12 of the best · Moscow, Russia
The Kremlin and Red Square, St Basil’s, the Bolshoi and the Metro’s palaces, Novodevichy and the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, and the new Moscow of Zaryadye and the river towers.
Our 12 favourites, listed A–Z · Updated October 2026
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Three of our favourites, from the Kremlin to the Bolshoi.
UNESCO World Heritage
The red-brick fortress at the heart of Moscow, with its cathedrals, bell tower and the Armoury’s treasures.
The painted domes
The Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed, with its painted onion domes, at the south end of Red Square.
Red Square 7, MoscowExplore View on map
Palaces underground
The palatial stations of the Moscow Metro, from Komsomolskaya to Mayakovskaya and Ploshchad Revolyutsii.
In-depth stories behind the list.
The back story
The Kremlin’s cathedrals and the Armoury, St Basil’s and Red Square, GUM and the State Historical Museum: the heart of Moscow, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Kremlin, the square and the theatre.
Ballet and opera since 1825
The great theatre of ballet and opera, with Apollo’s quadriga over the portico on Theatre Square.
UNESCO World Heritage
The red-brick fortress at the heart of Moscow, with its cathedrals, bell tower and the Armoury’s treasures.
Palaces underground
The palatial stations of the Moscow Metro, from Komsomolskaya to Mayakovskaya and Ploshchad Revolyutsii.
The city’s great square
Moscow’s great square, between the Kremlin wall, St Basil’s, GUM and the State Historical Museum.
The painted domes
The Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed, with its painted onion domes, at the south end of Red Square.
Red Square 7, MoscowExplore View on map
On Red Square
Russia’s national history museum, in the red neo-Russian building at the north end of Red Square.
Red Square 1, MoscowExplore View on map
Convents, cathedrals and towers.
Gold domes on the river
The gold-domed cathedral on the Moskva, rebuilt in the 1990s, with the Patriarshy footbridge in front.
UNESCO World Heritage
The walled 16th-century convent by a lake, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with its cemetery alongside.
Moscow’s TV tower
The 540-metre television tower, with an observation deck high above the north of the city.
Pavilions and fountains
The vast exhibition park of pavilions and gilded fountains in the north of the city.
Parks and towers.
The towers on the river
The cluster of glass towers on the Presnenskaya embankment, with observation decks high above the city.
The floating bridge
The new park by the Kremlin, opened in 2017, with its V-shaped floating bridge over the river.
