Russia - 3 days in Moscow......suggestions welcome

Hi, my wife, 18 year old daughter and I will have a three day stopover in Moscow in late May. Can anyone suggest places to stay (mid range), sights to see, tours (overnight is OK) to do or any other useful information? We are flying in from Tokyo and haver been to Russia before....

Welcome to Flyer Talk!

Mid-range in Moscow is, unfortunately, the problem zone. Hotels tend to be either super-lux and super-expensive or places you wouldn't really want to stay in. The middle market has been absent, but it is growing.

Try looking at the Park Inn Sadu:

http://www.parkinn.com/hotelsadu-moscow

Right across the river from the Kremlin, tends to be a little less expensive if you can catch a deal.

Marriott Courtyard City Center might also be an option:

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/mowcy-courtyard-moscow-city-center/

If you're not afraid to try the metro, the Marriott Courtyard Paveletskaya:

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/mowpv-courtyard-moscow-paveletskaya/

or the Holiday Inn at Sokolniki:

http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/ihg/hotels/us/en/moscow/mowso/hoteldetail

As for what to do, definitely get a tour of the Kremlin Churches and Armory. If you like art, the Tretyakov is an amazing collection of Russian Art and the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts is great for European art (I like the collection of 19th and 20th century European and American art the best - http://www.arts-museum.ru/index.php?lang=en - if you're looking at the front of the main building, the modern collection is on the left - the main building hosts everything pre-19th century and the special exhibitions - the line is often insanely long to get into the main building, but you can get into the 19th and 20th century collections easily - and you get Kandinsky, Chagall, Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh, Degas etc)

A river cruise is very nice - the boats leaving from the Radisson Royal are very nice - http://radisson-cruise.ru/index_en.php

The Novodevichiy Convent is a wonderful site to visit. If you're willing to venture a bit more far afield, try Sergeev Posad.

And, if you want to get a humongous dose of Soviet kitsch, you can't beat VDNKh (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-Russia_Exhibition_Centre) and right next to VDNKh is the Cosmonautics Museum (http://www.moscow.info/museums/cosmonautics-memorial-museum.aspx)

Hope that helps!!

dcmike thank you for your response - I had already checked recent forum posts. Does anyone know such tour company "Moscow Greeter" they provide free tours in Moscow - www.moscowgreeter.ru (http://www.moscowgreeter.ru):confused:

And, if you want to get a humongous dose of Soviet kitsch, you can't beat VDNKh (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-Russia_Exhibition_Centre) and right next to VDNKh is the Cosmonautics Museum (http://www.moscow.info/museums/cosmonautics-memorial-museum.aspx)This is excellent advice! I also liked the Russian Army Museum (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Armed_Forces_Museum) (which among :)ther things contains remains of US pilot Gary Powers' U-2 spy plane) and the Museum of the Great Patriotic War (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_of_the_Great_Patriotic_War,_Moscow).

Welcome to Flyer Talk!

Mid-range in Moscow is, unfortunately, the problem zone. Hotels tend to be either super-lux and super-expensive or places you wouldn't really want to stay in. The middle market has been absent, but it is growing.

Try looking at the Park Inn Sadu:

http://www.parkinn.com/hotelsadu-moscow

Right across the river from the Kremlin, tends to be a little less expensive if you can catch a deal.

Marriott Courtyard City Center might also be an option:

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/mowcy-courtyard-moscow-city-center/

If you're not afraid to try the metro, the Marriott Courtyard Paveletskaya:

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/mowpv-courtyard-moscow-paveletskaya/

or the Holiday Inn at Sokolniki:

http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/ihg/hotels/us/en/moscow/mowso/hoteldetail

As for what to do, definitely get a tour of the Kremlin Churches and Armory. If you like art, the Tretyakov is an amazing collection of Russian Art and the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts is great for European art (I like the collection of 19th and 20th century European and American art the best - http://www.arts-museum.ru/index.php?lang=en - if you're looking at the front of the main building, the modern collection is on the left - the main building hosts everything pre-19th century and the special exhibitions - the line is often insanely long to get into the main building, but you can get into the 19th and 20th century collections easily - and you get Kandinsky, Chagall, Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh, Degas etc)

A river cruise is very nice - the boats leaving from the Radisson Royal are very nice - http://radisson-cruise.ru/index_en.php

The Novodevichiy Convent is a wonderful site to visit. If you're willing to venture a bit more far afield, try Sergeev Posad.

And, if you want to get a humongous dose of Soviet kitsch, you can't beat VDNKh (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-Russia_Exhibition_Centre) and right next to VDNKh is the Cosmonautics Museum (http://www.moscow.info/museums/cosmonautics-memorial-museum.aspx)

Hope that helps!!

LOL. I've stayed at 3 of these hotels. And visited all of them The Holiday Inn Soloniki is kind of a dump, but its near the metro. All good suggestions

I am visiting soon as well. Is there a KGB or cold war museum? And where do I find Lenin embalmed?

And where do I find Lenin embalmed?

In Lenins Tomb:D Actually it's in Red Square.

When I went, there were only a few hours a week that Lenin's Tomb was open. Also, you cannot take in cameras, cell phones, etc. and bags were being searched, so be sure to plan ahead for this. They are very strict about respectful behavior there.

I've been to Moscow 10+ times in the last 2 years, probably close to 20 in my life, and I haven't been to Lenin's tomb.

I think it's ironic that its located exactly between Hermes and Cartier, across the street from GUM.