Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
4
Suggested Moscow
Itineraries
Moscow's grand scale means that
any good glimpse of the city requires a fair
amount of travel, but these itineraries aim
to keep the walking and metro- or car-rid-
ing to a minimum. When touring on your
own, bear in mind the travel time between
sights or neighborhoods. The tours below
seek to balance the massive with the cozy,
the modern with the ancient, and give a
sense of what makes Moscow sizzle.
1
NEIGHBORHOODS IN BRIEF
Moscow is divided into six districts, or
okrugs,
with most of the activity focused on the
Central district. The best way to view the city is as a daisylike flower, with neighborhoods
stretching like petals from the center core toward the “ring roads” outlined above. Most
historical buildings and key sights are within the Boulevard Ring; museums are within
the Garden Ring; and hotels, restaurants, and shopping for all budgets are found every-
where. The area from the Kremlin to the Boulevard Ring was known historically as the
“Bely Gorod,” or “White Town,” because of the white stone walls that encircled it to fend
off outsiders. The area between the Boulevard and Garden rings was called “Zemlyanoi
Gorod,” or “Earth Town,” after its earthen ramparts.
At the center is
The Kremlin,
a village unto itself, with cathedrals, palaces, an enor-
mous concert and congress hall, and of course the seat of presidential power—all sur-
rounded by imposing red-brick walls that extend for 2.5km (1
1
⁄
2
miles). On its east side
is
Red Square,
the epicenter of the city and the country. The square abuts a small neigh-
borhood called
Kitai-Gorod.
This is almost like an annex to the Kremlin, with a dense
collection of churches, old merchants' courtyards, and administrative buildings clustered
on quiet streets overlooking the Moscow River. Its name today translates as “Chinatown,”
but more likely comes from an old Russian term for battlements because of its proximity
to the Kremlin. The area boasts many restaurants but few hotels.
The primary petal of Moscow's daisy is undoubtedly
Tverskaya Street,
shooting north
from Red Square in the direction of Russia's other imperial city, St. Petersburg. Moscow's
most important thoroughfare, Tverskaya throbs with commerce, cafes, and nightclubs,
with the columns of City Hall overseeing it all. Tverskaya and its environs include key
hotels and museums, and offer close-up views of Moscow's breakneck post-Soviet evolu-
tion. Hotels right on Tverskaya suffer from its 24-hour schedule; those on the side streets
are calmer but farther from the action.
The more true-to-tradition
Petrovka
district slopes eastward from Tverskaya. It includes
several old and new restaurants, boutiques, and (mostly upmarket) hotels, in addition to
two monasteries and a historic bathhouse. Curving southeast from there is the
Ukrainian
Quarter,
whose steep and crooked lanes unveil architectural treasures tucked behind
embassies and run-down government buildings. Accommodations here are limited, but the
area is great for wandering. As you continue to circle Red Square clockwise, you cross the
