Things to do in Moscow

Q: What are the top things to do in Moscow?

The top things to do in Moscow are: Museum of Soviet Arcade Machines Bunker-42 Cold War Museum Kazan Cathedral (Kazansky Kafedralny Sobor) Gulag History Museum Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre

Q: What are the top things to do near Moscow?

Check out things to do near Moscow: Kharkiv Minsk Kiev Vilnius Riga

Q: What do I need to know before visiting Moscow?

Check out these top Moscow travel ideas: Top Historical Sights in Moscow How to Spend 3 Days in Moscow Sergiev Posad Day Trips from Moscow

Welcome to Moscow

The capital of Russia, superstate and global superpower, does not disappoint. In Moscow, imitable architecture—think onion domes, candy-cane stripes, and imperial grandeur—competes for attention with Communist monuments and political powerhouses. Due to the complexity of its history, Moscow’s captivating historic center is best discovered on a guided sightseeing tour. Cover the vast Red Square (Krasnaya Ploschad), the trippy St. Basil’s Cathedral, the handsome mansions of Nikolskaya Street, and the Bolshoi Theatre. In-the-know travelers opt for early morning tours of the Moscow Kremlin—home to Faberge eggs, royal crowns, and opulent jewels—in order to avoid crowds; while first-time visitors typically select a Moscow metro tour, which reveals the opulent decor and statues peppered across the network’s 180 stations. The art and artifacts inside the Tretyakov Gallery, the Gulag History Museum, and the Kolomenskoye Museum and Reserve will wow culture connoisseurs; thrill seekers can shoot Soviet army weapons during a visit to the Central Shooting Club; and foodies can sample staples of Russian cuisine, including borsch (beetroot soup) and schnitzel (breaded meat) on a culinary tour. Popular day trips from Moscow include Suzdal and Vladimir, rural, medieval towns and UNESCO World Heritage sites; and Sergiev Posad, all part of Russia’s Golden Ring travel route. Plus, with St. Petersburg only a four-hour train or one-hour plane journey away, Moscow serves as a convenient gateway to the rest of the former USSR.

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Top 15 attractions in Moscow

Museum of Soviet Arcade Machines

Gaming enthusiasts won’t want to miss a visit to this quirky museum—the counterpart to the St. Petersburg museum of the same name. Come to play on the many working games at the interactive museum that's styled like a Soviet-era games arcade and is home to around 60 restored arcade machines from the 1970s and 80s.More

Bunker-42 Cold War Museum

Hidden beneath the unassuming façade of a residential building, Bunker-42 was once one of the USSR’s best-kept secrets—a nuclear bunker buried 197 feet (60 meters) underground. Now preserved as a museum, the site offers insight into Soviet-era Russia and the Cold War.More

Kazan Cathedral (Kazansky Kafedralny Sobor)

Moscow’s Kazan Cathedral (Kazansky Kafedralny Sobor) was built between 1633 and 1636 to celebrate Russia’s liberation from Polish invaders in 1612, the end of the Time of Troubles. Prince Dmitry Pozharsky often prayed to a holy icon of Our Lady of Kazan, to which he attributed his success in removing Polish occupiers. Kazan Cathedral housed the icon for two centuries.In 1936, the church was intentionally demolished as part of a greater plan to remodel Red Square to host military parades for the Soviet Union. Using measurements and photographs of the original church, the All-Russian Society for Historic Preservation and Cultural Organization built a replica of the cathedral in 1993.Services are held within the cathedral twice each Sunday, as well as for vespers on Monday evening.More

Gulag History Museum

Telling the story of the Gulag—the forced labor camps set up by Stalin in the early 20th century—the Gulag History Museum provides a harrowing look at one of the darkest periods in Soviet history. Founded by a former labor camp prisoner, it’s an emotional tribute to those held captive in the camps.More

Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre

Created in 1941, the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre may not be as well-known as the famous Bolshoi Theatre, but it has been staging world class opera and ballet performances for nearly a century. The theatre was formed by the combination of the Stanislavski Opera Theatre, originally founded in 1918, and the Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theatre, which produced both musical comedy shows and opera from the 1920s.Today, the theater is based in a building on Bolshaya Dmitrovka Street in the heart of Moscow and features one opera and two chamber music halls. The building was built on the site of Count Pyotr Saltykov’s estate and the lobby integrates remains of the estate dating from the mid-1800s.While showing many classic operas and traditional Russian ballets, the theater is known for being bold and experimental. It was the first in Russia to perform ballets by Nacho Duato, Jiri Kylian and Jorma Elo and hosted the world premiere of Vladimir Kobekin’s Hamlet.More

Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center

Moscow’s iconic, brick-and-glass Bakhmetevsky Bus Garage was designed by avant-garde Russian architects Konstantin Melnikov and Vladimir Shukhov in 1926. By the dawn of the 21st century it was in disrepair but was restored by Roman Abramovich to house the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art. That then moved and the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center subsequently opened at the Bus Garage in 2012. Now firmly on all the tours of Jewish heritage in Moscow, it is dedicated to the backstory of Russian Jews from medieval times to present day, with displays walking chronologically through spacious galleries making clever use of the very latest technology.Using personal narrative, film footage, holograms, multimedia touch screens and listening stations, this is a thoroughly modern museum with a surprisingly positive message. Yes, the subject matter deals thoughtfully with programs and the Holocaust but also dedicates space to the achievements of the Jews in Moscow and St Petersburg before World War I, when they successfully played a large part in civic and cultural life. There’s a small collection of Jewish ephemera and a permanent art exhibition as well as an animated 4D movie in the Beginnings Theater, which explains the beliefs fundamental to Judaism, but the heart of the museum lies with the panoramic film projected on to a massive, curved screen that combines wartime footage with testimonies from Holocaust survivors and deals with Jewish repression under Soviet rule.The Tolerance Center is a place in which to reflect and look forward; it houses a children’s center and the Schneerson Collection, a library of priceless Jewish books and manuscripts.More

Ostankino TV Tower

Towering 1,772 feet (540 meters) over Moscow’s All-Russian Exhibition Center (VDNK), the Ostankino TV Tower is one of the tallest structures in Europe. Visitors come to take in the view from the city’s highest observation decks, including an open-air platform that’s open only during the summer, or dine at the revolving restaurant.More

Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius (Svyato-Troitskaya Sergieva Lavra)

The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius has been the spiritual center of the Russian Orthodox Church since the mid-14th century. In the small town of Sergiev Posad along Russia’s Golden Ring, the monastery complex is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an architectural marvel, capped with blue and gold onion domes and surrounded by castle-like walls.More

Cathedral of the Archangel (Arkhangelsky Sobor)

One of several churches standing on Cathedral Square inside Moscow’s Kremlin, the Cathedral of the Archangel was the main burial place for Russian tsars for centuries until the capital was temporarily moved to St. Petersburg. Built in the early 16th century, it represented the culmination of a grand building project initiated by Ivan the Great. Built in a style unique from the other Kremlin cathedrals, the Cathedral of the Archangel features Italian Renaissance design elements, as well as five domes representing Jesus and the four evangelists.While many of the cathedral’s treasures are now displayed in the Kremlin Armory Museum, the 17th century iconostasis remains, as do many 16th and 17th century wall frescoes, painted by more than 100 different artists. The oldest icon in the cathedral, which depicts Archangel Michael in full armor, dates back to the 14th century. Visitors can see more than 40 tombs inside the cathedral, with those of the Grand Dukes and their families lining the southern wall and the vaults of the Romanovs standing in the center of the building.More

#10

Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics

Situated at the base of the Monument to the Conquerors of Space—which depicts a rocket soaring into space—Moscow’s Museum of Cosmonautics looks back at Russia’s role in space exploration. From retro space race propaganda to Soviet-era rockets, exhibits celebrate the Soviet space program and the country’s outer space achievements.More

#11

Russia My History - Historical Park

Part of Moscow’s vast All-Russian Exhibition Center (VDNK), the Russia – My History historical park chronicles some of the key moments in Russia’s history through an innovative series of interactive exhibits and multimedia installations. Organized throughout the country by the government and the Russian Orthodox Church, the exhibit offers a nationalistic view of historical events and figures.More

#12

Trampoline Park NEBO

Moscow’s enormous Trampoline Park NEBO is a family-friendly destination that older kids in particular will enjoy, especially on a cold or rainy day. Challenge yourself on trampolines, aerial walkways, or the climbing wall—or attempt an obstacle course or two. You can even take private trampolining lessons.More

#13

Victory Museum

Encircled by poignant monuments and memorials, the Victory Museum—or the Museum of the Great Patriotic War—is the focal point of Moscow’s Victory Park (Park Pobedy). Opened in 1995 to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, it’s Russia’s largest and most important museum of military history.More

#14

Kremlin Armoury (Armoury Chamber)

The Kremlin Armoury houses the most precious treasures of the Russian czars, many of which were made right in the Kremlin. Some 4,000 glittering valuables are spread across two floors and arranged according to themes, from heavily embroidered royal regalia and carriages to weapons and jewel-encrusted Fabergé eggs.More

#15

Tretyakov Gallery (Tretyakovskaya Galereya)

Showcasing more than 170,000 works from the 11th to the 20th century, the Tretyakov Gallery is a glorious tribute to Russian art. From medieval icons to Soviet-era masterpieces, it’s the world’s most comprehensive collection of Russian art.More

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Trip ideas

Top Historical Sights in Moscow

Tucked beneath steel and glass skyscrapers, historic sights can be found throughout Russia's capital. Here are a few sights in Moscow that shouldn't be missed.

How to Spend 3 Days in Moscow

Three days in Russia’s capital give you time to see Moscow’s most-important landmarks and explore further afield on a day trip. Here’s how.

Sergiev Posad Day Trips from Moscow

The picturesque town of Sergiev Posad grew out of one of Russia's greatest monasteries, the Trinity Lavra Monastery. It makes for a great day trip from Moscow and can also be combined with visits to other Golden Ring towns as part of a multi-day tour. Here are your options.

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When to visit

Unless you’re used to freezing temperatures or prepared to brave the cold for a fairy-tale vacation over the holidays, winter in Moscow is best avoided. Late spring and early fall are some of the best times for sightseeing trips, as the weather is moderate, but attractions and popular traveler routes are far less crowded.

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