Tourist Attractions & Monuments Russia

This street, which became pedestrian during the jubilee works, is considered the " l'Arbat " of Kazan, with its restaurants, small shops, beautiful facades and fountains, it offers a very pleasant place to walk. We come here to stroll, shop, listen to street music. Note the 1930s publishing house with its constructivist style in issue no. 19. At number 78, the Bogoiavlenie church and its bell tower. At numéro 5 it's the beautiful Nikolski Cathedral.

Place des Décembristes, facing the Neva River, the Bronze Knight, the oversized homage of Catherine II to Peter the Great, is historically the first monument erected in Saint Petersburg. The orthodoxy forbidding the sculptures, Great Catherine, on Diderot's recommendation, called upon the Frenchman Falconet. With one hand, the tsar holds the reins of his rearing horse and, with the other, points to the Pierre-et-Paul fortress, the very first building in the city. The hero of Pushkin's last poem, Eugene, is an obscure employee whose fiancée has just been swept away by a flood of the Neva. Desperate, il passe in front of the statue and attacks the tsar, whom he holds responsible for his misfortunes. Le souverain outraged then descends from its granite pedestal and throws his mount into the streets of the city. Eugene, panic-stricken and chased by the Bronze Horseman, sinks into madness.

The founding czar of the city crushes with his hooves any attempt at rebellion, even that of a desperate young man. Pushkin was the first to scratch the cult devoted to Peter the Great and his reforms, certainly modernist but which propelled Russia into a world that was not his own. The image of the flood is reminiscent of the ambiguity of the myth of St. Petersburg. Splendid by its architecture, the city is always at the mercy of a flood of the Neva. Its very origin seems almost unreal, since it was built on a huge swamp deemed uninhabitable and at the cost of thousands of deaths.

The third basilica of the Kremlin (АРХАНГЕЛЬСКИЙ СОБОР) benefited most from the contributions of the Italian Renaissance. The decoration is martial: frescoes depict great battles in Russian history; a 10 m high golden iconostasis (1681) supports the icon of the Archangel St. Michael attributed to Andrei Rublev. It is in this building that the princes and tsars of Moscow up to Peter the Great are buried: there are 46 gravestones, including the tomb of Ivan the Terrible.

The Manege Square commands the entrance to the Red Square from Tversakaya Street. It overlooks the Manege building itself and a large Stalinist building in which a shopping mall was installed in the 1990s. The underside of the square also houses the galleries of an underground shopping mall, which explains the many small glass pyramids seen on the surface.

It is a favourite meeting place for Muscovites and was also the site of the 2010 anti-police uprising.

Peter the Great had a shipyard built here in 1704, but an attack by the Swedes led to the fortification of the yard and its transformation into a fortress surrounded by ramparts and a canal. The Admiralty became a place to stroll in the 19th century when the ramparts were destroyed and the canal filled in to make way for a grand boulevard and a garden that extends over an area of 9 hectares leading to the north façade of the Saint-Isaac Cathedral.

The (wooden) Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin was built in 1221, and the first building constructed in stone was the imposing Dmitrov Tower, when the Kremlin was renovated in 1374. With the fall of Kazan in 1552, Nizhny Novgorod lost its military importance. Under Catherine II, and in 1785-1790 the kremlin was renovated to give it a more civilian appearance. During the Second World War, the Kremlin was partly destroyed by aerial bombardments, and then rebuilt in the 1950s.

The small 28-metre long Bankovskiy suspension bridge has spanned the Griboedov Canal since 1826. It is modest in size but very elegant. And you can see it from afar with its 4 mythical golden griffins guarding the passage, which is only pedestrian... It owes its name to the neighbourhood of the former Bank of Assignats, which today houses the students of the Saint-Petersburg State University of Economics. It is particularly beautiful since its complete restoration in 2019.

The Radisson Hotel fleet is one of the most modern you can find on the Moskva. Its boats of four different ranges, all luxurious, are equipped with a cloakroom, air conditioning, have free wifi and audio guides are available on the "Radisson Cruise on the Moskva river" app. A real professional chef works on board and prepares food for you on the spot in the ship's kitchens.

Tickets are available on site and at the ticket offices on the Ukraina Pier and in Gorky Park.

A vibrant testimony to Peter the Great's insatiable curiosity for science, the Kunstkamera is one of the oldest and richest ethnographic museums in the world. Founded in 1714 by special decree of the Tsar, it occupies a large building in Baroque style. It is on these docks that the founding czar chose to store his private collections. In Amsterdam, Peter the Great bought Professor Frederic Ruysch's collection of anatomical preparations, which he enriched with other acquisitions: foetuses preserved in formalin, skeletons of Siamese babies, deformed toads... all embellished with stuffed animals, rare stones and crystals, mechanical toys and medical instruments... You can notably observe the skull of Khadji-Mourat, hero of the Caucasian wars against the Russians, immortalized by Tolstoy, as well as teeth pulled out by Peter the Great himself. In short, a magnificent gallery of horrors that testifies to the sometimes strange tastes of the czar builder, and illustrates his passion for the discoveries of his time! Today, the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) is also one of the main centres of the Russian Academy of Scientific Research. The three-storey building housing this cabinet of curiosities is surmounted by a tower serving as an observatory. Like many other museums in the city, the Kunstakamera unfortunately does not have a translation of the descriptive plates of its pieces.

For a while there was talk of replacing this institution of cultural life with a bank. But a popular mobilization finally prevented the project from being fully implemented, and the Dom Knigi, "house of books", still stands on the banks of the Griboedov Canal. There you will find very good books on St. Petersburg, including in French, and also many good souvenirs. For geographers, there are also maps on the second floor. Renowned authors regularly hold lectures and autograph sessions there.

On the ^2nd floor is the Zinger café which offers simple and inexpensive cuisine with a beautiful view of the Notre-Dame-de-Kazan cathedral just across the street. Ideal for a coffee or tea break during a day of sightseeing.

The Singer building. The bookshop is located in one of the most beautiful showcases: the Singer building. It is one of the emblematic buildings of the Nevski perspective. Built at the very beginning of the 20th century by the triumphant sewing machine multinational, it served as a model for the creation in 1908 of the Singer skyscraper in Manhattan. This modernist corner building with 6 floors and a tapered attic was designed by the architect and Count Pavel Suzor. It is the very first iron-cast building in the country. Above the bookshop, its top floors, including the magnificent dome with a view of the entire centre of St. Petersburg, house the premises and headquarters of the VKontakte social network, the "Russian Facebook". They are not open to the public.

Built in the 15th century according to an asymmetrical plan, on the tomb of St. Sergius of Radonezh, it was one of the first buildings of Moscow Russia. The cathedral is the oldest building, built in white stone, symbol of wealth and refinement. It is for it that Andrei Rublev painted the icon of the Trinity, currently exhibited at the Tretiakov Gallery. Adjacent to this church, the sacristy is more recent since it dates from the beginning of the 19th century. It houses a museum with all kinds of religious objects made of precious metals and stones.

Built by architects from Pskov, it was to serve as a counterpoint to the Italian influence. The church (ЦЕРКОВЬ РИЗОПОЛОЖЕНИЯ) was that of the patriarchs, before becoming in the 17th century that of the great princes. There are beautiful frescoes and a remarkable iconostasis by the painter Nazari Istomine (1627). Today it is possible to visit it and admire its iconographic treasures. In addition, the north gallery of the church is used as an exhibition space.

An indispensable walk among the 7 Stalinist sisters. It took Serguei Tchernychov and Lev Roudnev almost 4 years to complete in 1953 this 240 m high Stalinist building, which was (inevitably) raised by the Soviet star. Its architecture, in the shape of a cross, is perfectly symmetrical. The building houses the Lomonosov Moscow State University, where lectures are given in its amphitheatres and nearly 6,000 students are housed. To be admitted to this university is to belong to the cream of the crop of students in the Russian Federation, since Lomonossov is at the top of all university rankings in the country. The interior is a veritable anthill, a city within the city, with all the necessary facilities to satisfy the needs of its students: there is a post office, a swimming pool, sports halls, several canteens, a few associations, paper mills, etc. The administration is located on the upper floors, while the rooms are in the lower parts.

Visitors are not normally allowed to enter. However, it is strongly recommended that you go and have a look around. You will then have to go through the guards' nose and beard. Try to pretend to be a student in the middle of the crowd: don't smile and pass without stopping. Or take advantage of one of the many conferences that are held on a regular basis. Avoid Sundays when part of the compound is closed.

On Victory Hill, with its plunging view of the capital, one celebrates the victories of the Russians over the Nazi army as well as the French (ПАРК ПОБЕДЫ НА ПОКЛОННОЙ ГОРЕ), for it was on this same hill that Napoleon in 1812 waited in vain for the keys to Moscow after his troops had encircled the city. In commemoration, a statue of St. George slaying the dragon and a 142 m high obelisk with a bronze statue of the Greek goddess Niké (Goddess of Triumph) have been erected.

Let his little train walk through the aisles of what was once one of the most beautiful zoos in Europe. The zoo, in the heart of the city, is very popular with locals who enjoy walking in every season. Built in 1896, the zoo now counts 300 species and 2 000 animals, such as: giraffes, hippos, tapirs and leopards. A winter garden identifies some varieties of exotic plants.

St. Petersburg the pompous one with its palaces in spades and its fallen dreams of triumphant aristocracy has made its moult. This is what the Loft-Project Etazhi artistic and commercial space tends to prove. Within the walls of a former bread factory, five storeys of exhibition halls, shops, restaurants, terraces, bookshops, bars have been set up under the beams and rivets. It is one of the first experiments and large-scale project of reinterpretation of a disused industrial site in the city and it is doing well. More than a centre, Loft-Project Etazhi is a ship, a wreck that has been stranded, found and rebuilt by volunteers dreaming of a new way of life combining pleasure, creation and conviviality. Then this trendy Kon-Tiki is put back in the water and seems to sail above the tumult of the Ligovsky prospekt and the Moscow train station. Loft opens the doors of its roof to visitors every day. Beautifully furnished and 100% secure, this space with spectacular views is perfect for photo shoots and dates. Life seems to generate itself in this beehive with a youthful atmosphere that never sleeps and where you hurtle down the stairs in search of new sensations.

Soviet nostalgia... After leaving St. Petersburg for nearly 3 years of renovation, the cruiser Aurora returned with great pomp and circumstance on July 19, 2016. Moored at the confluence of the Neva and the Great Neva, this battleship more than a century old (built between 1897 and 1900 on the orders of Nicholas II) of impeccable metallic grey is to Saint Petersburg what the mausoleum of Lenin is to Moscow in terms of revolutionary symbolism. It was indeed from the cruiser Aurora that the signal for the revolution of October 1917 was given, marking the dawn of a new era for the country and the world. It was indeed his cannon shot fired with blanks that announced to the revolutionary soldiers and sailors the moment of the assault on the Winter Palace. Before that, he had fought in the Pacific waters against the Japanese in 1904 and then crossed swords with the German navy in the Baltic. Since 1948, when it was permanently anchored at Petrogradskaya Quay, east of the Peter and Paul Fortress, its long grey hull topped by three chimneys has been an integral part of the urban landscape of Leningrad and is likely to be part of the urban landscape of St Petersburg for a long time to come. There has been talk of moving it, scrapping it, not to mention more or less far-fetched projects such as turning it into a discotheque. The USSR is no more, but its legacy lives on. Although it is not the most interesting museum in the city, the visit is nevertheless very popular with children.

Krestovskiy Island (just north of Petrogradskiy Island, to which it is connected by two bridges) is home to the most modern stadium in Russia. A new arena for Russia's most powerful club, Zenit St. Petersburg, owned by the giant Gazprom, this ultra-modern sports arena was one of the flagship stadiums for the 2018 Football World Cup (including the France-Belgium semi-final on 10 July). 69,500 seats facing the Gulf of Finland and a spaceship design fantasized by Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa.

To the north of the village of Doubovy Klioutch, there is a pretty lake covered with lotus trees. In Russia, this plant is included in the list of endangered species. The site is therefore considered an exceptional natural treasure: the flowering period lasts two to three days in August. It is a very short period, but worth seeing: hundreds of pale pink buds open at the same time and cover a good part of the lake. Tourists come here in great numbers. Even out of season, the lake is worth a visit.

In addition to helping you organize your trip (visa, accommodation), this effective Anglophone agency offers trips to the city and the region, including: fishing and hiking in summer, skiing in winter and excursions in Scandinavia. Possibility of a Francophone guide.

It is the largest Buddhist temple in Europe, which was inaugurated in 2005 by the Dalai Lama himself. The sumptuous building was designed by an architect from Tibet. At the entrance, on a small square, prayer drums are arranged under small pagodas on either side of the entrance doors. Inside, the Buddha statue is one of the largest in the world and measures 11 meters. One will be imbued with the atmosphere of serenity that reigns there and the murmur of prayers.

The Theatre Square is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful and central places in Moscow. Muscovites are very demanding when it comes to shows, ballets and operas. It must be said that there are many good theatres here. There are no less than three theaters in this square. The architect Ossip Bové was the one who designed it. It is also him who drew the plans of the Bolshoi, the Maly and the children's theatre before it was rebuilt by B. Freidenberg (as well as the TSOUM). A picture with the fountains overlooking the Bolshoi is a must.

This icebreaker was built for the Czar's navy in Newcastle in 1916. But, after the revolution, England confiscated it, until Krasin, the People's Commissar, recovered it in 1921 for a fee. Krasin was at the forefront of the international mission to save the Italian Nobile expedition in 1928, whose airship was damaged on its return from the Pole. During the Second World War, she was the only Soviet ship to take part in the convoy to Murmansk, which was under fire from Nazi warships, with the aim of distributing war material to the USSR. It also receives Gagarin at the time of its landing. An exhibition with many photos retraces all these anecdotes.
But the highlight of the visit remains the boat itself. Its spacious deck contains both old and recent navigational instruments. We also visit the engine room, and the cabins of the various crew members, from the captain's to the machinists' cabins. A very fun visit, as you immerse yourself in the intimacy of life on board. Beware, the icebreaker Krasin is not open to the public, but only through excursions organized by the conservation team in charge of the administration of the precious ship, now retired. Guided tours depart at fixed times, at the beginning of each hour.

Night of the Museums: The icebreaker is a great fun to visit during the Night of the Museums, on June 15.

Bring sturdy footwear.

The west side of the Mendeleevskaya linia includes one of the oldest monuments on the island and the largest Baroque building in the city, the Twelve Colleges. With its 400 m long façade, its sienna red colour and its white pilasters, it is easily recognizable. It was to house the 12 identical ministries of three levels (called Colleges) founded by Peter the Great. Built between 1722 and 1742 by the Swiss-Italian architect Domenico Trezzini (who also designed the Peter and Paul Fortress, the Peter and Paul Cathedral and the Summer Palace), this building was to correspond to the modern idea of bureaucracy as conceived by Peter the Great. It also attests to the Tsar's desire to make Vasilyevsky Island the great administrative district of the new imperial capital. It therefore hosted Russia's highest authorities for much of the 18th century. The separate doors between the twelve colleges indicated their autonomy, while their common facade indicated their common purpose. In 1819, these buildings were assigned to the university, and it was here that Mendeleyev set up his Periodic Table of the Elements and Pavlov experimented with conditioned reflexes.

A rather tedious official authorization is required to visit the premises, so you will certainly have to be content to admire the building from the outside. Contact a local agency in advance to arrange a visit.

This museum devoted to the history and culture of the peoples of Russia occupies the left wing of the Mikhailovsky Palace (Russian Museum). This museum of the ex-Homo sovieticus has more than 500,000 pieces from 150 peoples living on the territory of the former USSR, from the Caucasus to Yakutia, from Moldavia to Sakhalin through Central Asia: an invaluable testimony to the cultural traditions of these peoples, through their ritual objects, their crafts, their weapons, their clothing.

Impossible to miss this magnificent mansion designed on the Quai des Anglais, by Vallin de la Mothe. In the 19th century, it housed the collections of Count Nikolaï Roumiantsev, a diplomat and man of culture. Today it is annexed to the History Museum of Saint Petersburg and hosts the exhibition Leningrad during the Great Patriotic War. More than 2,000 objects are on display: photos, weapons, personal belongings of the inhabitants and defenders of the city under blockade.

The museum is located in the apartment where Kirov lived between 1923 and 1934, the year of his assassination, in conditions still unsolved, which gave the signal for the Great Stalinist Purges. Many people today regard Stalin as the person who ordered the assassination of this very popular member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. Stalin decrees that Kirov is the victim of a conspiracy by his rival Grigory Zinoviev and his supporters, accused of launching a "campaign of terror" against the Party. The investigation of the trials and the judicial proceedings are accelerated on the very evening of the assassination by exceptional decree. The "law of ¹ December" will be the tool of the purges. But the most important part of the museum is located on the floor above. Entitled "For Our Happy Childhood", the permanent exhibition describes the birth of the scout movement, its transformation into a pioneer movement and the lives of children during the early years of Soviet rule. A large part of the exhibition is devoted to the children's counter-revolution during the Civil War: secret documents on children's protests against the Bolsheviks' ruin are shown, as well as the cruel repression of abandoned children (Bezprizornikis). A classroom from the 1930s is reconstructed, with a map hanging on the wall showing the routes of exile taken by white Russians, the social strata close to the Tsarist power.

Visible from Saint-Nicolas-des-Marins Cathedral, the neoclassical-style Trinity Cathedral is at the antipodes of the latter's Baroque exuberance. It must be said that its martial vocation - it is dedicated to the imperial Izmaïlovski regiment, one of the oldest in Russia - did not invite the lightness of the Baroque. The cathedral has marble plaques on its walls with the names of the fallen officers of this regiment engraved on them. Although it follows the rigorous models of Greco-Roman antiquity, it is nevertheless not lacking in elegance with the classic pediment and colonnade of its façade, whose immaculate white contrasts with the blue of its five domes. It was designed by the architect Vladimir Stassov, one of the most eminent representatives of the neoclassical style, who designed the refurbishment of the Tsarskoye Selo Palace, the Cathedral of the Transfiguration and the completion of the Smolny Cathedral and Convent.

Among the church's titles of glory is the fact that Dostoyevsky was married there. Less glorious episode, the church will be disused during the Soviet period to serve as a warehouse for the sets of the Kirov Theatre. The Cathedral regained its original vocation and, in 2006, survived a terrible fire that destroyed the large and small domes. The main dome was known as the largest in the world with a wooden frame. The restoration work lasted 11 years and was completed in 2017.

This 68 ha park, south of St. Petersburg, was created in 1945 to celebrate victory at the end of the Second World War. Sport is at the honor, with a rink and cross-country skiing trails in winter, and rowing on the summer basin. Tennis courts are located in the part of the park that overlooks the Gagarin perspective.

Located in the Kremlin, the cathedral (БОГОРОДИЦЕ РОЖДЕСТВЕНСКИЙ СОБОР) is the oldest monument in Suzdal. It was built in the 13th century, but only the lower part of the cathedral, which is made of stone and finished with an arched frieze, has survived from this period. An original souvenir is holy water in a beautiful samovar-shaped stoup. On the outskirts of the cathedral you will also find horse-drawn carriages for hire to take a tour of the kremlin or the village.

The Cathedral of the Dormition (Uspenski sobor) was built between 1559 and 1585 on the central square, on the model of the one in Moscow. The work was begun under Ivan the Terrible and completed under Feodor Ivanovich. It is easily recognizable by its five domes: four painted blue, with stars, and a fifth, gilded. Among its 17th century icons are those of Simon Ushakov, one of the three most famous artists of ancient Russia.

The Church of the Savior, in baroque style, dating from 1686-1692, is decorated with carved half-columns, shells and stylized bunches of grapes; its walls are painted with red, yellow, blue and green checks. Inside, there is a beautiful carved iconostasis and some baroque paintings. This is where the Lavra once welcomed the tsars, who never failed to visit the service. The hall, topped by a 17th century groin vault, is very large and richly decorated with a red-brown jasper floor.

The term "laure", of Greek origin, refers to the most important monasteries of the Orthodox religion. This one (ТРОИЦА СЕРГЕЕВА ЛАВРА) was founded in 1340 by Saint Sergius of Radonezh. Lavra, which is included in the UNESCO list of World Architectural Heritage Sites, is the beating heart of the Russian Orthodox faith. There are seven churches, two collegiate churches, a seminary, an ecclesiastical academy, administrative buildings, a former hospital and a museum of applied arts.

This small church at the corner of Red Square and Nikolskaya Street was built in 1636 to celebrate the victory of the Russo-Polish war (1612). It was destroyed by Bolshevism in 1936 and rebuilt identically in 1993. If your stay in Moscow is very short, we recommend this church to get acquainted with the orthodox culture because if its architecture is not exceptional, its icon is very famous and it is a very authentic church.

The old garden, the regular part of the park is to the south-east of the palace. The central aisle is oriented towards the Hermitage Pavilion. On the city side, the old garden is bounded by the waterfall canal; to the south-east, by Sadovaya Street (of the park); to the south, il donne on the large pond. This large pond includes a small island that you can reach with a kind of small towed ferry, which is taken at the Admiralty. The passage costs RUB 200 per person, but there is not much to see on this island.

The old garden is divided into four parties : the Upper Garden, on the three upper terraces facing palais ; the Lower Garden, from the third terrace to the canal at Poissons ; the Hermitage plot, from the canal to the Ponds at Cascades ; and the last, unnamed, from the Ponds of the Waterfalls to Sadovaya Street. In the Lower Garden, along the Hermitage Alley, were dug in 1719-1722 deux rectangular ponds. The Hermitage Pavilion, which gave its name to the part of the old garden, was built between 1744 et 1749 par Zemtsov and then, after 1754, by Rastrelli. Its facades echo the Catherine Palace.

Le chaînon connecting the old garden with regular lines to the landscaped park around the large pond is the Grotto Pavilion, built in 1749  by Rastrelli. Il s is one of the best examples of late Baroque. On the south-eastern edge of the pond, there is a group of three Admiralty pavilions built of red bricks. Not far from the island rises above the water the column of Tchesma, high above 14 m. Built to celebrate the memory of the victory over the Turkish squadron in the Bay of Tchesma in 1771, this column is decorated with symbolic rostrums and crowned with a bronze eagle breaking a crescent moon (symbol of victory). To the south-west of the pond is the light-coloured Turkish bath building, reminiscent of a mosque, built in 1850. Further down, the Podkapriznaya road got its name from the Grand Caprice and Petit Caprice, large rocky mounds and small tunnels under which this road passes. At the top of the Grand Caprice rises the Chinese bower, from which there is a beautiful view of the park (the name "caprice" is usually attached to the fact that after these mounds the path divides, and that it was here that Great Catherine, when she was walking, chose her route at the very last moment).

This garden opened in 1823 and runs along the western wall of the Kremlin. It is dotted with several points of interest. In its northern part stands an obelisk, built in 1913 to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the Romanov family. Sad memory since it lost the throne 4 years later. To the south, there is the flame of the unknown soldier in front of which some newlyweds are photographed, near the buildings of the presidential guard. Opposite, marble steles list the 15 heroic cities, which resisted the Nazi invasion in 1942 with the greatest determination.

The Ivan the Great bell tower is hard to ignore. It is enthroned, royal, in the middle of the Kremlin. Following the Italian tradition of its architects, it is a campanile, detached from the church on which it depends. At 81 m high, it was for a long time the highest point of the capital, as the tsars forbade building any higher. This makes it an ideal panoramic point to see the old city from above. The ground floor has been converted into an exhibition hall. Among its bells, the Assumption bell (64 t) has rung three times for centuries to announce the death of a tsar.

This gigantic cannon located on the Ivanovskaya square was ordered in 1586 by Fyodor I who had his effigy engraved on it. Whatever the czar wanted to compensate, he would not find any more success in this undertaking since this cannon never fired a single cannonball. Moreover, those exposed at its side weigh a ton and are slightly too big to fit in its barrel: the legend tells that it was an initiative of the founders of Saint Petersburg to make fun of Moscow. According to the Guinness Book of Records, it is the largest howitzer ever built.

Built in the 12th century to house a very precious icon of the Virgin, which would become the palladium of the city of Vladimir, the Dormition Cathedral was the main religious centre of all Russia until the middle of the 14th century.
In its present state, the Vladimir Dormition Cathedral is the result of two different eras. It was partially destroyed in a fire at the end of the 12th century, then fortified and rebuilt.

This domain with its castle, the caprice of the empress which was never finished before its rehabilitation in 2007, and its museum, is one of the strangest and most seductive places of the capital. Don't hesitate to spend an afternoon there, in summer as well as in winter when the snow offers a magnificent landscape (and in the period of illuminations, it becomes simply exceptional). The history of this domain is quite interesting. One day, during her visit to Moscow, Catherine II was amazed by the beauty of this place and took possession of it. A year later, in 1776, V. Bajenov, one of the best architects of the time, began the construction of a palace and a park. All the buildings were to be built in the oriental style and the work lasted ten years. The day Catherine wanted to see her new estate... it displeased the empress so much (possibly because of the masonic signs on the facades) that she ordered everything to be demolished. Once the Bajenov palace was demolished, the construction of a new palace was ordered to M. Kazakov. It was almost finished when Catherine died in 1796 and it remained unfinished. Other buildings were erected in the park during the following centuries, without ever touching the huge structure in its center. It wasn't until the 19th century that work began to finally complete the huge imperial palace that Catherine wanted.

Today, it is a mixture of all these heritages that can be admired in the park.

The incredible bunker that Stalin had built during the Second World War to house the government can be visited. Getting there is a real obstacle course, which only adds to the mystery of the place: it is only open 3 hours a day, and you have to register by phone to get in (ask a Russian speaker for help!) But don't let the difficulty put you off: it is one of the most important places in Soviet history, not to be missed!

Housed in the metropolitan house, it presents a historical collection as well as enamels, the city with a long tradition in this area. Of Byzantine origin, the technique of enamels was introduced in Russia in the th century. The word that designates it, finifte, is of Greek origin and means "the shining stone". The art of the enamel remained essentially religious in a long period of time, with the master masters receiving their orders only from the Church: mitres, medallions, cross. It is only in the th century that Rostov specializes in this art, joining Moscow and St. Petersburg. We will see in the Rostov enamels, in the finesse and variety of drawings, a certain resemblance with the works of limougeauds artists. If the work of enamel has spread in other nearby cities, it is only at Rostov that tradition has persisted to give the city a great reputation. Many craftsmen have thus operated a family-wide workshop, transmitting their knowledge to their offspring from generation to generation. Only in 1960 appeared the first factory, still active and which today produces mainly jewellery: pins, bracelets, buckles.

As with Tolstoy, Moscow has several Pushkin museums. The Arbat Museum is located on the second floor of this modest turquoise blue house, where Pushkin lived for 5 years. It exhibits the objects and manuscripts dear to the writer. It is less interesting than the large Pushkin Literary Museum located on the Prechistenka, but as it is on the Arbat, one can stop there for half an hour to get an idea of the Russian interiors of the time.

Built in 1900-1908, this 25 m high tower is the city's visiting card. In 1978, a solar dial was added. Adjacent to this one, a new art nouveau style public bath (city symbols, these two buildings were even represented on Soviet stamps).

This botanical garden is unique in its location and in the species it contains. In addition to the vegetable varieties in the region, it contains species originating throughout Russia and elsewhere, as well as tropical greenhouses. Furthermore, this place is very pleasant to walk in summer. A small museum is located at the entrance to the park.