My husband and I are going to Moscow in August and I was wondering if someone could tell me if the sights in Moscow have a lot of steps or are they pretty accessible?

I can't imagine they are big on the ADA kind of stuff, but I might be wrong.

Phoebe

I was in Moscow about five years ago in January (brrr!). I seem to recall that most of the area around Red Square is pretty level--no more than two or three steps in or out of anything. It is on a bit of a rise, and you walk uphill--not steep--to get there. Likewise, the Arbot, the main tourist shopping street, is pretty level, though I think the McDonald's there is on 2 floors. In and out of subways, if you go this route, will be lots of steps. We visited what was a newer museum honoring those that fought in the Great Patriotic War (our WWII) on the edge of the city, and again, it was all on one level.

I think the most steps you'll encounter will be inside buildings, like museums, etc. We were only there a couple of days, though, so others may have differing information.

All in all, I'd characterize the city as rolling with rivers, as opposed to hilly, as I encountered in Brussels.

JP

Phoebe -- Do not expect buildings (including museums) to be handicapped-friendly. Same with public transportation and most department stores. Do you (or your husband) need a wheelchair to move around?

Red Square is flat. Arbat street is flat.

Tickets to the Kremlin is down a flight or two. The Kremlin has a couple 3 flights of stairs here and there. The churches have narrow stairs everywhere. the Pushkin Museum is on 2 or 3 floors. The Bolshoy has a main floor, but I don't know if it requires stair access. River boat rides have a flight of stairs.

The subways have high speed escalators (almost free fall) everywhere, and are very deep.

I saw no elevators in most places.

Finding a Taxi in Moscow is not easy. You should consider hiring a car and driver to get around. This will not cost as much as you think.

Thanks for the tips everyone.

Steps and I are not on the best of terms. I use a wheelchair of distances, but can manage a few steps as long as I can do it at my own pace..which is slowww.

It sounds as if Moscow is not the most accessible place, which is just as I thought. But I am not going to let that stand in the way of my trip of a life time, plus I will have my husband there to help

Once again..thanks for at least giving me an idea of whats ahead .

Phoebe

Feebster, one more thing everyone overlooks: to cross most Moscow streets, esp. large and famous ones (Arbat, Kutuzovsky, etc.) one needs to use the underground crossings, there is just no other way to cross 8 or 10 lanes of traffic. I was there 3 mos ago, and lived on Kutuzovsky, I could not find time of day (maybe middle of the night?) when there was no traffic.
The underground crossings are quite convenient, but they have many small steps (usually, 20-30, up to 50 in two flights). There are rails on the side for baby carriages, not sure if they are wide enough for a wheel chair.
Someone suggested hiring a car. That's the way to go! It is not expensive at all. Last year, a trip from any place to any place in the center of Moscow cost me $2-$3.

Oh God..this is just sounding better and better all the time

Hiring a car is sounding like a good idea.


Phoebe

Milejunkie is correct: the pedestrian underpasses are absolutely necessary if you are walking around town.

But a hired car and driver is the perfect solution. My driver when I lived there was wonderful. More than a driver, really. Helped with all sorts of sticky situations.

By the way, Moscow is very expensive. About twice as costly as New York. This may have changed (my last visit was a short summer stay in 1998). Dinner (fine dining with wine) can cost many hundreds of dollars -- close to a thousand for six people. Hotels were also pricy. Perhaps you can rent an apartment for a short stay, which is what we do.

In April, 2001, I did not find the prices all that unreasonable. The Shearton is around $200 a night.

I's skip the fine dining and do a the fine dining for a trip to FRance. The fine dining places really cater to the ultra rich.

The ethnic food places are not that expensive.

While Moscow is not cheap, it's not that expensive. Hotel rates are similar to those in New York and San Francisco. While (as in pretty much any major city in the world) you can find a restaurant where $150-200 per person for dinner is not out of ordinary, there are plenty of very reasonably priced nice dining options. Transportation costs are more than reasonable, using both public transportation (Moscow metro is not to be missed, with the equivalent of less than a quarter to pay for any distance traveled) or taxi (which sometimes is not very easy to hail on the street, depending on the location). Hiring a private car with a driver could be a nice option as well.