Arbat & Khamovniki - Moscow - page 246

Neighbourhood Walk
A Stroll down the Stary Arbat
START ARBATSKAYA PL
END SMOLENSKAYA PL
LENGTH 3KM, TWO HOURS

Your stroll down staryArbat ('old' Arbat) starts at traffic-filled Arbatskaya pl. Take
note of the 1 House of Friendship with Peoples of Foreign Countries , flaunting its in-
congruous Moorish style.
Strolling up 2 ul A ul Arrbat, sidewalk art and street performers stand beside souvenir

stalls and costumed characters. Wander down some of the quiet lanes, such as
3 SStarookonyush

y per, which has exemplary art nouveau architectural details.
Around the corner on Sivtsev Vrazhek per, look out for strange and beautiful sculp-
tures dotting the yards and courtyards. They are the work of Alexander Burganov,
whose nearby 4 studio is filled with whimsical treasures.
Get a glimpse of the counterculture of the old Arbat at the corner of Krivoarbatsky
per and ul Arbat, where the 5 Viiktor T

yushenny p

all is dedicated to the lead sing-
er of the Soviet rock band Kino. Tsoy achieved cult-idol status in 1990 when he died in
a car crash at a tragically young age. Further along Krivoarbatsky per, the cylindrical
6 Melnikov House is an important constructivist architectural site.
Back on the Arbat, you can't miss the statue of the bard 7 Bula

r Tsoy m y memorial w ial wall

udzhava. Cross
the street and continue north on Spasopeskovsky per. This little lane contains archi-
tectural gems such as the lovely 17th-century 8 CChuurch o

ulat Ok t Okudzh

ch of th f the Sa e Saviiour in P ur in Pesskii. The

handsome neoclassical mansion at No 10 is 9 SSpaso Ho o Houuse, famous as the scene of

Satan's ball in Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita.
Return to the Arbat and the house where Alexander Pushkin and Natalya Gonchar-
ova lived after they wed, now holding the a Pushkin House-Museum . Continue to
Smolenskaya pl - the b Min

Miniistry o y of F f Foreiign A n Affaiirs, a towering Stalinist skyscraper, is

one of Stalin's Seven Sisters.