Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
KREMLIN TOURS
Let the professionals show you around the Kremlin:
495-697 0349;
www.kremlin.museum.ru
;
Alexandrovsky Sad)
Offers 'official' tours of the Kremlin
Alexander Garden; 90-min tour R2500;
grounds, churches and exhibits.
Capital Tours
Departing from the tour office in Gostinny Dvor every day that the
Kremlin is open. Price includes admission; book at least two days in advance.
private tours of the Kremlin, with or without the Armoury included (US$110 to
US$140, plus guiding fee).
Hall of Facets
was designed and built by Marco Ruffo and Pietro Solario between 1487 and 1491, during
the reign of Ivan the Great. Its upper floor housed the tsars' throne room, the scene of ban-
quets and ceremonies. Access to the Hall of Facets was via an outside staircase from the
square below. During the Streltsy Rebellion of 1682, several of Peter the Great's relatives
were tossed down the exterior
Red Staircase
, so called because it ran red with their blood.
(It's no wonder that Peter hated Moscow and decided to start afresh with a new capital in St
Petersburg.) Stalin destroyed the staircase, but it was rebuilt in 1994.
The hall is 500 sq metres, with a supporting pillar in the centre. The walls are decorated
with gorgeous murals of biblical and historical themes, although none are original. Alas, the
building is closed to the public.
Terem Palace
Kremlin palaces. Made of stone and built by Vasily III, the palace's living quarters include a
dining room, living room, study, bedroom and small chapel. Unfortunately, the palace is
closed to the public, but you can glimpse its cluster of 11 golden domes and chequered roof
behind and above the Church of the Deposition of the Robe.
