Moscow Russia
Russia
Frequently Asked Questions
At the Northern River Terminal, on the Khimki reservoir, where the Moscow Canal arrives. The terminal itself is a monument: built in 1937 and fully restored, its long white facade is shaped like an ocean liner and topped with a slender spire.
By metro, and the ride is already part of the sightseeing. The terminal is a long way from the centre: neither Red Square nor the Kremlin is walkable. Plan on the metro or a transfer arranged by the ship.
Red Square and the Kremlin, without hesitation: St Basil's, the brick walls and GUM. Add the nearby Zaryadye Park for its V-shaped bridge over the Moskva. The rest calls for a stay, not a port call.
Because several stations were conceived as people's palaces under Stalin: chandeliers, mosaics, marble and bronze. Komsomolskaya, Mayakovskaya and Ploshchad Revolyutsii, where Muscovites rub the bronze dog for luck, each deserve a stop.
By contactless card, directly at the turnstile. It is quick and simple, but bear in mind that foreign-issued cards generally do not work in Russia — check with the ship before setting off on your own.
The twisted domes of St Basil's on one side, the brick walls of the Kremlin on the other, and the facade of GUM, lit at night like stage scenery. Inside the store, 19th-century iron and glass roofs span three shopping arcades.
Yes, the citadel can be visited: cathedrals with old frescoes, inner squares and palaces. Allow time for entry and check the day's access arrangements, which can change around official events.
A contemporary park a step from Red Square, layering artificial hills, plantings from Russia's different regions and buried concert halls. Its V-shaped bridge over the Moskva offers one of the most photographed views in the capital.
Arbat Street with its buskers in a former artists' quarter, the columned facade of the Bolshoi Theatre — worth a look even without a ballet ticket — and, across the river, the Tretyakov Gallery with its medieval icons.
The Russian rouble and Russian. Bring cash: foreign-issued cards cannot be relied on. English turns up in tourist places and the metro shows Latin lettering, but improvising is harder here than elsewhere in Europe.
