What to do and what to see in one day in Moscow at low cost, from Red Square to the Lenin Museum, from the State Historical Museum to Ulitsa Arbat, but not only.
Organize a trip a Moscow it is not a low cost enterprise: for the moment there are no low cost flights, and hotels in the capital have prices not too different from those in other large cities around Europe or in the rest of the world.
To all this are added the expenses for the entry visa for Russia… But don't be discouraged. A few days spent in Moscow is worth every single penny invested in organizing the trip. And, once at your destination, there is a way to discover the city without spending a fortune.
The Red Square
With its 700 meters long by 130 wide, it is one of the largest squares in the world. Without doubt it is the most spectacular. When you go up from the subway tunnels and find yourself on the cobblestone esplanade, you are breathless. I've experienced a sensation similar to the one I've experienced so far only at the top of the Empire State Building: you don't know what to look at first, and you can't get over so much beauty. Starting from State Historical Museum, with its imposing red brick facade and towers, passing through the Lenin's Mausoleum, the funeral monument in red and black marble that houses the embalmed body of Vladimir Ilych.
Continuing along one of the walls of the Kremlin, we arrive at the cathedral of San Basilio, one of the most beautiful buildings ever seen. Impossible not to be struck by the opulence of the elaborate domes and the bright colors: green, yellow, blue, orange, red, white. The entrance ticket costs less than five euros and allows you to see the nine chapels that make up the cathedral.
The Kremlin
Since the days of Moscow's origins, the Kremlin citadel has been the center of the country's political power. It's a real one fortress, complete with very high red brick walls and watchtowers through which the entrances were monitored. The entrance for tourists is through the Trinity Tower, along the Alexandrovsky Garden. This is where the ticket offices are located, where there are two distinct lines: one, to buy the basic ticket which for 500 rubles (less than ten euros) allows access to the Kremlin square and to the churches inside the fortress, and a second queue for the ticket that also allows you to enter the Armory and the Diamond Fund Exhibition.
Due to time requirements we chose the basic entrance which, after just a few minutes of waiting for the security checks, allowed us to access the square Sobornaya. Here, on these same pebbles, tsars, dictators and presidents walked. Some to enter the Arsenale, some to the Senate Palace or the Supreme Soviet building, in neoclassical style or, again, to the modern State Palace built in glass and concrete. They overlook the same square three cathedrals: of the Annunciation, that of the Archangel and that of the Assumption. Three buildings of an almost dazzling white against the gray of the sky, characterized by the golden domes so common in this city.
GUM
Il GUM it occupies an entire side of Red Square, just in front of the long Kremlin wall. It is essentially a shopping center, which is architecturally interesting for its medieval Russian-style facade and roof, entirely made of glass and steel. What makes it special is its history: it dates back to the time of Catherine II, who commissioned its construction at the end of the eighteenth century to host a large market.
The commercial intent continued even during the years of the 17 Revolution: in that period it took the name of Государственный универсальный магазин or Gosudarstvennyi Universalnyi Magazin (state shopping center) because for Lenin it was to become a model of large distribution. In his projects, the GUM department stores had to guarantee all citizens access to consumer goods. But the ambitious project was doomed to failure and, in the following years, the mall underwent a gradual process of privatization. Today the GUM is a succession of large international luxury brands, but a visit is interesting to imagine what it must have been like no more than fifty years ago, when people queued to buy toilet paper and most of the shops did not have merchandise to sell.
Arbat
In Moscow they exist two streets with the same name, which run almost parallel to each other: the Novy Arbat and the Stary Arbat, the new and the old. The latter is one of the oldest streets in Moscow. It is discovered on foot, with a one kilometer walk that starts from the stop of the metropolitan Smolenskaya, so that you can make a small detour to see the palace of the Foreign Ministry, one of the Seven Sisters, that is, one of the seven skyscrapers wanted by Stalin. It is imposing and also a bit eerie, certainly also due to the Gothic style that recalls buildings like the Chrysler and the Empire State Building.
Leaving the skyscraper behind, we enter along the Ulitsa Arbat: It's another world, with brightly colored two-story houses, courtyards with cherry trees and shops selling matryoshka and amber jewelry. It is a very commercial street, where stores of large international chains are popping up here and there, which unfortunately have managed to overcome the Iron Curtain. However, it remains a relaxing walk, between art galleries and museums.
VDNKh
You have to get away from the historical center of Moscow to get to VDNKh, which stands for Vystavka Dostizheniy Narodnogo Khozyaystva, often translated into English with the Panrusso Exhibition Center. The subway allows you to arrive a few steps from the entrance to the permanent exhibition center wanted by Stalin with the aim of demonstrating the successes achieved by the country in various sectors, from agriculture to science. It is said that its conception involved thousands of artists, sculptors and architects who participated in the realization of a company that now includes 250 buildings and 32 exhibition pavilions.
All in an immense green space, where i do not go unnoticed 20 buildings scattered around around the fountain of the Friendship of Peoples, each of which represents one of the Soviet republics. Since its inauguration in 1939, the exhibition space has undergone a slow decline linked to the political and economic vicissitudes of the country. In recent decades it has been privatized and only recently has it returned to being one of the favorite destinations of Muscovites who want to forget the chaos of the center during the weekend for a while. It currently hosts events, fairs and exhibitions and, since 2015, an educational farm where children and adults can participate in lessons and demonstrations on the breeding of cows, goats, sheep and chickens. The entrance to the center and to all the pavilions is Free subscription.
There would still be many other things to see for little or nothing: from Gorky Park to the journey between the most opulent subway stops. But for one day, that's more than enough!
