Moscow

By Plane

There are 4 airports; Sheremetyevo International Airport, Domodedovo International Airport, Bykovo Airport and Vnukovo Airport.

By Train

Moscow lies at the western end of the Trans-Siberian Railway from Beijing, Ulaanbaatar and Vladivostok. You can reach here from almost anywhere in Europe and Central Asia.

There are nine train stations, each offering long-distance and local train services. All are located relatively in the center of the city and have metro stations nearby.

Belorussia Station: Serves Smolensk, Minsk, Poland, Berlin, and other destinations. Savyolov Station

Riga Station: Serves Riga and other Latvian destinations.

Leningrad Station: Serves Novgorod, Pskov, St. Petersburg, Vologda, Petrozavodsk, Tallinn, and Helsinki.

Yaroslavl Station: Serves Rostov Veliki, Sergeev Posad, Yarlslavl, Novosibirsk, several destinations in Siberia and the Russian Far East, and Beijing.

Kazan Station: Serves Nizhni Novgorod, Kazan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Kursk Station: Serves Vladimir, Nizhni Novgorod, Tula, Adler/Sochi, the Crimea, and eastern Ukraine.

Paveletsky Station: Serves Voronezh, Astrakhan, and other destinations to the South.

Kiev Station: Serves Kiev, other destinations in central and southern Ukraine, Budapest, Zabreb, Belgrade, and Sofia.

By Car

It is not advisable to travel by car. Foreign cars tend to attract unwelcome attention, and there is cumbersome paperwork involved.

By Bus

Eurolines operate coach services into Moscow. Typical fares would be £10 (one-way) to Riga, Latvia, or £60 to London in the United Kingdom.

Intercity buses to Russian and some former Soviet Union cities depart from the intercity bus station at Shyokovskaya Metro station (the last station of the dark blue line, in northeast Moscow).

Getting Around in Moscow

Central Moscow is best explored on foot, but visitors will most likely use the famous Metro system. It is comprehensive, boasts some great architecture and is quite cheap. A trip costs 14 rubles/$0.5 (convenient way is to buy tickets for 10 and 20 trips - trips became cheaper).

Sightseeing

Red Square

St Basil Cathedral Built 1555-61. Inside is a museum, although it looks best from the outside.

The Kremlin Must not be missed. The Diamond collection is worth a visit on its own. If you get a chance, the ballet in the Conference Centre has some very cheap matinee performances (and you can change seats in the interval). Arbat Street: Walk down this lively street full of souvenier vendors, cafes, restaurants, artists, etc. The prices of the souveniers are not bad - check both the shops and the street vendors.

Bolshoi Theater: Sit in front of the famed theater near the fountain, or catch a show inside if you can.

Go to the top of the Ostankino TV tower. It is 540 meters tall, restaurant and viewing platform at 330 meters. This is the tallest structure in Europe and Asia and has a wonderful sixties James Bond feel. Bring cash and your passport to get in.

What to Eat in Moscow

There are a number of Western (American) franchise restaurants, such as McDonald's and TGI Friday's.

Great American-style breakfasts can be had at either of the Amerikanski Bar locations, as well as thick juicy cheeseburgers.

A huge and quickly growing range of restaurants, with a matching range of prices. The average cost per person for a middle to top class restaurant will be $30 to $200 (more if one goes for vintage wines). A quick 'canteen' style meal in a 'Stolovaya' can cost about $3.

The chain restaurant 'Moo-Moo' offers adequate quality canteen food, with English menus, for around $5 pp. Most Moscovites do not eat in even cheap restaurants very often, although lately a lot of new "middle-class" restaurants have opened, sprawling with families on weekends. The omnipresent McDonald's have outlets near many metro stations.

Besides Russian cuisine, one variety of ethnic food that is strongly recommened while in Moscow is Georgian. This cuisine is generally spicier than Russian food, and there are a number of reasonably priced Georgian restaurants in Moscow.

Moscow Resources: