Half a day tour in Moscow

Hello dear readers,

today I want to present you a tour, which you can easily do within half a day. At a later point I will also show you what you can do in a full day, 2 days and 3 days. But lets start with the short half a day tour.

First part

You start the tour at metro station Smolenskaya. From there you can take a leisurely stroll over the famous Arbat. It is a pedestrian zone, so there is a lot of space for walking. On Arbat, there are a lot of nice restaurants and shops, so I would recommend to stop for a coffee there. For the collectors of Hard Rock Café items, it is also located on the beginning on the left side. There are also a lot of street artists on the street, so some entertainment is also provided.

( from wikipedia.org)

Second part

After passing by Arbat, you will arrive at Arbatskaya metro station, where you turn to the right and walk down in direction of the Kremlin.

There I would recommend you to visit the Armoury, which I told about in a previous post. After visiting the Kremlin you can walk further to the famous department store GUM with all its luxury shops. But before take some time on Red Square to visit the St. Basil Cathedral.

In GUM you need to taste their ice-cream, which only costs 50 RUB.

After GUM, you can walk further on Nikolskaya Ul., another pedestrian zone with some shops, cafés and very picturesque architecture.

Third part

After passing by the whole Nikolskaya Ul. turn to the left and walk until you are in front of the Bolshoi Theatre ( which translated means Big theatre ). It is by far the most famous theatre in Moscow and to get tickets for one of their ballets, it is nearly impossible and if possible only for a fortune.

The ballet in Kremlin palace offers also very nice ballet shows for much more affordable ticket prices.

Fourth part

Now you will turn on Tverskaya Ul. one of the old big streets of Moscow. In earlier times you entered the city on exactly this street when coming from Tver or further St. Petersburg. Here you can simply walk and enjoy the atmosphere of this imposant street. On the corner there is also located the Hotel National, one of the most famous hotels in whole Russia. Right next to it in the neighbourhood is the Ritz Carlton Moscow.

Fifth part

When you see the metro station Pushkinskaya, you need to turn to the left to Tverskoy Boulvar with its nice part in the middle of the street.

Here you can also see the first McDonalds of Russia, although nowadays they are located everywhere in the city, like in every other big city.

Here you also find chic and small restaurants and cafés in every price range, from cheap to splurge, so it is the ideal point to stop for some coffee or something more substantial, if you are hungry.

If you now simply follow the direction of the city, you will end the walk at Arbatskaya metro station.

How long does it take?

This highly varies, but if you take your time and also stop at the sights it will take around 5 hours.

Of course there is a lot more to see, but this walk is perfect for a first day in Moscow, because it will give you a general impression of the atmosphere in the city without overloading your brain with too much new information.