Moscow is the capital and most heavily populated city in Russia, as well as being the largest city on the European continent. It is an iconic and global city and is the key political, economic, cultural and scientific center of not only Russia but of Eastern Europe as well.

It is believed that the city is eight and a half centuries old. The first record of it in the chronicles is dated in the year 1147.

Moscow is a real megapolis: more than 40 km from north to south, more than 30 from east to west. Including the suburbs, it has more than 12 million inhabitants, which makes it the 9th largest city in the world.

Moscow used to be named one of the most expensive cities in the world which is not the case nowadays. Although you'll find a historic center here, complete with palaces, churches, and monuments, Moscow is a fully modern city with skyscrapers and network of public transportation.

There are 5 airports, 9 railway stations and 2 river boat ports in Moscow. The length of the underground lines exceeds 365 kilometers to more than 200 metro stations. The palace-halls of the metro stations, which are among the most beautiful in the world, were built about fifty years ago.

Moscow is renowned for the Red Square, the Kremlin and St. Basil’s cathedral.The architectural silhouette of the city is quite recognizable due to the seven high-rise buildings constructed in the late 40s and early 50s by a direct command of Stalin. The most famous of them is the University of Moscow building.

As well as being a thriving economic centre (boasting more billionaires than any other city in the world), Moscow is also a centre of the arts. The city enjoyed a golden age of literature in the 19th century when Puskhin, Chekhov, Gogol, Turgenev, Dostoevsky and Tolstoy all worked here. Among the scores of Moscow theatres, the most famous is the Bolshoi (Grand). There are more than 60 museums in the capital; the most popular of which are the Kremlin, the Pushkin Museum of Art with its unique collection of impressionist and modernist paintings, and the Tretyakov Gallery.

RECOMMENDED ACCOMMODATION

RECOMMENDED ACCOMMODATION

THE RITZ-CARLTON MOSCOW

The decadence of 19th-century Russia, tinted with modern glamour, awaits hotel guests at The Ritz-Carlton, Moscow. Near Red Square and the Kremlin, in the heart of the business and cultural district, the hotel offers a grand stay, both visually and experientially. After being greeted by a traditional friendship ceremony with bread and salt, guests are invited to explore the hotel’s amenities including:

Rooftop O2 Lounge, overlooking the Kremlin and Red Square, with infused cocktails and international cuisine

Novikov Restaurant & Bar, sister to its London predecessor, offering Pan-Asian cuisine, 15 varieties of sake and a VIP room focused on single-malt whiskeys

European and Eastern healing traditions in collaboration with La Prairie at the spa, featuring a café, crystal-studded vitality pool and salon

HOTEL NATIONAL

The National is a unique Russian historical and cultural monument that stands apart from Moscow's other hotels. Built in 1903 by famed Russian architect Alexander Ivanov, Hotel National has been an awe-inspiring historic landmark for more than a century. Located at the very heart of Moscow’s historical, cultural and business center, the magnificent hotel opens spectacular vistas of the Kremlin and the Red Square. Among famous guests were politicians and celebrities: Vladimir Lenin, Nadezhda Krupskaya, Anna Pavlova, Anatole France, Herbert G.Wells, Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, the Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich and many others.

Each of the 202 luxuriously appointed guest rooms feature genuine exclusive furniture inspired by the hotel’s nineteenth-century décor, spacious bathing and dressing areas as well as state-of-the-art technology. Moreover, the hotel’s 55 historical suites are adorned with authentic and rare Russian antiques, including vases, lamps, mirrors, statues and paintings.