Description of Moscow tours

Moscow Highlights

Tour of Moscow Metro (1 hour)

Have a short walk to the nearest metro station and start a brief tour of the famous Moscow underground. The Moscow metro is not the oldest one in the world. However, the architectural style and fascinating marble decor of many stations deserved the name of the "Underground Palace". The first line built in the 30-ies abounds with naïve revolutionary symbols and sculptures. The decoration of after-war lines built in the 50-ies is much more exuberant because it had to demonstrate the advantages of a new socialist society.

Tour of Moscow Kremlin: grounds and cathedrals (90 min)

Explore the grounds of Kremlin by foot. The Moscow Kremlin is an outstanding monument of Russian history, enclosing an area of 70 acres. The walls are about half a mile long and up to 62 feet high and 21 feet thick, with 20 towers and gates. During the walking tour you will see the Cathedral Square, Belfry of Ivan the Terrible, Czar Bell and Czar Cannon and visit one of ancient cathedrals.

Tour of the Kremlin Armory (90 min)

the most precious gem of the Kremlin – the Armory, Treasury of Czars.

The collection consists of many precious gifts once presented to Russian Czars by foreign monarchs and ambassadors as well as their thrones, clothes, beautifully carved gilded ceremonial carriages, Czars regalia and ceremonial armor. You will also see many pieces of applied art and jewelry including famous Faberge works.

Visit to the Diamond Fund (30 min):

The Diamond Fund is not a large museum, but its collection is really unique. You will see the largest nuggets of silver, gold and platinum ever found in nature, differently shaped giants diamonds and brilliants followed by state-of-the-art collection of Imperial jewelry ending with Czar’s regalia covered with hundreds of diamonds.

Panoramic city tour of Moscow including visits to the Red Square / St. Basil Cathedral (3-4 hrs depending on traffic)

Moscow, the capital of Russia, which history dates back to the 12th century, is one of the largest cities in Europe, a home for 10 million people. Moscow managed to preserve great number of historical monuments as well as its old urban structure. Russians say that the history of Moscow is the history of the whole Russian country. The city has withstood numerous invasions, civil war, revolution, and even demotion as the country’s capital, yet it survived and remains the heart and soul of Russia. A city of contrasts, contemporary and Soviet-era architecture stands side by side with ancient monasteries, 19th century palaces and elegant buildings.

Start a panoramic tour of the capital. You will see many ancient churches and cathedrals contrasting with modern high rise buildings and glamorous shopping malls, Russian White House and huge cathedral of Christ the Savior and giant statue of Peter the Great. Passing the University, continue to the Sparrow Hills, the highest place in Moscow.

Start exploring the Red Square. We enter the square through the Iverskaya Gate near the small church of our Lady of Kazan, both ruined shortly after the Revolution and reconstructed in 2000. You can also see the beautiful red-brick building of the History Museum, oldest department store GUM with a very long façade, the place of execution, the Lenin’s Mausoleum, ending with the famous St. Basil’s cathedral, perhaps the most eye-catching structure in Moscow. Enjoy the view to the Kremlin’s walls with Spasskaya Tower with chiming clock considered to be main clock of Russia.

Tour of the ancient Novodevichy Convent (60 min).

The red and white fortified walls and golden domes of the convent make it one of Moscow's most beautiful monasteries. It was founded by the Czar Vasily III in 1524. Many wives and widows of Russian Czars ended their lives here having handed over all their wealth to the monastery. The convent looks like the Kremlin in miniature.

The cemetery, adjacent to the convent, is a very special place to visit – it has the graves of many famous people such as Chekhov and Bulgakov, Shostakovich and Scryabin, Stalin’s wife, Nikita Khrushchev and Boris Eltsyn, Raisa Gorbatcheva and maestro Rostropovich among others.

Visit to the Christ the Saviour Cathedral (60 min)

10:00-11:00 Visit to the Christ Cathedral

Attend morning service in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior which has the most dramatic history reflecting the history of the whole country. Built in the course of 40 years and completed in 1883 the Cathedral commemorated the victory over Napoleon in 1812. Closed in 1917 after the Revolution it was blown up by the order of Stalin in 1931. A giant open-air swimming pool was built on its place in the 60-ies. A decision to rebuild the cathedral was taken in 1990. Restored to its full splendor in 2000, the Christ Cathedral has again become a dominating landmark of the Russian capital.

Tour of Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts (2-3 hrs)

The building was constructed from 1898 to 1912 when the museum opened its doors to the public. It was originally named after Alexander III, although the government provided only 200,000 rubles toward its construction, in comparison with over 2 million from a rich merchant. Its first exhibits were copies of ancient statuary.

After the Russian capital was moved to Moscow in 1918, the Soviet government decided to transfer thousands of works from St Petersburg's Hermitage Museum to the new capital. These paintings formed a nucleus of the Pushkin museum's collections of Western art. The most famous are Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artwork, including top works by Van Gogh, Gauguin, Picasso and Matisse. In 1937, Pushkin's name was appended to the museum, because the Soviet Union marked the centenary of the poet's death that year.

Tour of the State Tretyakov Gallery (3 hrs)

the national treasury of Russian fine art and one of the greatest museums in the world. The Gallery's collection consists entirely of Russian art and artists who have made а contribution to the history of Russian art. The collection contains more than 130 000 works of painting, sculpture and graphics, created throughout the centuries by successive generations of Russian artists.

The gallery's history starts in 1856 when the Moscow merchant Pavel Tretyakov acquired works by Russian artists of his day with the aim of creating a collection, which might later grow into a museum of national art. In 1892, Tretyakov presented his already famous collection of approximately 2,000 works to the Russian nation. The façade of the gallery building was designed by the artist Viktor Vasnetsov in a peculiar Russian fairy-tale style. It was built in 1902 to the south from the Moscow Kremlin. The collection contains more than 130,000 exhibits, ranging from Andrei Rublev's Trinity to the monumental Composition VII by Wassily Kandinsky and the Black Square by Kazimir Malevich.

Tour of Borodino Panorama (1 hour)

This is the world’s largest panorama of the Borodino Battle, the largest battle during the Patriotic War of 1812 against Napoleon. It was created at the request of Russian Tsar by French artists F. Roubaud in 1912 at 100-anniversary of the victory over Napoleon. Enjoy the largest painting of the world. The Battle of Borodino fought on September 7, 1812, was a major engagement in the Napoleonic Wars during the French invasion of Russia. The fighting involved around 250,000 troops and produced at least 70,000 casualties, making Borodino the single deadliest day of the Napoleonic Wars.

Tour of the Museum of the Cold War / Stalin’s Bunker

You will visit one of the most secret military facilities of the former USSR – a Secured Command Post «Tagansky». Built deep under the ground in the residential area of Old Moscow in the 50-ies it was meant to be a shelter of Stalin and the government in case of nuclear attack.

After the death of Stalin the bunker was restructured to become a secret control room for long-range aviation during the Cold War period.

It was removed from the secret list in the early 90-ies. A fast elevator takes you 65 meters under the ground. You receive a water-proof cloak and taken for a brief excursion through the secret tunnels, you will be shown samples of arming and communication equipment as well as a short movie about the history of the Cold War.

Moscow By Night City Tour (2-3 hrs).

Moscow constant traffic jams during weekdays make sightseeing by coach quite uncomfortable. The solution is evening tour of Moscow. When the evening rush hour is over it is time to start your first exploration of Moscow. Moscow, the capital of Russia, which history dates back to the 12th century, is one of the largest cities in Europe, a home for 10 million people. Moscow managed to preserve great number of historical monuments as well as its old urban structure. Russians say that the history of Moscow is the history of the whole Russian country. In the night the city is especially beautiful, enjoy breath-taking panoramas of Kremlin and Red Square. Return to hotel around midnight.

More facts about Moscow:

Moscow is the capital and most populous city of the Russian Federation, with 12.2 million residents within the city limits and 16.8 million within the urban area. Moscow has the status of a Russian federal city. Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, and scientific center of Russia and Eastern Europe, as well as the largest city entirely on the European continent. By broader definitions Moscow is among the world's largest cities, being the 14th largest metro area, the 18th largest agglomeration, the 15th largest urban area, and the 11th largest by population within city limits worldwide.

According to Forbes 2013, Moscow has been ranked as the ninth most expensive city in the world by Mercer and has one of the world's largest urban economies, being ranked as an alpha global city according to the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, and is also one of the fastest growing tourist destinations in the world according to the MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index. Moscow is the northernmost and coldest megacity and metropolis on Earth. It is home to the Ostankino Tower, the tallest free standing structure in Europe; the Federation Tower, the tallest skyscraper in Europe; and the Moscow International Business Center.

The city is served by a transit network, which includes four international airports, nine railway terminals, numerous trams, a monorail system and one of the deepest underground rapid transit systems in the world, the Moscow Metro, the fourth-largest in the world and largest outside of Asia in terms of passenger numbers, and the busiest in Europe. It is recognized as one of the city's landmarks due to the rich architecture of its 200 stations.