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Arbat Street in Moscow is not quite like anywhere we had been before, yet it seems every town has somewhere similar. In Moscow, “The Arbat,” as it’s more commonly called, refers to the old Arbat Street where visitors find a kilometre long pedestrian-only road lined with souvenir shops, cafes and restaurants, artists, street performers, and a few random museums.

One of the oldest surviving streets in Moscow, the first recorded mentions of Arbat Street are from 1493. Today it is a perfect spot for people watching.

Street musicians on Arbat Street in Moscow Russia
A group of friends listening to street musicians
Modern street performer on Arbat Street in Moscow Russia
Modern street performer.
Traditional Street performers on Arbat Street in Moscow Russia
Traditional street performers (outside of these two, we never saw anyone dressed this way in Russia).
Hare Krishnas dancing and parading down Arbat Street in Moscow Russia
Hare Krishnas dancing and parading down the street.
Statue of Princess Tourandot in front of Vakhtangova Theatre on Arbat Street in Moscow Russia
Our girls and a statue of Princess Tourandot in front of Vakhtangova Theatre. We are not sure why there was foam in the fountain but assumed it was related to an earlier flash mob that had taken place on the street.
Statue of Bulat Okudzhava on Arbar Street in Moscow
Statue of Bulat Okudzhava, a famous Russian poet, writer, musician, novelist and singer/songwriter from the 20th century.
Statue of Alexander Pushkin on Arbat Street in Moscow
Statue of Alexander Pushkin (and his wife), considered by many to be Russia’s greatest poet.
Moscow - Arbat Street 22
Building along Arbat Street.
Architecture on Arbat Street
Another building along the street.
Fast Food on Arbat Street in Moscow
I have to admit, I was surprised to see three American fast food chains on Arbat Street, but love the way the signs look in Cyrillic.
Large set of Matryoshka dolls in Moscow
This is the largest set of matryoshka nesting dolls I have ever seen, located in a shop on Arbat Street. We bought a much smaller set.

Practical Information:

  • Old Arbat Street is a tourist destination. Therefore, many “souvenirs” are over priced. However, most vendors are open to negotiation.
  • “New Arbat” is home to many of Moscow’s rich and features some of Moscow’s most expensive restaurants and nightclubs. It is nearby, but a different location to old Arbat Street.
  • We arrived via the Moscow Metro. Either the Smolenskaya (both blue lines) or Arbatskaya (both blue lines, from Dark Blue line, take west exit) station will get you to Arbat Street.
  • Arbat Street is only 800 metres west of the Moscow Kremlin.
  • We planned our days in Moscow with the Lonely Planet Moscow City Guide. If you prefer a tour, we have been impressed with Viator in other cities, and they offer several tours in Moscow.
  • We stayed at the Moscow Marriot. Like most of the better hotels, they provided us with the sponsorship paperwork we need for our Russian tourist visa. Check prices and availability in Moscow at Booking.com.

We visited Moscow a few years ago, but like many of the photos we took, they somehow never made it onto Albom Adventures before now.

Does your town have an area like Arbat Street?

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People Watching on Arbat Street in Moscow Russia

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Comments

  1. I didn’t know you went as far as Moscow in Europe. I would have loved to go too, but I think it’s a rather expensive destination. It seems you had a lot of fun with all those street performance there.

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  5. Wow! I was just on old Arbat Street on Thursday, and I hardly saw any of what you saw when it comes to people! I also didn’t see McDonald’s or Wendy’s! Were those people/things off the street on some of the side streets?

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    • There had been an earlier flash mob on the day we visited. I think it accounted for some of the crowds. I don’t remember the day of the week, but I imagine it was a weekend. Those restaurants were at one end of Old Arbat Street.

      Reply

  6. Wow, that’s pretty impressive. At the moment it’s a bit tricky for Dutch to travel to Russia (diplomatic problems) but I’d love to one day.

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  7. It’s very interesting that such a melancholy people have so much beautiful architecture and have such reverence for poetry, writing, and the theater. (Russians make up the largest number of tourists where I live, and they waffle between coldly unfriendly and being loud, ebullient drunks.) Thanks for the awesome pics!

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  9. Arbat Street looks like a lot of fun. It looks more European than what i would have thought. While I know that Russia is in Europe, i was not expecting so many cool nooks and crannies.

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  10. There is some good people watching in that area! It is a place I would like to walk around. I am surprised by your Western “restaurant” finding but have to admit the writing looks cool.

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  11. I’d love to visit Russia, Rhonda. In fact, we were very close this summer when we went to Latvia. Time was too short though and from what you are describing there is a lot to see there. Great pictures!

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    • If you want to go to Russia, don’t forget to sort your visa. We were allowed 90 days from the issue date and we were visiting several countries first. To get the visa, I needed to be sponsored (a pre-booked hotel will issue the proper papers). The paperwork has to be completely correctly and exactly (even to the size of the paper). We were rejected at first because the borders on our form were off by several millimetres.

      Reply

  12. I guess the closest thing around here is State Street on game day. It’s heartening that this type of artistic gathering is allowed in Moscow, you wouldn’t guess where it was by some of these shots. Excellent freeze frame of the street performer.

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  16. What an intriguing selection of street scenes. I do like the statue of Pushkin and his wife. Old fashioned but quite artistically done. Who would have thought all of these things would be taking place together.

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  17. Friends who have visited Moscow have complained that there’s really not much to see or do in Moscow outside of the obvious iconic landmarks like St Basil’s Cathedral, so it’s really nice to know that Arbat Street is another option! They’ve also said that Moscow is really not very tourist-friendly – was that your experience as well?

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  19. What a fab post! Firstly, because it is so unexpected (as in it’s not what I would expect in Russia) and I love to have my misconceptions turned over! And secondly, the dude upside down – what a great capture!!!!

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  20. it reminds me a bit of Temple Street in Hong Kong, but with a distinct Russian flavor. definitely someplace we would checkout if we visited. Great photos!

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  22. People watching is my all time favourite activity and this looks like a great place to do it on. I’m really looking forward to travelling to Russia, although I have a lot more places on my to do list before that!

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  23. Our town doesn’t have anything close to this. Living in the central valley of California you don’t get much of this type of thing.

    I would love to visit Russia one day, but I know I never will.

    Have a fabulous day. ☺

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  25. I well know this place, but without all that colorful life (in 70ies in URSS all was very grey)
    Bulat Okudshava is one of my favourite songwriter/singer, the Statue is new for me.
    Have a nice weekend

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  28. You certainly do get around Rhonda. Great capture of the guy in mid-flip. It sure seems odd seeing a McDonald’s sign in Russian. When it comes to Fast Food there’s no escape

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    • LOL – I assume you mean that in a good way. 🙂
      This one was a few years ago, but so many photos from our around the world travel. Our current count: 52 countries on 6 continents.

      Reply

  29. Great post! looks like Arbat street is the source of all fun. There’s a lot of modern street performer too. Wish to visit Moscow anytime soon.

    Reply

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