MOSCOW

BAKERIES, COFFEE, ICE CREAM, JUICE & TEA
●Eliseev’s Gastronome – 14 Tverskaya-Yamskaya 2-Ya (Ulitsa); 011-7-495-209-0760; eliseevskiy.ru/e_history.htm; very large and luxuriously designed shop on Moscow’s main street; fresh fruit and vegetables, canned delicacies, meat, cakes, and other gourmet foods, each in its own departments.



BARS & NIGHTCLUBS
●Arma 17 – 5 Nizhny Susalny Side Street, Building 3A; 011-7-495-410-0414; arma17.ru; big, funky, loud.
●Art Strelka – 14 Bersenevskaya Naberezhnaya, Building 5; 011-7-495-771-7417; strelkainstitute.com; downstairs in former Red October candy store and garage; designed in part by Rem Koolhaas; high-end cocktails.
●Boudoir Bar – 32 Ulitsa Bolshaya Dmitrovka; 011-7-495-694-5150; boudoir-bar.com; bar, café, cinema, and lounge; breakfast through dinner; late night.
●Cherdak – 7-9 Ulitsa Kuznetsky Most; 011-7-495-628-7678; fotofc.ru; name means “garret”; fashionable hot-spot in mansion attic; boardgames, country-style food, and water pipes.
●China Town Cafe – 25/12 Lubyansky Proyezd; 011-7-495-623-6163; chinatowncafe.ru; bar, nightclub, restaurant; alternative rock, indie pop, etc.
●Chinese Pilot Djau Da – 25 Lubyansky Proyezd; 011-7-495-623-2896; msk.jao-da.ru; big, dirty, student den; world music.
●Dom – 24 Bolshoi Ovshinnikovsky Pereulok, Building 4; 011-7-495-953-7236; dom.com.ru; avant-garde and experimental music.
●Gazgolder – 5 Nizhny Susalny Side Street, Building 1; 011-7-985-226-3340; gazgolder.com; big, funky, loud.
●Hleb – 11 Zvenigorodskoe Shosse; 011-7-962-905-035; facebook.com/events/300737783315033; hardcore, Russian rock; must arrange through hotel concierge.
●Kalina Bar – Novinskiy Bulvar 8, Lotte Plaza Shopping Centre, 21^st Floor; 011-7-495-229-5519; kalinabar.ru; on 21^st floor highrise.
●Kvartira 44 – 22/2 Bolshaya Nikitskaya; 011-7-495-691-7503; kv44.ru/bolshaya-nikitskaya.html; popular with intelligentsia; family-owned; cheap-ish drinks (for Moscow); piano bar on top floor can be raucous at night.
●Mayak – 19/13 Bolshaya Nikitskaya; 011-7-495-691-7449; clubmayak.ru; owned by same family that runs Kvartira 44.
●O2 Lounge – 3 Tverskaya Street (at Ritz-Carlton Hotel); 011-7-495-225-8888; ritzcarlton.com/moscow; on roof-top with great Kremlin views.
●Rai – 9 Bolotnaya Naberejnaya; 011-7-495-364-0101; raiclub.ru; gargoyle-bedecked nightclub that holds up to 2.5K; merciless patron screening for attractiveness and wealth.
●Rolling Stone Tattoo & Bar – 3 Ulitsa Bolotnaya, Building 1; 011-7-495-504-0933; slightly more forgiving patron screening; eclectic music.
●16 Tons – 6 Ulitsa Presnensky Val, Building 1; 011-7-499-253-3500; 16tons.ru; alternative rock, indie pop, etc.; widely considered city’s hottest music venue; English pub downstairs.
●Solyanka – 11/6 Ulitsa Solyanka, Building 1; 011-7-495-221-7557; s-11.ru; alternative rock, indie pop, etc.; in 3-story, 19^th Century townhouse; must have concierge arrange because need password to enter and this is “private” club.
●Tommy D Lounge – 1 Tretyakovsky Proyezd; 011-7-499-246-1638; tommy-d.ru; hidden in basement; classic British checked wallpaper lit up in pink neon; cabinets resemble at once gentleman’s house library and Mad Hatter tea party venue; on walls hang photos of Marilyn Monroe and fetishists; psychedelic mastiff with tattoos stands guard at entrance.
●Version 1.0 – 3 Varvarka; 011-7-495-647-1303; bcc-version.com; cocktails and dance floor; V.I.P. hall (Moscow essential); “virtual room” with projected sea and snowy landscape images; try Wild Land, pepper vodka, grapefruit, lime, and passion fruit.



HOTELS
●Ararat Park Hyatt Moscow – 4 Neglinnaya Street; 011-7-495-783-1234; moscow.park.hyatt.com; bold, contemporary design; next to Bolshoi; short walk from Kremlin; authentic Armenian food at Café Armenia; mosaic swimming pool.
●Golden Apple Boutique Hotel – 11 Malaya Dmitrovka; 011-7-495-980-7000; epoquehotels.com/moscow.html; among Moscow’s few boutique hotels.
●Hotel National – 15/1 Mokhovaya Street; 011-7-495-258-7000; starwoodhotels.com; designed by Alexander Ivanov in 1903; overlooks Kremlin and Red Square; John Reed stayed here, as did Lenin (Room 107).
●Hotel Baltschug Kempinski Moscow – 1 Ulitsa Balchug; 011-7-495-287-2000; kempinski.com; romantic; in city center; 24-hour casino; 1 of city’s best restaurants.
●Karetny Dvor Hotel – 5 Maly Karetny Pereulok; 011-7-985-458-8919; kdvorhotel.ru; charming private hotel in city heart; renovated, 19^th Century carriage house, next door to New Opera & Hermitage Gardens; Pushkin Square is 10-minute walk; spacious rooms with superior soundproofing, flat-screen satellite tv, desk, mini-bar, free wi-fi internet and continental breakfast served in room; brick fireplaces and open wooden beams; located on 5^th floor walk-up, concierge service available to those with heavy luggage; reception open 24-hours; experienced staff can help guest plan sightseeing trips.
●Radisson Royal – 2/1 Kutuzovsky Prospect, Building 1; 011-7-495-221-5555; radisson-hotels.ru/royal-moscow; showcases 1.2K original Soviet era artworks.
●Ritz-Carlton Moscow – 3/5 Tverskaya Ulitsa (right at Red Square’s edge); 011-7-495-225-8888; ritzcarlton.com/moscow; has Nightlife Butler who can get you into clubs.



RESTAURANTS
●Aragvi – 6/2 Tverskaya Street; 011-7-495-745-1938; aragvi.moscow; longtime KGB favorite, recently reopened; Georgian.
●Art Akademiya – 6 Bersenevskaya Naberezhnaya, Building 3; 011-7-495-771-7446; academiya.ru; pizza chain branch; surprisingly good.
●Art Strelka – 14 Bersenevskaya Naberezhnaya, Building 5; 011-7-495-771-7417; strelkainstitute.com; downstairs in former Red October candy store and garage; designed in part by Rem Koolhaas; eclectic food.
●Black Market – 2 Ulitsa Usacheva Building 1; 011-7-495-228-3184; from Isaac Correa, Puerto Rican raised in New York, who sort of invented Russian fusion cuisine.
●Blogistan – 6 Bersenevskaya Naberezhnaya, Building 3 (Krasny Oktyabr); 011-7-910-429-4644; blogistan.ru; subterranean café adorned with Buddhist prayer flags and local artwork; board-games; best for coffee after viewing local art galleries.
●Bolshoi – 3/6 Ulitsa Petrovka; 011-7-495-789-8652; novikovgroup.ru/2/16/77; also known as Big; Asian-Italian fusion with Russian dishes; opulent and expensive, in minimalist environment.
●Boudoir Bar – 32 Ulitsa Bolshaya Dmitrovka; 011-7-495-694-5150; boudoir-bar.com; bar, café, cinema, and lounge; breakfast through dinner; late night.
●Café Armenia – 4 Neglinnaya Street (in Ararat Park Hyatt Moscow); 011-7-495-783-1234; moscow.park.hyatt.com.
●Café des Artistes – 5/6 Kamergersky Side Street; 011-7-495-692-4042; artistico.ru; hangover brunch location; spacious outdoor veranda.
●Café Pushkin – 26A Ulitsa Tverskoy Bul’var; 011-7-495-739-0033; cafe-pushkin.ru; sophisticated 24-hour restaurant, 3-story building feels like 19^th Century mansion but dates from late 1990s; each floor different; cherrywood bar and well-lit cafe on 1^st floor, more formal dining room on 2^nd, and breezy summer cafe on top; menu script so flowery as to be unreadable at times; standouts are ukha (creamy, spiced fish soup that manages to be both light and filling) and grilled sterlet with forest mushrooms; expensive.
●Dzhondzholi – 20/1 Tverskaya Street; 011-7-495-650-5567; vashdosug.ru/msk/restaurant/place/41361; cavernous, Georgian restaurant with trellised veranda in summer; good for grilled meats.
●Genatsvale – 14/2 Ulitsa Ostozhenka; 011-8-495-695-0393; restoran-genatsvale.ru; Georgian; countrified decor somewhat hokey.
●Karetny Dvor – 52 Povarskaya Ulica; 011-7-495-291-6376; unrelated to hotel of same name; classic Azeri place with private rooms, so can enjoy dolmas and lamb kebabs in complete privacy; otherwise, select table in leafy courtyard and imagine yourself in Caucasus foothills; gangstery.
●Khachapuri – 10 Bolshoi Gnezdnikovsky Lane; 011-7-985-764-3118; hacha.ru; off Pushkin Square; signature dish is Georgian khachapuri (cheese-stuffed bread); grilled kebabs, too; for dessert, try matsoni (rich and slightly sour yoghurt with honey or jam on side); served in Mason jar.
●Kvartira 44 – 22/2 Bolshaya Nikitskaya; 011-7-495-691-7503; kv44.ru/bolshaya-nikitskaya.html; popular with intelligentsia; family-owned bar and restaurant; piano bar on top floor can be raucous at night.
●Manon – 2 Ulitca (Goda); 011-7-495-651-8100; manon-club.ru; owned by famous restauranteur, Andre Dellos; classic French cuisine.
●Mari Vanna – 10A Spiridonyevsky Pereulok; 011-7-495-650-6500; marivanna.ru; restaurant built to resemble 1940s home, complete with cat and dog; Russian home-cooking.
●Marusya – 18 Ulitsa Tverskoy Bul’var, Building 1; 011-7-495-629-1150; marusya-restaurant.ru; in Smirnov family’s former home.
●Noor Bar – 23 Tverskaya Street; 011-7-499-130-6030; noorbar.com; for hangover brunch; stylish café on 1 of Moscow’s main drags; reasonable.
●Strelka Institute – 14 Bersenevskaya Emb., Building 5; 011-7-495-771-7437; strelkainstitute.com; in former Red October candy store and garage; overlooks Christ Cathedral’s golden onion domes; designed in part by Rem Koolhaas; serves fruit-studded bulgar and Thai shrimp soup.
●Tommy D Lounge – 1 Tretyakovsky Proyezd; 011-7-499-246-1638; tommy-d.ru; hidden in basement; classic British checked wallpaper lit up in pink neon; cabinets resemble at once gentleman’s house library and Mad Hatter tea party venue; on walls hang photos of Marilyn Monroe and fetishists; psychedelic mastiff with tattoos stands guard at entrance.
●U Pirosmani – 4 Novodevichy Proyezd; 011-7-499-246-1638; upirosmani.ru; Moscow’s best Georgian food; named after Primitivist painter; whitewashed walls and wood-panel ceilings re-create artist’s studio; copies of his art decorate walls; try to sit by main hall window or on balcony so can enjoy beautiful views of New Maiden’s Convent, across pond.
●Varvary – 8A Strastnoy Bul’var; 011-7-495-229-2800; anatolykomm.ru; name means “barbarians”; molecular gastronomy.



SHOPPING
●Arma Factory Complex – 5 Nizhny Susalny Side Street; armazavod.ru; former natural gas factory, close to Kursky train station, that is epicenter to city’s club scene: fashion boutiques; galleries; and nightclubs.
●Art Agency Colony – Res October Chocolate Factory (Bolotny Island); 011-7-499-788-6228; saatchi-gallery.co.uk/dealers_galleries/Gallery/Art+Agency+Colony+Gallery/17205.html; specializes in Soviet art from 1920-1960, in particular; also, contemporary works, such as by Igor Kormyshev.
●Eliseev’s Gastronome – 14 Tverskaya-Yamskaya 2-Ya (Ulitsa); 011-7-495-209-0760; eliseevskiy.ru/e_history.htm; very large and luxuriously designed shop on Moscow’s main street; fresh fruit and vegetables, canned delicacies, meat, cakes, and other gourmet foods, each in its own departments.
●Garage – 19A Obraztsova Street; 011-7-495-645-0520; archive.garageccc.com; 1 of few galleries devoted to modern art; housed in former bus depot; owned by Roman Abramovich’s girlfriend; reasonably priced café.
●Gostiny Dvor Arcade – 4 Il’inka Ulitsa; 011-8-495-698-1202; mosgd.ru; neo-classical structure, housing mix of galleries, restaurants, and stores.
●GUM Department Store – Red Square; 011-7-095-929-3470; gum.ru.
●Mel Space – Res October Chocolate Factory (Bolotny Island); 011-7-499-230-3109; melspace.ru; street art exhibitions in stark loft space.
●Ministerstvo Podarkov – 12 Maly Gnezdnikovsky Pereulok (2-3 Stroyenie); 011-7-495-629-9732; galereika.ru; good place for souvenirs, not far from Kremlin.
●Pobeda Gallery – Res October Chocolate Factory (Bolotny Island); 011-7-495-644-0313; pobedagallery.com; cutting-edge, contemporary photography.



SIGHTS & SITES
●All-Russian Exhibition Center – 110 Prospect Mira; 011-7-495-544-3400; vvcentre.ru/eng; once called “All-Union Exhibition of Achievements of People’s Economy”; looks like crumbling, Totalitarian Disney World.
●Arbat Street – among city’s oldest streets, dating back to 15^th Century; considerably gentrified.
●Armory Palace – Red Square; 011-7-495-202-4631; moscow.info/kremlin/palaces/armory.aspx; Kremlin’s oldest and richest museum; originally founded in 1806 as Imperial Court Museum, created from 3 royal treasuries: Court Treasury (ambassadorial gifts and tsars’ regalia), Stable Treasury (royal carriages and harnesses), and Armory (arms, armor, and other valuable objects); further enhanced and expanded after Bolshevik Revolution with valuables confiscated and nationalized from wealthy noble families, as well as from Moscow Kremlin’s Patriarchal Sacristy; 4K artifacts here date from 12^th Century to 1917; include rare 17^th Century silver collection; Fabergé eggs on display in Hall II.
●Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street – for glimpse of pre-revolutionary Moscow.
●Bolshoi State Theater – 1 Teatral’nyy Proyezd; 011-7-495-250-7317; bolshoi.ru.
●Cathedral of Christ Savior – 15-17 Ulitsa Volkhonka; xxc.ru; original built in mid to late 1800s in honor of soldier’s slain by Napoleonic forces; Stalin destroyed; Russia rebuilt in late 1990s.
●Garage Center for Contemporary Arts – 10 Naberejnaya; 011-7-499-503-1038; archive.garageccc.com; vast hall encompassing some 91.5K sq feet exhibition space; situated in former Bakhemetevsky Bus Garage, 1 of Moscow’s architectural landmarks, built in 1926.
●Gorky Park – 9 Krymsky Val (Zamoskvoreche); 011-8-499-237-1251; propark.ru; official title is Central Culture and Leisure Park; laid out in 1928; 275 acres; popular all-around recreation center, and in summer, especially on weekends, it’s crowded with children and adults; giant Ferris wheel offers great city views; park also has boating pond, fairground, sports grounds, and numerous cafés; in summer, boats leave from pier for excursions along Moskva River; in winter, ponds are skating rinks.
●Hermitage Gardens – 3 Karetny Road; 011-7-495-699-9081; mosgorsad.ru; charming park with gazebos and cafes; frequent outdoor concerts, weather permitting.
●Izmailovsky Park – Izmaylovskoye Shosse; moscow.info/parks/izmailovsky-park.aspx; open on weekends; overflows with folk and hand-crafted art.
●Kremlin – Red Square; numerous museums and state buildings, surrounded by cafes, etc.
●Kuskovo Museum – 2 Ulitsa Yunovsti; 011-7-495-375-3131; kuskovo.ru; 18^th and 19^th Centuries, Moscow aristocracy family, Sheremetyevs’ summer home; often called Russian Versailles; park is among Russia’s most beautiful spots; French-style gardens dotted with buildings representing Europe’s major architectural trends: Dutch cottage; Italian villa; grotto; hermitage.
●Lumiere Brothers Center for Photography – 3 Bolotnaya Naberezhnaya, Building 1 (Krasny Oktyabr); 011-7-495-228-9878; lumiere.ru; 1 of few places dedicated to Russian photography preservation.
●Matryoshka Museum – 7 Leontevsky Pereulok; 011-7-495-691-7556; russiandolls.narod.ru/museum.html; folk art.
●Museum of Russian Icons – 3 Goncharnaya Street; 011-7-495-221-5283; russikona.ru; over 600 icons from Mikhail Abramov’s private collection; closed Wednesdays.
●Myasnitskaya Street – Le Corbusier’s masterpiece office block.
●Novodevichy Convent & Cemetery – 1 Novodevichy Proyezd; 011-7-95-246-8526 or 011-7-95-246-2201; moscow.info/orthodox-moscow/novodevichy-convent.aspx; site includes beautiful 17^th Century convent complex once again in use and cemetery where many Russia’s most famous buried; founded in 1524 by Tsar Vasily III to commemorate Smolensk’s capture from Lithuania; became convent primarily for noble-born ladies, as well as prison for rebellious female royals, including Peter Great’s half-sister and his 1^st wife; most current building dates from 1680s; after Revolution, Novodevichy’s churches closed and in 1922 turned into museum; returned to Russian Orthodox Church as reward for backing war effort in 1945; restoration began in 1960s; in 1988 episcopal see once again established; still officially museum; within convent complex are several churches; most important is huge, 5-domed Cathedral of Smolensk Virgin; exhibits throughout convent display such treasures as ancient and rare Russian ceramics, embroidery, fabrics, paintings, and woodwork; large collection illuminated and illustrated books decorated with gold, silver, and jewels; Novodevichy Cemetery is Moscow’s 3^rd most popular tourist site; holds Russian authors, playwrights, and poets, as well as famous actors, political leaders, and scientists, such as, Nadezhda Alliluyeva-Stalin (Mrs. Stalin), Pavel Belyayev (cosmonaut), Georgi Beregovoi (same), Mikhail Bulgakov, Nikolai Bulganin, Anton Chekhov, Nikolai Gogol, Raisa Gorbachev, Nikita Khrushchev, Vyacheslav Molotov, Sergei Prokofiev, and Dmitri Shostakovich; nearby Novodevichy Pond is also lovely.
●Ostankino Palace & Museum – 5/1 Ostankinskaya Ulitsa; 011-7-495-283-4645; ostankino-museum.ru; former aristocratic estate.
●Patriarchs Bridge – links Christ Savior Cathedral with island across from Kremlin; footbridge where newlyweds affix padlocks.
●Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts – 12 Volkhonka; 011-7-495-203-7998; museum.ru; among world’s greatest Impressionist art collections.
●Red Square – Krasnaya Ploshchad; city’s main plaza; includes Lenin’s Mausoleum, St. Basil’s Cathedral, and Kremlin (which includes Armory Museum).
●Andrei Rublev Museum of Ancient Russian Art & Culture – 10 Andronevskaya Ploshad; 011-7-495-678-1467; moscow.info/museums/andrei-rublev-museum-of-ancient-russian-art.aspx; great icon collection.
●Sparrow Hills (Vorobyovy Gory) – 18 Ulitsa Kosygina (on Moscow River’s right bank); among Moscow’s highest points; historic walking route; go at dawn.
●Strelka Institute – 14 Bersenevskaya Naberezhnaya, Building 5; 011-7-495-771-7437; strelkainstitute.com; created to educate next generation architects and designers; in former Red October candy store and garage; designed in part by Rem Koolhaas.
●Subway – make sure to see Dostoyevsky, Marina Rosha, and Trubnaya stops.
●Tochka G – 15 New Arbat; 011-8-495-695-4430; tochkag.net/en; “erotic art” museum.
●Tretyakov Gallery – 10-12 Lavrushinskiy Pereulok; 011-7-495-951-1362; tretyakovgallery.ru; foremost Russian art collection; make sure to see Natalia Goncharova collection.
●Tsarisyno Museum & Palace – 1 Dolskaya Ulitsa; 011-7-495-431-3051; tsaritsyno.net; worth special trip; grounds are beautiful.
●Moscow Centre for Contemporary Art (Vinzavod) – 1 4^th Syromyatnicheskiy Lane, Building 6; 011-7-495-917-3436; ncca.ru/en; exhibition hall.