Moscow, the capital of Russia, is located on the Moskva river in the western region of Russia. The real Moscow experience can be found by exploring the small alleys and walkways. The country’s contrasts are more obvious here than in any other city in Russia. Ancient monasteries and ultra-modern monoliths stand side by side and new Russian millionaires and poor pensioners walk side by side in the same streets. Moscow’s streets are lined with small monolithic department stores and beautiful churches that are under restoration after the vandalism and hard-line atheism of the Soviet era.
Every visitor to Moscow is irresistibly drawn to the Red Square, the historical and spiritual heart of the city, so loaded with associations and drama that it seems to embody all of Russia’s triumphs and tragedies.
The Kremlin thrills and tantalises when you see its towers against the skyline or its cathedrals and palaces arrayed above the Moskva River. The Kremlin is surrounded by a beautiful residential district that is known as the Belvy Gorod or the White Town. The Belvy Gorod was the very heart of the city during the sixteenth century, and even today it has a strong medieval feel.
Moscow is also well known as the site of Saint Basil’s Cathedral, with its elegant onion-shaped domes. The Patriarch of Moscow, whose residence is the Danilov Monastery, serves as the head of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Moscow has no less than five airports, which are all situated approximately 30 to 40km from the city centre.
