Travel Tips | Moscow (Eng.)

TRAVEL TIPS

MOSCOW

OVERVIEW TRANSPORTATION VISÃO GERAL TRANSPORTE ATTRACTIONS ATRAÇÕES

WHERE TO STAYONDE WHERE TO EAT SHOPPING COMPRAS FICAR ONDE COMER

OVERVIEW Moscow is the capital of Russia and the biggest

Even the virtues of this great city implicate

city in the country. It is the most populous

in shock of opinions. The subway is majestic,

metropolis of Europe, with around 12,2 million

but you most probably will be completely

inhabitants. The city is full of contradictions. All

lost, even with a map in your hand. But if you

the cities around the world are different but

are clever, however, you can benefit from it,

some of them are more different than others.

noticing the richness of details and the images

It is, at the same time ugly, with many horrible

in the stations that show the world of many

buildings, as well as attractive ones, with

years ago. The museums are tremendous

some of the most fascinating constructions of

but almost all with information exclusively in

all Europe. It is quite gray in the architecture,

Russian. If you broaden your perception you

red in the Kremlin green in the parks, white

may enjoy it as much.

in the winter and colored in the churches. It is miserable with the babushkas that beg in the

In Moscow, the symbolic dimension very

streets, and rich with the rich women circulating

often exceeds the reality. The mere mention

in their limousines along the wide avenues.

of its name evokes something bigger than a simple capital, so much for the Russians

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as much to the foreigners. Object of desire of enemy, wrapped in mystery for the ones who come from the outside; for its residents, it is the place of the purity of the blood and of the ground of Russia. Besides being the

TRANSPORT SUBWAY

political center of the country, Moscow is the

Quick and efficient, the subway in Moscow

city where resides the center of the Orthodox

works as in any big city, except for the natural

Russian Church. It is known worldwide by

reason: practically everything is written in

its monuments, such as the Kremlin and the

Russian. This obvious detail can take you to

Saint Basil’s Cathedral, by the great quantity of

the madness, in case you do not understand

shops and commercial centers and by the great

the Russian alphabet. The system of lines,

cultural inheritance.

each one with a color, which could help, does not help in anything when in the entrance of

Like no another place, the city reflects the

the station the color is not on display, but only

ambiguities of the country, where brutality

the name of the line written in Russian. To

and delicacy are inseparable. Able to

complete, not always you will find someone

produce atomic arms and steps of ballet, it

who speaks English to help. The subway works

is responsible for one of the biggest cultural

from 6am to 1am. Avoid the peak hours, from

legacy of the humanity. To know Moscow

8am to 10am and from 5pm to 7pm. The

is not only an experience of visual delight.

Russian stations are amongst the deepest in

It revises political and aesthetic concepts,

the world, and you can spend minutes going

demands constantly an interpretation of the

up the escalators. A one way ticket costs 15

history itself, built by an incredible human

rubles, and a card for 20 travels, valid for 30

capacity of transformation.

days, costs 140 rubles.

The nightlife, the fabulous theatres, the

The good news is that the Russian subway,

dance shows, the parks that become rings of

in spite of the crowd and the not clear to

skating for Christmas are an invitation to the

us direction, has fantastic stations, true

amusement. However, with one condition:

underground museums. Portraits of Lenin,

you must be full of dollars - or rubles, which

details of communist symbols, mosaics with

is definitely the local coin. Moscow is an

daily scenes of the Soviet period and spacious

expensive city in all the senses, perhaps the

spaces with marble pillars make worth the

biggest of all the paradoxes.

visitation independently of the destiny.

BUS AND TAXIS The bus ticket costs from 10 to 15 rubles, but it is good to avoid if you do not speak Russian.

Taxis, you just signal with the hand and a car, any car, stops to combine the travel. Without fluency in the Russian, also it is a good

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recommendation. The best alternative is the teletaxis, many companies operate the service.

Ask the hotel to recommend one or call the Central Bureau, telephone 927-0000.

ATTRACTIONS In Moscow, capital of Russia, the tourists have the opportunity to take advantage of the trip looking at several points of view. Political and cultural attractions are mixed in a true knowledge of history inside one of the biggest cities of the European continent.

As in any great city, it is always good to be attentive to your belongings during the travel.

Be at ease if you are stopped by policemen only because you are taking a photo of a communist symbol (or any postcard of the city) and if you are asked to show your passport. You must carry it always, or a copy. Being completely in order, including the register of the visa, you probably will be excused immediately.

Among some suggestions such as touristic places, cathedrals and churches, theaters, galleries and museums, we point out places where the visit is almost compulsory for the visitors.

KREMLIN The Kremlin of Moscow is a fortress situated in the center of the city being the headquarters of the Russian government.

Occupies around 30 hectares and it has several monuments inside. The Kremlin

wall contains 20 towers, of which the most important is the Tower of the Savior.

Continuing clockwise, the towers of the Senate are next, Saint Nicolas, Corner Arsenal, Peter’s Arsenal, Trinity, Commander, Armoury, Borovitskaya, Water, Annunciation, Secret, two towers without name, Beklemishev, Saint Constantine and Saint Helen, Alarm and finally the Tower of the Tsar. In front of the Trinity Tower, outside the Kremlin, is the Tower Kutafya.

RED SQUARE The Red Square is well known by the military Soviet parades during the era of the Soviet Union. The square separates the Royal citadel known as Kremlin, to the historical district of Kitay-gorod. As wide avenues of Moscow leave from the square in several directions, being extended in highways going out of the city, the Red Square can be considered as the central square of Moscow and of the whole Russia. The name of Red Square does not drift from the color of the bricks in its outline, not even the association of the red color to the communism. In fact, the name appeared because the word in Russian can mean both “red” and “pretty”.

SAINT BASIL’S CATHEDRAL Belonging to the Orthodox Russian Church, the cathedral had its construction ordered by the Tsar Ivan, the Terrible. Saint Basil’s is in the south-east extreme of the Red Square, just in front of the Spasskaya Tower of Kremlin.

Particularly, it is not a very big construction and it consists of 9 small chapels. The front of the church, in a garden, there is a bronze statue, raised in honor of Dmitry Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin, that voluntarily joined the army who

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fought against the Polish invaders. The initial

BOLSHOI THEATRE

concept was to build a group of chapels, each

The Bolshoi Theater is a theater and a company

one devoted to each one of the saints of the

of opera situated in Moscow. The name Bolshoi

day when the Tsar gained a battle. The legend

in Russian means “big�. It is recognized like

says that the Tsar Ivan left the architect Postnik

one of the best companies of ballet and opera

Yakovlev blind, to avoid him to build a more

of the world. The company was established in

magnificent construction for someone else.

1776 by the prince Peter Urussov and Michael

NOVODEVICHY CONVENT

Maddox. After three years presenting in a private enclosure, it acquired the Petrovsky

It is the second architectural set in importance

Theater. In 1805, a fire destroyed the building

in Moscow after the Kremlin. Surrounded by 11

that was hosting the theater. The only school

meters high walls, in its interior there are many

of the Bolshoi Theatre out of Russia, the Ballet

churches. The most important is Our Lady

Bolshoi, is in Joinville, in Brazil.

of Smolensky. The convent was established in 1524 year that Vasilii III celebrated the

MUSEU PUSHKIN

reconquest of Smolensk. During the 16th and

The State-owned Museum Pushkin of Fine Arts

17th centuries was a convent for women from

is the biggest museum in Moscow devoted to

the Royal family.

the European art, and one of the biggest in the

TRETYAKOV GALLERY

world of this kind. It includes Greek, Egyptian and Roman collections of art, of sculptures

The State-owned Tretyakov Gallery is a Russian

and western painting that goes from the 19th

museum devoted to the preservation and

century to the 20th century. Its collection is

spread of Russian national art of. It is located in

absolutely replete of magnificent preciousness.

Moscow, in the proximities of the Kremlin. Its

The distinction goes, naturally, for the

works are exclusively from Russian artists who

insurmountable set of works from modern

have had a small contact with art, and is one

European painters.

of the most important in the world as such. At present the Tretyakov Gallery has more than 130 thousand items that goes from the 11th century up to nowadays.

WHERE TO STAY

CHRIST SAVIOR CATHEDRAL The Christ Savior Cathedral is the biggest

The lodging in Moscow is expensive, mainly

Orthodox Church of Russia. It is a landmark in

because of the high prices of the real estate.

the city, not only for its great beauty, but also

There is an enormous difficulty on finding

for its history that begun in the 19th century

apartments with cheap or moderate prices:

when, after the victory of the Russian army

most of the hotels are 5 stars. Generally, a

against Napoleon, the then Russian emperor

simple or double room in a luxury hotel costs

Alexander decided to build a cathedral in honor

300 dollars or more. A room in a three stars

of his dead soldiers.

hotel costs between 70 and 100 dollars, and

in most of the cases the quality is inferior to

DINING OUT

what one waits. There are also some hotels with apartment type rooms, with two rooms, kitchen, and bathroom.

The Russian cuisine is famous for its exotic soups like the borsch. It is varied because

The inns in Moscow generally offer a bed in a

of the extensive territory and of the great

room for around 16 dollars. Basically, the inns

diversity of races that create this quantity of

of the city are places to sleep and to know

receipts and plates being the biggest in the

other travelers, only. Nearly always these inns

world. The tea is a very important drink in

are located badly and it has not a casual and

Russia brought by the Mongols. So important

friendly environment. If you want to rent an

that the Russians manage to consume, on

apartment, it is going to be difficult to find one

average, 3 to 5 cups of tea daily accompanied

that can be rented for an inferior period than 3

by blinis (Russian pancakes) and other biscuits.

months. Normally, if you are going to rent an apartment for a longer period it is going to cost

The rivers also contribute to the variety of the

around 400 dollars monthly (for a standard

Russian gastronomy: the most varied types

apartment far from the center) and 1.000

of fish turn in great variety of plates and

dollars monthly for a standard two-bedroom

desserts. Besides the fish, the vegetables,

apartment in the center.

the mushrooms and the meat are also a raw material for several preparations: soups,

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entries, desserts, and others. The bread is a compulsory side order to the main course and of soups especially if it made out of rye.

Concerning restaurant, Moscow offers a great variety of restaurants with traditional food or with international cuisine. However, an important thing to know: the restaurants and bars in Moscow are learning to collect the tip.

Some of them add 10 % to the bill. But it is not compulsory, in other words, you choose between giving or not the tip.

SHOPPING

winter, as well as opening on Sunday. For public places and banks, consider Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5pm, some of them eventually

The one who visits Russia is going to find many ways of spending money, specially in Moscow, where the commerce is big and varied. Here you will find art and antique dealers, shops of souvenirs, department stores, commercial centers and of italicize shops famous worldwide.

It is important to curl that the Russian commerce does not accepts payment in dollar, euro or any other currency other than ruble.

So, always have with you Russian money in sort. Banks exchange foreign money (dollar and euro) easily, and the value of the list can change at any hour.

The shops are open from 9am to 7pm, from Monday to Saturday, but they can open later, mainly in the summer, or to close earlier, in the

open on Saturday or even up to 6pm.

IMPORTANT NUMBERS

01 02

FIRE BRIGADE POLICE

EMERGENCY

937-9911 SUBWAY LOST AND FOUND

222-2085 LOST DOCUMENTS

200-9957