You are very welcome to the Moscow-Guide website. This site complements the printed walking guide to Moscow, Russia’s great and historical capital city, which is produced by the publishing division of Top10 Places.
Moscow, Europe’s largest metropolitan area, is a culturally rich yet rapidly developing city. Developing in the sense of its embrace of Western culture and undergoing rapid social change, while at the same time utterly determined to maintain and revive its own customs and traditions.
A walk through Moscow is written in an easy to follow style but with meticulous attention to detail to create an intimate portrait of the city. Printed in a convenient pocket-style format the guide is essential for anyone spending even a few hours in Moscow, in order to maximise their time in the city and derive the greatest benefit from their visit. The guide features four distinct walks, each lasting an average of 90 minutes.
The aim of this website is to present current information regarding the opening hours of the principal places of interest in the city as well as admission prices where that is relevant. Of course these details are included in the printed walking guide but are subject to change after publication. Reference to the "Attractions" page prior to embarking on your walking exploration will provide you with the most up-to-date information.
We will also include advice which will be helpful to tourists visitig the city. This will largely be based on people's past experiences and it will be inlcuded on the tips page.
The site also provides our personal recommendations for a select group of restaurants in the city, catering for a variety of budgets and tastes. Please refer to the "Restaurants" page for their contact details.
Finally, from 1st September 2010 the site will feature a "What's On" page so that visitors planning a trip have advance knowledge of what is happening in the city.
If you are planning a visit to Moscow and would like some information please write to us at mail@moscow-guide.com Please note that we are not a hotel booking or reservation service but we are happy to provide you with reliable information based on your accommodation requirements. We would also appreciate your feedback on your experience in Moscow. Be aware that Moscow is an extremely expensive city where a cup of coffee can cost anything from €3 to €6 or all the way up to €20. We are not joking. In the O2 Bar, which granted has a most spectacular view of Moscow, a mouthful of sushi and a shot of vodka will cost you about €150. There is a nice anecdote (Russian's love anecdotes) about two friends who are part of the New Russian's - the wealthy ones. Boris Nikolayevich is walking down the street when he meets his friend Andrei Ivanovich. "That's a nice tie" Boris tells his friend. "Thank you" says Andrei, "it only cost me €900 in Paris." Boris replies: "You idiot! You could have stayed in Moscow and paid €2,000."
Please note the public holidays in Russia. If the day falls on a Saturday then the holiday will be on the previous Friday, whereas if the day falls on a Sunday, the holiday will be on the following Monday. The holidays are:
Official public holidays in Russia are:
December 31st – January 9th - New Year and Christmas holidays
January 7th - Russian Orthodox Christmas
February 23rd - Motherland Defender's Day
March 8th - International Women's Day
May 1st - International Labor Solidarity Day
May 9th - Victory Day
June 12th - Independence Day
November 4th – People’s (or National) Unity Day
For those of you who may be interested in learning some Russian at home before going to Moscow, we will be including a link here by the end of this month (August) that we are most pleased to highly recommend and endorse. Please check back here soon for details.
We wish you a very enjoyable stay in Moscow,
Colin and Elena
Joint Managing Editors