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Red Square in Moscow, Russia

Highlights of Moscow: Red Square, St. Basils, Seven Sisters, More

You are here: Home / Travel / Europe / Eastern Europe / Highlights of Moscow: Red Square, St. Basils, Seven Sisters, More

Last Updated: June 1, 2019 // by Rhonda Albom // 12 Comments

Moscow is one of those cities that I have always wanted to visit. I had great fantasies about intrigue and drama, Russian dancing and puppets, food and friendship.

Honestly, I am not sure what I was really expecting, but Moscow did not disappoint. After two rest days in Dubai, we are ready for Russia.  We know Moscow is one of the most expensive cities in the world to visit, and we want to see as much as possible in just four days.

We started our visit with a free city tour of Moscow. Like in other cities, the idea is participants tip and the end, paying what they think the tour is worth. It’s a wonderful introduction to the city, and later we took a paid tour of the Kremlin and a self-guided metro tour.

Moscow Tours

 

We had our first embarrassing moment in Moscow

Our plan was to take the metro train to get to the tour starting point. We purchased tickets for all four of us and were handed one ticket to cover the family. I scanned the card, the gate opened and the number “4” appeared on the little screen.  After I went through the gate stayed open. I turned to hubby and said, “I guess we all can go through.” As he crossed behind me the gates closed and grabbing him by the leg.  He was stuck and an older guard came out of her booth shouting and waving her arms at him in Russian.

Highlights of Introduction to Moscow city tour

Our tour started at the statue of Cyril and Methodius, the men who created cyrillic alphabet.
Our tour started at the statue of Cyril and Methodius, the men who created the cyrillic alphabet.
GUM, the first shopping mall in Russia, located in Moscow.
GUM, the first shopping mall in Russia;
St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow, Rusia
St. Basil’s Cathedral. What I can say about something so beautiful. It was just amazing to stand and see this masterpiece. It’s even more beautiful at night.
Red Square in Moscow, Russia
Red Square
con artists in Russia
I took this photo of Sarah with this random animal. Afterwards, he asked for 100 rubles ($4 NZD). How irritating, but I should know better.
Changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier in Moscow, Russia
We saw the changing of the guard at the eternal flame of the tomb of the unknown soldier.
Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow tallest Orthodox church in the world
One of our final stops was Christ the Savior Cathedral, the tallest Orthodox church in the world.
Statue of Peter the Great, the most controversial monument in Moscow.
Statue of Peter the Great, the most controversial monument in Moscow.
Moscow's Seven Sisters
The Seven Sisters are a group of seven skyscrapers in Moscow designed in the Stalinist style. According to our guide, they are complete cities built under one roof.

Our free tour also went to Kitay-Gorod, an old city area full of breath-taking churches; Lenin’s Mausoleum; Kazan Cathedral; and, Alexander Garden.

After the tour we had an hour for lunch, then we took a tour of inside the Kremlin. This was a great way to start off our time in Moscow. We still have one more tour, a self-guided Metro train tour, and a visit to both Arbat Street and Novodevichy Convent to look forward to.  Probably the most unique thing we did in Moscow was marching in the May Day Parade.

What do you consider to be the highlights of Moscow?

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Category: Eastern EuropeTag: Cathedrals, Moscow

About Rhonda Albom

Capturing the essence of travel through photography, Rhonda Albom is the primary author and photographer at Albom Adventures. She is an American expat based in New Zealand. She travels the world with her husband.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lynne

    May 4, 2012 at 9:42 am

    We came across buskers in Moscow “Where are you from” “Australia”. They proceed to strike up Waltzing Matilda before stating their required dues. We loved the Kremlin and of course St Basils but never made it to GUM

    Reply
    • Rhonda

      May 5, 2012 at 12:45 am

      We met some really nice buskers too, at Arbat street, a blog post coming soon.

      Reply
  2. Tony Payne

    May 3, 2012 at 9:38 pm

    I would love to visit Moscow, so much history there and stunning architecture. Plus I love the way the soldiers march, it must be painful.

    Reply
    • Rhonda

      May 5, 2012 at 12:45 am

      LOL- where we were standing, we could see them coming up behind the trees, they just walk until they are in the public view, then they march like that. So maybe it’s not as painful as it appears.

      Reply
  3. stevebethere

    May 3, 2012 at 7:28 pm

    How wonderful an LOL @ “at this random animal”.

    Have a brilliant time 🙂

    Reply
    • Rhonda

      May 5, 2012 at 12:40 am

      Live and learn. At least it wasn’t too expensive, and thinking back to it, the random animal was one of the very few that spoke English to us. 🙂

      Reply
  4. tinafreysd

    May 3, 2012 at 6:17 pm

    Many sights in Moscow can best be viewed by boat from the Moscow River, and a mild temperature is ideal for this type of excursion.

    Reply
    • Rhonda

      May 5, 2012 at 12:39 am

      We did take the river boat later in the week and you are right, perfect time of year for it.

      Reply
  5. Joyce

    May 3, 2012 at 1:31 pm

    Wonderful city. I’d love to go to Russia one day since my grandparents are from there.

    Reply
    • Rhonda

      May 5, 2012 at 12:39 am

      Put it on your bucket list, and start saving. It is wonderful, but shockingly expensive.

      Reply
  6. Comedy Plus

    May 3, 2012 at 11:42 am

    Oh how fun. Now this is someplace I would love to visit. Beautiful and such a rich history. Have a ball. 🙂

    Reply
    • Rhonda

      May 5, 2012 at 12:38 am

      Yea! I agree, I love it here already.

      Reply

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Rhonda Albom bio imageCapturing the essence of travel through photography, Albom Adventures inspires young baby boomers to travel New Zealand and the world. Together, Rhonda and Jeff have visted 63 countries on 6 continents.

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