Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
3 Moscow
Moscow has matured over a millennium into a richly layered, ever-expanding, and
never-sleeping metropolis. Its sporadic growth has left it without a compact down-
town, which means that great sights, hotels, and restaurants can be found in nearly
any corner of the city. Its vast territory requires plenty of walking and rides on public
transport.
VISITOR INFORMATION
Hotels or tour desks are generally the best source of information, although
Intourist,
formerly the government tourist agency, still has Moscow offices in the Kosmos Hotel
at 150 Prospekt Mira (
&
095/730-1919;
www.intourist.ru) and 15 Stoleshnikov
Pereulok (
&
095/925-3434
). Pick up a copy of the free English-language daily
The
Moscow Times
for weather, exchange rates, and entertainment listings. Most of the
hotels listed carry copies. See also “Visitor Information” in section 2 in this chapter.
For general city tours and Kremlin tours,
Capital Tours
(4 Ilinka Ulitsa, inside
Gostiny Dvor;
&
095/232-2442;
www.capitaltours.ru) is the best equipped and most
friendly. Its Kremlin tours include the Armory and run 6 days a week at 10:30am and
at 3pm, for $20 plus admission. City bus tours run daily at 11am and 2:30pm for $20.
GETTING THERE
BY PLANE
Most international flights arrive at
Sheremetevo-2 Airport
(
&
095/
956-4666
or 095/578-4727; www.sheremetyevo-airport.ru), 30km (18 miles) north
of downtown. Taxis to the city center run at around $30 (£15).
Moscow Taxi
(www.
moscow-taxi.com) and
Taxi Blues
(
&
095/789-6654
) offer good English-speaking
services. Buses from Sheremetevo-2 stop at Rechnoi Vokzal metro station (bus no.
551) or Planernaya metro station (bus no. 517). A few European airlines now arrive
at the bright, renovated
Domodedovo Airport
(
&
095/933-6666
or 095/363-3064;
www.domodedovo.ru), 50km (28 miles) south of the center. It runs a train direct to
Paveletsky station, just south of the city center. Taxis from Domodedovo to the cen-
ter take about an hour and cost 856 rubles-1,427 rubles ($30-$50/£15-£25), payable
in rubles.
BY TRAIN
The St. Petersburg-Moscow train route brings you into Leningradsky
station, conveniently located on the Circle Line of the metro. Western European trains
generally arrive in Belorussky station, barely north of the city center and within walk-
ing distance of the hotels on busy Tverskaya street.
BY BUS
Buses arrive at
Tsentralny Avtovokzal (Central Bus Terminal)
at 2 Ural-
skaya Ulitsa (
&
095/468-0400
). The Shcholkovskaya metro station is adjacent. Taxis
from the terminal take about 30 minutes to reach the center at a rate of $15 (£8).
BY CAR
Take the vehicle to your hotel and inquire about secure parking. Don't
drive around Moscow.
GETTING AROUND
BY PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
The
Moscow Metro
is an attraction unto
itself (p. 584), and well worth a visit just to view a few stations. Station entrances are
marked with a letter M. Opening and closing times are roughly 5:30am to 1am. Tick-
ets are sold in each station; 10 trips cost 105 rubles ($3.80/£2).
