 for museum. http://www.xxc.ru.
The name means "fortress" in Russian. It's the heart of Moscow. The first fortress was erected there in AD 1147, but today the buildings include everything from spectacular 15th-century churches to the modern Palace of Congresses, an ugly construction from 1961. The Cathedral of the Assumption, the Belltower of Ivan the Great and the Cathedral of the Annunciation are marvels of Russian architecture and art. Consider taking an English-language tour with one of the many freelance guides who wait outside the Kremlin ticket booth. Most are respectable and well-qualified, and they offer tours of the Kremlin, cathedrals and Armory. You can usually negotiate a price of about 500 rubles, not including entrance tickets. The entrance to the Kremlin is on the east side of the complex, via a footbridge over the Alexander Gardens. You can buy entrance tickets to the Kremlin and five Kremlin churches and museums from either of the booths next to the Kutafya tower that guards the drawbridge leading to the Kremlin. The admission booth is open Friday-Wednesday 10 am-4:30 pm. The basic admission charge is 350 rubles adults, 175 rubles students. Heavy bags must be checked for an additional fee, and separate tickets must be purchased for the use of cameras. Some of the sights inside the Kremlin require an additional fee. On Red Square, Moscow. Phone 495-202-3776 or 495-202-4256.
Don't miss this site inside the Kremlin (separate admission required). Besides armor, it contains fabulous imperial carriages, gowns (including the tiny-waisted wedding dress worn by a 14-year-old Catherine the Great) and jewel-encrusted chalices and icons. A highlight is the Faberge eggs, of such clever and intricate construction that photos can't adequately capture them. One egg that Faberge presented to the imperial family contains a tiny golden replica of the Trans-Siberian Railroad, complete with a train that moves when a gold key is turned. You can enter Friday-Wednesday at 10 am, noon, and 2:30 and 4:30 pm. 450 rubles. On Red Square, Moscow. Phone 495-202-3776 (answering machine).
This exhibit requires a separate admission fee. On display is a collection of imperial jewels, including the 189-carat Orlov Diamond. Open Friday-Wednesday 10 am-1 pm and 2-5 pm. 350 rubles. On Red Square (inside the Kremlin Armory), Moscow. Phone 495-229-2036. Group tours only.
Although the guards no longer goose-step in front, there are still long lines of people waiting to enter this site. Seeing the body of the Bolshevik leader is surreal—you are ushered down dimly lit stairs, past smartly dressed guards and suddenly find yourself in a chamber with a body that resembles a wax figure. You view the body in a constantly moving line. Open Tuesday-Thursday, Saturday and Sunday 10 am-1 pm. Free. On Red Square, Moscow.
This is one of the most spectacular sights in Russia. The 16th-century convent was once home to noblemen's inconvenient female relatives (such as Peter the Great's half-sister Sophia, who was sent there against her will). The convent's Smolensk Cathedral, with its stunning frescoes and gold iconostasis, is truly one of the most beautiful churches in Russia. On the convent grounds (around the corner to the right of the convent entrance) is the cemetery where Prokofiev, Chekhov, Khrushchev, Gogol and the bodies of other famous Russians lie. Open Wednesday-Monday 10 am-5:15 pm. Closed the first Monday of each month. Tickets to the monastery, including the museum, are 150 rubles adults, 75 rubles students. Cemetery tickets cost an additional 30 rubles. Bolshaya Pirogovskaya (Sportivnaya metro stop, to the southeast of the city center), Moscow. Phone 495-246-8526.
The first place to go in Moscow is Red Square, a former marketplace in the center of the city. St. Basil's Cathedral dominates one end, and Lenin's Mausoleum and GUM department store are also on the square. The square is closed to traffic, but there are always enough tourists around to keep the area from feeling empty. Try to imagine the square full of Russians at one of the periodic military parades during the Cold War, when the nation's arsenal of nuclear missiles rolled through for all the world to see.
You know it from all the popular postcard and TV news images of Moscow: the fantastical and quintessentially Russian cathedral on Red Square with the colorful onion-shaped domes. Ivan the Terrible ordered the church built in the 1500s and then allegedly blinded the architect so he could never build anything so beautiful again. Inside, there's a small museum that explains the church's history. Open Wednesday-Monday 11 am-5 pm. Service 10 am on Sunday. 100 rubles. On Red Square, Moscow. Phone 495-298-3304.
This museum is one of the city's art-nouveau treasures. Designed by Fyodor Shektel, it boasts the most extraordinary staircase in the city, as well as the personal belongings of the modern Soviet author Maxim Gorky, who lived there. Open Wednesday-Sunday 11 am-6 pm. Closed the last Friday of the month. Under renovation; call for up-to-date details. Free. Ulitsa Malaya Nikitskaya 6/2 (near Pushkinskaya/Chekhovskaya metro stop, just off the Boulevard Ring), Moscow. Phone 495-290-0535.
This museum can be difficult to visit. It's open only by appointment, and you must arrange your visit through a tour group or travel agency. It's a relatively small museum, but there are some memorable artifacts from the Cold War, including tiny spy cameras and listening devices that look like props from a James Bond film. The displays emphasize the art of espionage more than the KGB's bloody role in Russian history. Open by appointment only. Ulitsa Bolshaya Lubyanka 12/1, Moscow. Phone 495-926-5690 (Patriarshy Dom—a tour company that arranges visits).
The former residence of the czars is now an open-air museum that's one of the city's favorite weekend spots. The palace is gone, but the park on the banks of the Moskva River still boasts lovely churches, Peter the Great's wooden cabin (relocated from Arkhangelsk), and other examples of traditional Russian wooden architecture. The grounds are open Tuesday-Sunday 8 am-10 pm. The buildings are open Tuesday-Sunday 9 am-6 pm. 200-300 rubles per building. Tours in other languages can be arranged for groups of 10 or more at a cost of 3,700 rubles. Prospekt Andropova 39 (Kolomenskoye metro stop), Moscow. Phone 495-112-5217. http://www.museum.ru/kolomen.
Not far from the Kremlin, this museum is one of Moscow's main attractions. The impressionist paintings are especially good, but don't overlook the collection of Egyptian antiquities. Many of the displays are in English. The Pushkin Museum of Private Collections, in an annex to the left of the main museum, often exhibits drawings and sketches from the museum's collections. Open Tuesday-Sunday 10 am-7 pm. The museum is closed the last Friday of each month. 300 rubles adults, 100 rubles children. Ulitsa Volkhonka 12, Moscow. Phone 495-203-9578. http://www.museum.ru/gmii.
This little museum gives you an insider's perspective on that celebrated Russian liquor. The museum has a lively atmosphere, which is great for breaking up a long day of looking at churches and museums. Located near the Izmaylovo Market. Daily 11 am-10 pm. Izmailovskoye Shosse 73G, Moscow. http://www.vodkamuseum.ru.
This is the residence where the famous author of
War and Peace lived between 1882 and 1901. He wrote his last novel,
Resurrection, there. Visitors can tour the simple wooden home and garden and see displays of Tolstoy's private effects. (Look for his dumbbells and monogrammed athletic socks.) In the family dining room, you can listen to a rare, scratchy tape recording of Tolstoy's voice. Open Tuesday-Sunday 10 am-5 pm. Ulitsa Lev Tolstogo 9 (near Park Kultury metro station), Moscow. Phone 495-246-9444.
In the Central House of Artists—the huge white building across from Gorky Park—the new version of the Tretyakov hosts a variety of exhibitions of Soviet and post-Soviet art, including paintings by Chagall, Malevich and Kandinsky. Perhaps the best part of the museum is outside—the Statue Park, where larger-than-life statues of Stalin, Brezhnev and other Soviet luminaries were exiled after being removed from their prominent perches around the city after the fall of communism. The ticket office is open Tuesday-Sunday 10 am-7:30 pm (Monday to 5 pm). 225 rubles. Krymsky Val 10 (near Oktyabrskaya metro station), Moscow. Phone 495-238-1378. http://www.tretyakov.ru.
This is Moscow's top museum. The gallery houses a lovely collection of icons and Russian classic portraits as well as an impressive number of French Impressionist paintings. The best pieces are from the 19th century, with stunning works by Repin and his contemporaries—watch for the haunting work of Mikhail Vrubel. Open Tuesday-Sunday 10 am-7:30 pm. 174/100 rubles adults, 130 rubles students. Lavrushinsky Pereulok 10 (near the Tretyakovskaya metro station), Moscow. Phone 495-230-7788 for recorded information in Russian. http://www.tretyakovgallery.ru.
| Neighborhoods & Districts | Top |
Take time to walk down the Arbat, once home to the finest artists and writers in Russia, including Alexander Pushkin. Lined with beautiful pastel-colored houses, the Arbat is a popular place to stroll. The souvenir shops and stalls are the best places in the city to shop for goodies to take back home. Don't be afraid to haggle with the street vendors and artists. Off the Boulevard Ring, running in a V-shape away from Ulitsa Novy Arbat (close to the Arbatskaya metro station—a 15-minute walk from Red Square).
| Parks & Gardens | Top |
In the shadow of the Kremlin, Alexander Gardens is a great place to stroll or to sit on a bench and read. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is at one end. At the other end is a slope that's a favorite sledding hill for children in winter. In between is Manezh shopping mall, which has (in addition to shops) a food court and an Internet cafe. On Manezh Square, Moscow.
This is the most famous park in Moscow—famous in the Western world because of Martin Cruz Smith's thriller of the same name. It's southwest of the Kremlin and across the river. Approximately 300 acres/120 hectares encompass an assortment of carnival rides, cafes, beer gardens and buskers. In summer, children go there to skateboard to the music blaring over the loudspeakers, and families rent paddleboats to splash around the small lake. In winter, there's an ice-sculpture competition, and the pathways are flooded to make a giant skating circuit, complete with piped military music. On a nice day at any time of year, it's a wonderful place to walk, with miles/kilometers of unkempt but pleasant paths. Open 10 am-10 pm because it has restaurants within its perimeter, but don't walk there after dark. Admission is 50 rubles. On Garden Ring Road (between the Oktyabrskaya and Park Kultury metro stations), Moscow. Phone 495-237-0707.
This park offers good people-watching, and the area around the ponds—relatively traffic-free and pleasant for walking—boasts some of Moscow's best examples of late-19th-century architecture. Made famous as the place where the devil first appeared in Mikhail Bulgakov's fantastical novel
The Master and Margarita, Patriarch's Ponds is a favorite spot for locals walking their dogs, strolling with their babies or just socializing. In winter, people clear the snow off Patriarch's Pond and skate to popular music played over loudspeakers. Ulitsa Malaya Bronnaya (two blocks inside the Garden Ring), Moscow.
This enormous park is a good place to cross-country ski in winter and to walk in summer. On summer Sundays, there's a concert at 5 pm. Near the Sokolniki metro station, in the northern part of the city. Weekend admission fee is 30 rubles, free admission on weekdays. Phone 495-268-6011.
This park is next to Moscow State University. It offers great views of the city and is a wonderful location for walking and picnicking or for watching fireworks.
This huge park was established in 1995 to commemorate the Soviet Union's World War II victory over Germany. Tanks and war planes are interspersed wth fountains and gardens, and there is the Great Patriotic War Museum. It's a wonderful place for a picnic, bicycling, in-line skating or strolling. If you're in town on 9 May (Victory Day) don't miss the huge celebrations held there, including superb fireworks displays and outdoor symphony performances. 10 am-6 am Tuesday-Sunday. Ulitsa Bratyev Fonchenko 11, Moscow.
| Zoos & Wildlife | Top |
Recent renovations make this zoo, located in the center of Moscow, worth a visit. Opened since 1864, the Zoo Park is a pleasant retreat in the middle of the city. Bolshaya Gruzinskaya 1, Moscow. Phone 495-255-5375. http://www.zoo.ru/moscow.
| Other Options | Top |
Match wits with Russians at the Central Chess Club—or just observe others playing. Sunday is the best day to go and watch. Games take place Saturday and Sunday 11 am-10 pm, Monday and Wednesday 5:30-10 pm. 40 rubles-80 rubles to play, free if you just want to watch. Fees are often negotiable. Gogolevsky Blvd. 14 (near Kzopotkinskaya metro station), Moscow. Phone 495-291-8627.
When in Moscow, one option is to take a guided tour of the Moscow Metro offered by Patriarshy Dom Tours or take the time to ride the system yourself, getting off at each station in the center to have a closer look. Important Russian architects and artists were commissioned to design and decorate many of the metro stations. Those in the city center and on the brown line are some of the most beautiful. Among those that are particularly noteworthy are Belorusskaya, Ploshchad Revolutsii, Kievskaya, Barrikadnaya, Prospekt Mira and perhaps the most beautiful of all—Komsomolskaya.
During the summer months, you can spend a pleasant afternoon cruising the Moscow River. The river boats have both open and enclosed seating plus snack bars that sell cold drinks. The endmost piers are Kievsky Vokzal (across the street from the Radisson hotel) and at the Novospassky Most. There are six stops in between where one can get on or off at any time. 11 am-9 pm; boats leave approximately every 20 minutes. Tickets are sold for a one-way trip, which takes about 90 minutes.
The keys to enjoying recreation in Moscow are imagination and enterprise. The surrounding countryside is pretty, but you'll have to be organized—or know someone with a dacha (country house)—if you want to have a really nice time. The best-known dacha villages are Peredelkino, where Boris Pasternak lived, and Nikolina Gora, 15 mi/24 km outside the city limits. Seven months of cold weather hinder activity in the city, and parks don't provide the trails and playing fields found in other major European cities. Joggers in Moscow are rare. Walking the Lenin Hills near the university (and, when it's warm enough, in the forest overlooking Moscow) affords some respite from the city.
The key to enjoying recreation in Moscow is to think seasonally. Winter brings cross-country skiing and skating while the summer offers walking and bicycling in the parks. Joggers are rare, and bicycling outside of the parks is suicidal. Ice skates can be rented at Gorky Park or Izmailovsky Park, or take your own to Patriach's Pond near Metro Mayakovsky or to Chistye Prudy at Chistoprudny Boulevard where skating goes on around the clock.
The Russian Cycle Touring Club (RCTC) is a social organization ready and able to provide information and help for foreign cyclists. Both the club's president, Igor Nalimov, and its tour director, Vladimir Filippo, speak English. There are weekend rides April-October along scenic roads in the countryside near Moscow. Phone 495-353-5595 (president) or 495-354-6359 (tour director).
This is a resort hotel with an 18-hole, world-class golf course that is open to the public. It also has facilities for tennis, squash and swimming. 7 am-10 pm. Nakhabino, Krasnogorsk District, Moscow. Phone 495-926-5911. http://www.lemeridien-mcc.com.
The Moscow City Golf Club accepts nonmembers. Expect to pay about US$100 for nine holes. Davzhenko Ulitsa, Moscow. Phone 495-147-8330. http://www.mcgc.ru.
| Spas and Health Clubs | Top |
This is a high-end day spa and fitness center located in the Swisshotel Krasnye Holmy Hotel. Daily 6:30 am-10 pm. 52 Kosmodaminskaya Nab, Building 6, Moscow. Phone 495-787 9800. http://www.moscow.swissotel.com.
This club offers 16,400 sq ft/5,000 sq m of exercise equipment with all the extras such as trainers, a pool and an untold number of fitness classes. 31 Leningradsky Prospect, Building 30, Moscow. Phone 495-931-9616. http://www.goldsgym.ru.
A sports center with separate workout rooms for women and a children's club. 7 am-midnight. 24 Ulitsa Azovskaya, Moscow. Phone 495-310-0401. http://www.kimberlyland.ru.
This excellent center has a state-of-the-art gym, lap pool, fitness programs, tennis courts, squash courts and saunas. Open Monday-Friday 7 am-11 pm, Saturday and Sunday 9 am-10 pm. Rublevskoye Highway 10, Moscow. Phone 495-730-0300.
There is no better way to sweat out the excess vodka than being steamed in a sauna, beaten with birch branches and plunged into a cold pool—in winter, into a pool with a hole chopped through the ice. Repeat three times for the total experience. It is invigorating. These are the oldest
banya (Russian baths). 8 am-10 pm, closed Tuesday. Ulitsa Neglinnaya 14, Moscow. Phone 495-925-4631.
This chain of high-quality fitness centers features a full range of facilities. 14 Zhitnaya Ulitsa, Building 2 (Metro station Oktyabrskaya), Moscow. Phone 495-771-6600. http://www.wclass.ru.
| Hiking & Walking | Top |
The Hash House Harriers meet on Sunday at 2 pm for a run or a walk of about 45 minutes, followed by a similar length of time for socializing over beer and treats. US$5 per person. Phone 916-176-0431. Grand master David Breeze can answer your questions. http://www.moscowharriers.itgo.com.
Walkers, hikers and nature lovers should consult the community listings in the Thursday edition of the English-language
Moscow Times for the week's meeting location. These informal gatherings include walks both inside and outside Moscow. Generally at 9:30 am Sunday. http://www.hike.narod.ru.
Rents both cross-country skis and skating equipment. 11 am-10 pm. at the Izmailovsky Park Metro station, Moscow. Phone 495-166-8690.
In winter, try cross-country skiing on the trails at Sokolniki Park. At the far end of the park, you can rent skis for a few rubles. The park is open all day, but don't use it after dark. In the north of the city by the Sokolniki metro stop. 11 am-11 pm. Phone 495-268-6958.
The best thing is to find out if your hotel has a pool. The next best is if you know someone at the American or British embassies who could invite you to use one of their pools. Russian pools insist on a health certificate from a Russian doctor before you can be admitted to a pool.
An on-site Russian doctor there can issue the health certificate you'll need for admission to the pool. 7 am-10 pm Monday-Saturday, 8 am-8 pm Sunday. Tickets are not sold 1-5 pm. About US$2 for the health certificate, about US$4 per hour for swimming. Turchaniinov Pereulok 1/3, Moscow. Phone 495-246-1344.
| Tennis & Racquet Sports | Top |
There are tennis courts on the second floor, but reserve a court early to play. 28 Talalikhina Ulitsa, Moscow. Phone 495-677-0211 for the gym.
Indoor and outdoor courts are available, but you'll have to reserve one early in the day to play. Daily 7 am-11 pm. 600 rubles-650 rubles per hour. Korobeynikov Pereulok 1/2 (near the city center), Moscow. Phone 495-202-0474.
| Other Options | Top |
This large amusement park along the Moskva River floods its paths and walkways in the winter for skating. Admission to the park is through the ticket office at the entrance. 10 am-9 pm. 9 Krymsky Val Ulitsa, Moscow. Phone 495-237-0707.
Ice Planet has two sheets of ice, and it is the only curling club in Moscow. 13/3 Voronezhskaya Ulitsa, Moscow. Phone 495-109-8050. http://www.curlingclub.ru.
Moscow's nightlife has undergone a dramatic revolution over the past few decades: It's now one of the wildest, most decadent cities in Europe with a wide range of clubs, discos and bars. It's also surprisingly sophisticated. There still are a few mafia-infested, super-expensive casinos and strip joints around, which are worth a visit for their historic interest. But the real style gurus hang out at
excluzivny techno clubs and yuppie bars, students go to pulsing rave clubs, and the bohemian crowd flocks to underground squats and smoky dive bars. At the trendy clubs, be ready for heavy-duty "face control"—beautiful people are let in, and others are turned away.
For live music, try B.B. King's (blues) or Bunker (rock). If you want to dance, check out Karma Bar (nice mix of stylish and students), Propaganda (bar-cum-disco) or the trendy Garage. Rosie O'Grady's is an Irish pub, often crowded at night, for those who just want to quaff some suds.
Most nightspots are open during the day but don't get busy until midnight or 1 am. Many don't close until sunrise.
| Bars, Taverns & Pubs | Top |
The haunt of Moscow students and intellectuals, O.G.I. is a bookshop with a great bar attached to it. (Or is it the other way around?) The atmosphere is relaxed and grungy, with good music and cheap beer. Great place to kick off an evening of barhopping. Daily 6-11 pm. 8/12 Potapovsky Pereulok, Building 2 (through the arch, off the courtyard), Moscow. Phone 495-927-5366.
This place sounds a little surreal—an Internet pub in a shopping mall within staggering distance of Red Square. But it's popular and packed on weekends with a young and unpretentious crowd. You can order drinks online from your table. DJ Kubikov makes Thursday nights worth a visit. Open daily 11 am-1 am (Friday till 6 am). Manezh Mall (Aleksandrovsky Sad entrance), Moscow. Phone 495-995-9544.
The view, the view, the view—atmosphere and quality reign at this New York-style cocktail bar. A private elevator connects you directly to its location on the 27th floor of an office building. $$$. 23a Naberezhnaya Tarasa Shevchenko (floor 27), Moscow. Phone 495-730-0808.
This centrally located Irish pub is often packed in the evenings. Guinness on tap. Daily from noon. Ulitsa Znamenka 9, Moscow. Phone 495-203-9087.
This place has a very 1990s-expat atmosphere, but it still feels like a real Irish pub. The food is good, especially the chips. Open Monday-Friday from 8 am, Saturday and Sunday from 10 am. 5/6 Tverskaya Ulitsa (near Okhotny Ryad metro station), Moscow. Phone 495-290-4222.
Easily Moscow's most happening bar, the Real McCoy serves the meanest
mojito (a Cuban rum drink) and Long Island iced tea in town. It's packed on weekends with twentysomethings and expats. Daily 24 hours. No cover. 1 Kudrinskaya Ploschad, Moscow. Phone 495-255-4144.
An authentic microbrewery with an excellent and varied menu that uses beer in a number of entrees and desserts. There are eight different grades of beer available for tasting. Noon-2 am. $$. Protochnyy Per. 11 (near Metro station Smolenskaya), Moscow. Phone 495-777-3300. http://www.tinkoff.ru.
| Dance & Nightclubs | Top |
This friendly club doesn't wear on the nerves or the wallet. Inside you'll find two bars and a jam-packed dance floor. Open Sunday-Thursday 11 am-6 am, Friday and Saturday 24 hours. Dress your best to get past the face control. 17 Nikolskaya Ulitsa, Moscow. Phone 495-928-4692.
This is one of Moscow's super-
elitny nightclubs, with tough face control, beautiful clientele and a sea of Mercedes and SUVs outside the door. Snooty and stylish, with cutting-edge DJs, this is a great place for watching the new rich of Moscow strut their stuff. Open Thursday-Saturday 11:30 pm-6 am. No cover. Strastnoi Bulvar 8-A, Moscow. Phone 495-789-8315.
This club seems to have taken off with the jet-set crowd. Good DJs, Europop, Latin and R&B sounds. Open Friday and Saturday 10 pm-6 am. Dress in your best to get past the tough face control. 31 Gruzinsky Val, Moscow. Phone 495-250-0482.
This very popular gay club has four bars, two dance floors and a good restaurant. There are frequent strip and drag shows, DJs and guest performers. Open nightly from 11 pm. 19A Ulitsa Kuusinena (near Sokol metro station), Moscow. Phone 495-943-3606. http://www.clubchance.ru.
This small, super-trendy venue for the elite has a 1959 Cadillac inside. Frequently hosts DJs and striptease acts. Daily 24 hours. Strict dress code. 16/2 Tverskaya Ulitsa, Moscow. Phone 495-209-1848.
This club used to have the reputation as the wildest bar in the city. It has tamed its act since the mid-'90s, but it can still get chaotic. It can be hard to get a drink because the bar is crowded with girls dancing on it. Loud, sweaty and hormone-charged. Popular with expats. Daily from noon. Cover is about 35 rubles, 50 rubles on Tuesday and Friday. Pushechnaya 9 (near Kuznetsky Most metro station), Moscow. Phone 495-923-6158.
This weekend hot spot has booming music and a nice mix of students, stylish (but thankfully not
elitny) twentysomethings and expats. If it gets too frenzied for your taste, there's a relaxed room where you can eat Southeast Asian food for very reasonable prices. Open Wednesday-Sunday from 9 pm. Cover 150 rubles. No one younger than 21 admitted. Ulitsa Pushechnaya 3, Moscow. Phone 495-924-5633.
This hip North American-style bar and disco is unpretentious and relaxed. DJs play funk, dance classics and trip-hop. There are two crow's nests for people-watching. Daily noon-7 am. Cover 70 rubles. Bolshoy Zlatousinsky Pereulok 7 (behind the Polytechnical Museum), Moscow. Phone 495-923-3494.
This place has ballroom dancing under the stars in summer. Open Tuesday and Thursday-Saturday 6:30-9:30 pm. Admission 15 rubles. In Sad Imeni Frunze Park (near the Renaissance Moscow Hotel and the Prospekt Mira metro station), Moscow. Phone 495-275-1756.
Formerly known as Barbie Bar, this is considered Moscow's best party terrace. It's full of super-rich businessmen and their supermodel girlfriends. Great (though expensive) cocktails and prime people-watching from the bar area. Daily 9 pm-8 am. Tough face control at the door. No cover. Kuznetsky Most 3, Moscow. Phone 495-927-8727.
Packed and sweaty, the Boar House is always hopping. The crowd is typically composed of Russian teenagers and foreign students. Cheap beer and theme parties. Daily from noon. Cover of 100 rubles on weekends. On Sadovaya Kurskaya (opposite Kursky Station), Moscow. Phone 495-287-1340.
This place features blues and rock acts, including some bands from abroad. Good selection of Cajun food and beer in a casual atmosphere. Daily from noon. Cover varies. Sadovaya Samotechnaya 4/2, Moscow. Phone 495-299-8206.
This place is considered the hottest live-music venue in central Moscow. Bunker has an intimate stage and plenty of room for drinking, eating and, occasionally, karaoke performances. Daily from 10 am. Cover varies. Tverskaya 12, Moscow. Phone 495-200-1506.
As Moscow's top jazz venue, Le Club attracts the very best talent. Concerts held every night. Open Sunday-Thursday noon-2 am, Friday and Saturday noon-midnight. Cover price varies with the performance. 21 Verkhnyaya Radishchevskaya Ulitsa (in the Taganka Theater building), Moscow. Phone 495-915-1042.
| Performing Arts | Top  |
Russia has produced more than its share of famous dancers, composers and musicians—and it's still producing them. You can hear classical music at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall and the Moscow Conservatory, attend ballet performances at the Bolshoi and watch theater at several venues, including the Kremlin Palace Theater. And there are two circuses: the Old Circus (mainly for children) and the Grand Moscow State Circus (high-wire and trapeze acts).
Tickets to performances are inexpensive for almost everything except the Bolshoi Ballet. Performances usually begin at 7 pm.
This orchestra usually performs at the Moscow Conservatory. On occasion, it also performs at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall. Season runs September-June. Phone 495-229-7795.
The great names in Russian classical music, such as Rachmaninoff, have worked there. The interior is just as magnificent as the music. 13 Bolshaya Nikitskaa Ulitsa, Moscow. Phone 495-929-7901.
This theater hosts quality touring acts, though its own productions are pretty mediocre. The ticket office is opposite the Kutafya Tower in the Kremlin. Season runs September-June. Ticket prices vary widely, depending on the performance: 10 rubles-5,000 rubles. Phone 495-929-7901.
Also known as the MkhAT, this theater offers an exciting mix of Russian classics and modern pieces, as well as work from abroad. 3 Kamergersky Pereulok, Bely Gorod, Moscow. Phone 495-229-8760.
You'll find good classical repertoires in Russian at this theater. Season runs September-June. Tickets 20 rubles-120 rubles. Arbat 26, Moscow. Phone 495-241-0728. http://www.vakhtangov.ru.
| Ticket Brokers | Top |
Your hotel can usually help with tickets, but the best broker is IPS, in the Hotel Metropol. It's best to book in advance—tickets can then be picked up on the day of the performance. Open Monday-Friday 10 am-6 pm, Saturday and Sunday 10 am-3 pm. They accept only rubles for low-priced orders but will take most major credit cards for orders of more than 600 rubles. Teatralnaya Ploshchad 1/4, Moscow. Phone 495-927-6982.
The Bolshoi is currently closed for the next several years for renovation, and performances are now at the new stage just to the left of the old Bolshoi and up a couple of flights of stairs. Although the new stage is smaller, the performances are the same.
One of the most famous theaters in the world, and rightly so. Inside the pink colonnaded hall, the Bolshoi company stages some of the world's most celebrated operas and ballets (though its ballet company has been eclipsed in recent years by the Kirov in St. Petersburg). Try to get to one of the performances during your visit, but be aware that tickets for Swan Lake are always hard to come by, and probably not worth it if you are a serious ballet connoisseur—most of the audience will be tourists.
Note: Ticket scalpers stand outside the Bolshoi every evening pushing tickets on unwary tourists. Some do offer reasonable deals, and if a performance is sold out, a high price may be worth it to you. But a common scam is selling standing-room or restricted-view tickets for exorbitant prices. Beware—and keep in mind that the real cost is printed on each ticket in large type, so you can see how much the markup is. Season runs September-June. The ticket office is open noon-3 pm and 5-7 pm. Tickets cost 200 rubles-3,000 rubles, depending on the performance and the seat. Teatralnaya Ploshchad 1, Moscow. Phone 495-292-9986. http://www.bolshoi.ru.
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There are two circuses in Moscow. Tickets can be purchased through a ticket agency for 100 rubles-450 rubles or at the theaters themselves (although they often sell out quickly). There are always scalpers outside selling tickets, but unless you read Russian, you may find you've been sold tickets for something completely different.
Previously known as the New Circus (and also called the Bolshoi Circus), this outfit is famous for spectacular high-wire and trapeze acts. Circus lovers of all ages will enjoy this show. Shows Monday-Friday 7 pm, Saturday 3 and 7 pm, Sunday 11:30 am and 3 and 7 pm. Prospekt Vernadskovo 7, Moscow. Phone 495-930-2815. http://www.bolshoicircus.ru.
This circus has shows mainly for children—with plenty of acrobats, clowns and animal acts, and a strong emphasis on humor. Shows on Wednesday-Friday at 7 pm, Saturday and Sunday at 2:30 and 6 pm. Tsvetnoy Blvd. 13 (in the city center), Moscow. Phone 495-200-6889. http://www.