หลังจากที่ผมได้ลองหยั่งเสียงท่านที่อยากไปเที่ยวรัสเซียแบบ ลุยกันเอง ขอย้ำนะครับ ลุยกันเอง แต่ไปด้วยกัน งง ไหมครับ ผมจะจัดการเรื่องโปรแกรมทั้งหมดให้ ว่าเที่ยวที่ไหน ใช้เวลาเท่าไหร่ หลังจากอ่านรายการแล้ว ยินดีให้ทุกท่านเสนอความเห็น ว่าจะปรับปรุง ปรับเปลี่ยนรายการอย่างไร แต่การเดินทางไปยังสถานที่ท่องเที่ยว บางแห่งผมจะใช้เดิน เพื่อประหยัดการใช้รถ หรือ อาจจะใช้รถใต้ดิน อาหารบางมื้อจะไม่รวมไว้ เนื่องจาก ท่านอาจเบื่อรสชาด อาหารรัสเซีย อยากนั่งซด ม่าม่า ที่อุตส่าห์แบกไป เน้นชมสถานที่ท่องเที่ยวแต่ละแห่ง นานเป็นพิเศษ ให้ท่านได้ดื่มด่ำเต็มที่ ขอให้พึ่งตนเองเป็นหลัก เพราะผมจะตัดค่าใช้จ่ายที่ไม่จำเป็นออก เพื่อให้เราไม่ต้องเสียเงินเพิ่ม เช่น ยกกระเป๋าออกจากสนามบินเอง เชคอินเอง ยกขึ้นห้องพักเอง งานนี้แบบกันเอง เอาละครับ ร่ายซะยาว มาดูรายการคร่าวๆกันดีกว่า

หลังจากรับประทานอาหารเช้าแล้ว เดินทางไปยังท่าเรือ ไฮโดรฟอยด์ หน้าพระราชวัง ฤดูหนาว ณ แม่น้ำเนวา เพื่อเดินทางไปยังพระราชวัง Peterhof ใช้เวลาเดินทางประมาณ 50 นาที เมื่อถึงท่าเรือของพระราชวัง ฤดูร้อนแล้ว นำท่านเดินเลียบคลองซึ่งทอดยาวไปถึงบันไดของสวน ซึงบริเวณนี้จะมีน้ำพุ มากมาย ออกแบบไว้อย่างสวยงาม นำท่านเข้าชมพระราชวัง ฤดูร้อน ท่านอาจต้องรอคิวนาน เนื่องจากมีนักท่องเที่ยว จำนวนมาก ให้เตรียมหมวก และแว่นกันแดด ให้พร้อม
นำท่านรับประทานอาหารกลางวันแบบพื้นเมือง ณ ร้านอาหาร
หลังอาหารกลางวัน กลับมายังเมือง เซนต์ปีเตอร์สเบิร์ก นำท่านชม Peter and Paul fortress ได้เวลาสมควร นำท่านรับประทานอาหาร ค่ำ แล้วกลับสู่ที่พัก ณ Moskva Hotel. ให้ท่านได้เดินเล่นบนถนน Nevsky Prospect ซึ่งอยู่ไม่ไกลจากที่พัก เพลิดเพลินกับการช้อปปิ้งที่ห้าง Gostiny Dvor ซึ่งเป็นห้างสรรพสินค้าที่ใหญ่ที่สุด ในเมืองเซนต์ปีเตอร์สเบิร์ก ที่ถนนนี้ท่านสามารถเดิน ไปถ่ายรูป เป็นที่ระลึก กับโบสถ์ นองเลือด(Church of Our Savior on the Spilled Blood) และ วิหาร คาซาน (Kazan Cathedral )

เสนอความเห็นเรื่อง รายการท่องเที่ยว ได้ที่นี่

The Grand Cascade flows spectacularly from beneath the palace towards the Baltic Sea and is one of the largest fountain ensembles in the world. From the Grand Cascade's largest fountain, decorated with a magnificent gold statue of Samson battling with the lion, a channel flows through the park to the pier, where hydrofoils and boats from St. Petersburg dock. Multiple fountains and pavilions (the Monplaizir Palace, the Marlyand the Hermitage - not to be confused with the Hermitage museum) are scattered throughout the park and in a quiet corner of the Alexandria Park visitors can wander through the carefully preserved Cottage palace of Nicholas I.

The Upper Garden is a pretty baroque "formal garden" which separates the Grand Palace from the St. Petersburg-bound highway. Beyond the limits of the seemingly endless royal parks lies the town of Peterhof. With a population of 82,000 people, it is renowned throughout Russia for the "Raketa" wristwatches, which are produced there.

Peterhof derives its name from the German for "Peter’s Yard" or "Peter’s Home". Note, that between 1944 and the early 1990s the town was called Petrodvorets, the Russian equivalent of Peterhof, and some guidebooks might still refer to it as that.

In the summer time the most impressive and enjoyable way to reach Peterhof is by hydrofoil, which takes about 50 minutes from the pier outside the Winter Palace.

Open: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Grand Palace is closed Monday. The fountains work from early May to early October.

In the middle of the fortress stands the impressive Peter and Paul Cathedral, the burial place of all the Russian Emperors and Empresses from Peter the Great to Alexander III. The Cathedral was the first church in the city to be built of stone (between 1712-33) and its design is curiously unusual for a Russian Orthodox church. (Come over to St Petersburg and you can find out why!).

On top of the cathedrals’ gilded spire stands a magnificent golden angel holding a cross. This weathervane is one of the most prominent symbols of St Petersburg, and at 404 feet tall, the cathedral is the highest building in the city.

Other buildings in the fortress include the City History Museum and the Mint, one of only two places in Russia where coins and medals are minted.

Location: Zayachii Ostrov (Island). All buildings in the fortress complex are closed on Tuesdays. An admission fee is charged for the cathedral and the museum

Nevsky gradually widens as you travel along its length towards the river and is lined with some of St. Petersburg’s most impressive buildings; note Kazan Cathedral on one side and the Dom Knigi book store (the former Singer sewing machine company headquarters) on the other and the wonderful view down Kanal Griboedova to the picturesque Russian-style Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood.

Nevsky Prospekt is also the city’s central shopping street and the hub of the city’s entertainment and nightlife.

Location: Nevsky Prospekt, 35

The church was closed for services in the 1930s, when the Bolsheviks went on an offensive against religion and destroyed churches all over the country. It remained closed and under restoration for over 30 years and was finally re-opened in 1997 in all its dazzling former glory. The view of the church from Nevsky Prospect is absolutely breathtaking.

NOTE: Translations of the church’s name vary between guidebooks and include The Church of the Savior on Blood, The Resurrection Church and The Church of the Resurrection of Christ.

Location: Naberezhnaia kanala Griboyedova. Reopened in late August 1997 after almost 30 years of restoration.

The cathedral was named after the "miracle-making" icon of Our Lady of Kazan, which the church housed till the early 1930s. The Bolsheviks closed the cathedral for services in 1929, and from 1932 it housed the collections of the Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism, which displayed numerous pieces of religious art and served anti-religious propaganda purposes. A couple of years ago regular services were resumed in the cathedral, though it still shares the premises with the museum, from whose name the word "atheism" has now been omitted.

Location: Nevsky Prospekt, Kazanskaya Square, 2.

The palace we see today was designed by the Italian architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli, the creator of the Winter Palace and Smolny Cathedral. Most of the restored interiors date back to the time of Empress Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great, though there are some early 19th century interiors too. Catherine the Great chose to live in a separate wing of the palace, and even at the age of 60 she quite happily walked the length of the palace to reach the building’s private church every day.

Enjoy a visit to the palace, stroll along the alleys of the park with its numerous pavilions, ponds and sculptures and don’t forget to take a look at the Lyceum (Litzei) just next door to the palace, a 19th century school for the elite, where the famous Russian poet Alexander Pushkin and many other well-known Russian figures studied.

Further down the road visitors will find the Aleksandrovsky Palace, the favored home of the last Russian Tsar Nicholas II. It is from here that the whole Imperial family left in 1917 to travel to Yekaterinburg, where they were brutally murdered by revolutionaries. (Unfortunately, the palace is NOT open to the public).

(The Catherine Palace is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and closed Tuesday and the last Monday of the month)

Just a few miles away from Pushkin lies the Imperial Estate of Pavlovsk, the residence of Emperor Paul I, the son of Catherine the Great. The estate’s magnificent palace sits on hill overlooking an English-style landscaped park, with a beautiful river running through it.

(The palace is open from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and close Fridays and the first Monday of the month).

The palace we see today was designed by the Italian architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli, the creator of the Winter Palace and Smolny Cathedral. Most of the restored interiors date back to the time of Empress Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great, though there are some early 19th century interiors too. Catherine the Great chose to live in a separate wing of the palace, and even at the age of 60 she quite happily walked the length of the palace to reach the building’s private church every day.

Enjoy a visit to the palace, stroll along the alleys of the park with its numerous pavilions, ponds and sculptures and don’t forget to take a look at the Lyceum (Litzei) just next door to the palace, a 19th century school for the elite, where the famous Russian poet Alexander Pushkin and many other well-known Russian figures studied.

Further down the road visitors will find the Aleksandrovsky Palace, the favored home of the last Russian Tsar Nicholas II. It is from here that the whole Imperial family left in 1917 to travel to Yekaterinburg, where they were brutally murdered by revolutionaries. (Unfortunately, the palace is NOT open to the public).

(The Catherine Palace is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and closed Tuesday and the last Monday of the month)

Just a few miles away from Pushkin lies the Imperial Estate of Pavlovsk, the residence of Emperor Paul I, the son of Catherine the Great. The estate’s magnificent palace sits on hill overlooking an English-style landscaped park, with a beautiful river running through it.

(The palace is open from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and close Fridays and the first Monday of the month).

During World War II and the 900-day Siege of Leningrad the guns of the ship were taken down and used on the front line of the city's defenses. After the war the ship was carefully restored and used as a free museum and training ship for cadets from the nearby Nakhimov Navy School.

Location: Petrovskaia Naberezhnaia (Embankment)
Open: 10:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Closed: Monday, Tuesday and the last Wednesday of the month.
Admission: free.

The Winter Palace was built between 1754 and 1762 for Empress Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great. Unfortunately, Elizabeth died before the palace’s completion and only Catherine the Great and her successors were able to enjoy the sumptuous interiors of Elizabeth’s home. Many of the palace’s impressive interiors have been remodeled since then, particularly after 1837, when a huge fire destroyed most of the building. Today the Winter Palace, together with four more buildings arranged side by side along the river embankment, houses the extensive collections of the Hermitage. The Hermitage Museum is the largest art gallery in Russia and is among the largest and most respected art museums in the world.

The museum was founded in 1764 when Catherine the Great purchased a collection of 255 paintings from the German city of Berlin. Today, the Hermitage boasts over 2.7 million exhibits and displays a diverse range of art and artifacts from all over the world and from throughout history (from Ancient Egypt to the early 20th century Europe). The Hermitage’s collections include works by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael and Titian, a unique collection of Rembrandts and Rubens, many French Impressionist works by Renoir, Cezanne, Manet, Monet and Pissarro, numerous canvasses by Van Gogh, Matisse, Gaugin and several sculptures by Rodin. The collection is both enormous and diverse and is an essential stop for all those interested in art and history. The experts say that if you were to spend a minute looking at each exhibit on display in the Hermitage, you would need 11 years before you’d seen them all. However, we recommend you opt for a guided tour instead!

Location: Dvortsovaia Naberezhnaia, 32-38.
Open: 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Sunday till 5 p.m.
Closed: Mondays. Ticket-office closes 1 hour before closing time.

Location: Isaakievskaia Ploschad, 1.
Open: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Closed: Wednesdays.

The museum developed from the original zoological collection of the Kunstkammer, which was established in 1832 and opened to the public in 1838. Since 1898 the museum has occupied its current location, which previously housed part of the city's Sea Port Authorities. Today the turreted building of the Zoological Museum blends beautifully with the architectural ensemble of the Strelka of Vasilyevsky Island. Many locals call this district of St. Petersburg the "Museum Town" due to the large number of museums concentrated in the area (the Navy Museum, the Ethnography of the World Museum a.k.a. the Kunstkammer etc.).

Address: Universitetskaya Nabereshnaya 1
Metro: Vasileostrovskaya
Telephone: +7 (812) 328-0112
Open: 11am to 5pm
Closed: On Fridays

Legend has it that while hunting in the forest a group of boyars (Russian nobles) saw an enormous two-headed bird swoop down on a boar, carry it away and deposit it on the top of what was to become Borovitsky Hill. That night the boyars dreamt of a city of tents, spires and golden domes and resolved the next morning to build a settlement on the hill.

History sees it a little differently and attributes the founding of the Kremlin to Prince Yury Dolgoruky, who built the first wooden fort on the hill in 1147 AD, although historians believe that the site may have been inhabited as long ago as 500 BC. The word "kremlin" means simply "fortification" or "citadel" in Russian, and is thought to derive from either the Ancient Greek words kremn or kremnos, meaning a steep hill above a ravine, or the Slavonic term kremnik, meaning thick coniferous forest, that being the likely material from which the original fort was constructed.

As Moscow struggled with the Khanate of the Golden Horde, repeated attacks by the Grand Prince Olgerd of Lithuania and political rivalry with the city of Tver, building work within the Kremlin continued and by the end of the 14th century the fortress was filled with churches, monasteries and manors housing the Grand Prince's retainers and the local nobility.

The 15th century saw the unification of the Russian feudal principalities under the authority of the Grand Prince Ivan III of Moscow and to celebrate he ordered the reconstruction of the Kremlin on a grand scale. Architects, builders and craftsmen were drafted in from Pskov, Novgorod and Vladimir and the Italian architects Alberti Fioravante, Marco Bono and Pietro Antonio Solari began work on the Kremlin's ramparts and cathedrals. The new Cathedral of the Assumption was the first to be reconstructed, followed by the Cathedral of the Annunciation and the Church of the Deposition of the Robe in the 1480s and finally the Cathedral of the Archangel in the early 16th century.

Although Peter the Great preferred St. Petersburg as his capital, he commissioned the construction of the Kremlin Arsenal in the 1730s for the storage of weapons and military equipment. Catherine the Great added the Senate building later that century and in the 1840s Nicholas I commissioned the Russo-Byzantine-style Armory and the Great Kremlin Palace. With the Bolshevik storming of the Kremlin during the 1917 Revolution the fortress was closed to the public for the next 50 years and the only architectural additions made by the Soviet regime were the 1934 Presidium and the modernistic State Kremlin Palace (previously the Palace of Congresses) in 1961.

Today approximately two-thirds of the Kremlin is off-limits to visitors, including the Arsenal, the Presidium, the Terem, Faceted and Great Kremlin Palaces and most of the buildings in the northern half of the fortress. Tourists do, however, have access to all the cathedrals, the unmissable and priceless collections of the Armory, the Patriarch's Palace and the State Kremlin Palace, which hosts regular concerts and gala performances.

Address: Kremlin, Sobornaya Ploshad, Moscow, Russia
Tel: (095) 202 4256 (Excursions)
(095) 202 3776 (Recorded Information)
(095) 928 5232 (Ticket Office)
Metro: Alexandrovsky Sad / Biblioteka imini Lenina / Borovitskaya / Okhotny Ryad
Open: Friday - Wednesday 10am - 5pm, closed Thursday

The Cathedral of Christ the Savior was originally commissioned by Emperor Alexander I in an Imperial decree on Christmas day 1812. In celebration of Russia's dubious victory against Napoleon and having driven the French leader and his 600,000 troops from Russian soil, the Emperor thanked God and the Russian people for the triumph and ordained the construction of a memorial temple to Christ the Savior.

The original site chosen for the cathedral was in fact the Sparrow Hills, where the impressive Moscow State University now stands today, but for various reasons construction on the site was never begun and the idea was neglected for some 20 years.

After Alexander I's death in 1825, his younger brother, Nicholas, ascended the Russian throne. Remembering Alexander's wish, Nicholas I instructed that architectural designs should once again be submitted for the building of the memorial temple. From the multitude of submitted designs, one by a member of the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts, the architect Konstantin Ton, received Imperial approval on April 10 1832.

The church was demolished in 1933 in order to free the land for the construction of a House of Soviets - a massive skyscraper intended to house various government authorities and promote the Soviet regime. The building was to be topped with a 100-meter-tall aluminum statue of the Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin. However, due to numerous technical difficulties the building was never actually constructed and the site was instead devoted to the creation of an outdoor swimming pool, which occupied the area till the early 90s, when government officials began to seriously consider a project to rebuild the church as it had been in Ton's day.

The recreation of the Church of Christ the Savior was considered a symbol of Russia's spiritual revival after the long years of atheistic Communist rule. In the early 1990s a public fund was set up to raise money for the costly project. The reconstruction raised considerable patriotic feeling amongst many Russians, although some Muscovites opposed the project on aesthetic grounds, claiming that the hastily built replica of the original church lacked elegance and balanced proportions. Many also saw the massive construction project as an entirely ego-motivated attempt by Moscow Major Yuri Luzhkov to leave his mark on the city, as many powerful rulers had done before him.

Clad in marble and granite, with huge bronze doors covered in relief depictions of the saints, the cathedral is an awesome statement of the re-found power and prestige of the Orthodox Church and one of Moscow's most impressive ecclesiastical buildings.

Just 7 years later fire raged through Moscow and destroyed the entire city. In 1824, as part of the reconstruction of the Russian capital, the architect Andrei Mikhailov designed a new, much larger Bolshoi Theater, which was to be situated on the newly planned Theater Square. The renowned St. Petersburg architect, Osip Bove, was also amongst the many architects drafted in to supervise the rebuilding of Moscow. The bases of the theater's new columns were made from stones taken from the banks of the Neglinnaya River and the steps of Kuznetsky Bridge. The theater opened its doors on 6th January 1825 with a performance of the prologue "The Triumph of Muses" to music by Verstovsky and Alyabev and the ballet Sandrilyona.

Calamity struck again in 1853 when the apparently cursed theater caught fire once more and the blaze raged for days, almost entirely destroying the interior but leaving the outer walls more or less intact. The building was almost completely reconstructed in 1856 by the architect Albert Kavos, the designer of St. Petersburg's magnificent Mariinsky Theater and an expert in acoustics. The new building is a masterpiece of 19th century Russian neoclassicism and was adorned with a massive, eight-columned portico, surmounted by the horse-drawn chariot of the god of the arts, Apollo. The theater's vast five-tiered auditorium is richly ornamented with chandeliers, gold stucco decoration and plush red velvet furnishings. It seats over 2,000 people and its auditorium is an impressive 21 meters tall, 25 meters long and 26 meters wide, making it one of the largest theaters in the world.

The Bolshoi has hosted some of Russia's most famed performers and celebrated premieres by some of the world's best-loved composers. Glinka's opera "A Life for the Tsar" premiered there on 7th September 1842 and Richard Wagner conducted a series of concerts there in 1863. This century has seen the theater premiering works by the composers Prokofiev and Shostakovich, as well as the spectacularly successful ballet hit of the 1960s "Spartacus", by Aram Khachaturyan. The theater's star dancers, among them Maya Plisetskaya, Vladimir Vasiliev, Galina Ulanova and Rudolf Nuryev, helped to build the theater's reputation and boosted their careers into the dazzling heights of international success.

The theater has also played host to numerous political dramas, one of the stormiest of which was the Fifth Party Congress of July 1918, during which the final split between Lenin's Bolsheviks and the Left Socialist Revolutionaries took place. The latter's leader denounced Lenin and the entire Left SR delegation was held prisoner in the Bolshoi while the Bolsheviks put down an uprising of their followers on the streets outside. The theater also played host to the famous First All Union Congress of Soviets held on December 30th 1922, which officially acknowledged the birth of the Soviet Union. Not long after that, the theater was reopened for public performances and its reputation and repertoire has continued to grow and gather international acclaim ever since.

A trip to see one of the Bolshoi Theater's world-class opera or ballet performances is an absolute must on your next visit to Moscow.

Troitse Sergieva Lavra (monastery), founded in the 14th century by Sergei Kadonezhski is the historical centre of Zagorsk. For centuries it has been the largest religious and cultural centre of Russia. Such great masters of icons such as Adnrey Rublev and Daniil Nickon to paint the most sacred place of the monastery - thhe Troitsky Cathedral (1422).

"Svyataya Troitsa" - is one of the most surprising masterpieces of iconic art. It was created for the Cathedral by A. Rublev. Now it is kept in The Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.

The history of the city is closely connected with the history of Lavra. Zagorsk is famous for its architectural monuments, such as the historico-architectural set of Troitse Sergieva Lavra. The Trinity Church (1422), the Dukhovskaya church (1635), the Assumption Cathedral (1559-1585), the Hospital Chambers with its church of Zosima and Savvaty (1635-1637), the refectory with its church of Sergy (1686-92), the Tsar's Mansion built at end of the 17th century and Smolenskaya church (1746-1748). There are also some other churches in Zagorsk: Vvedenskaya (1547), Voznesenskaya (of the Ascension Day) built in 1766-1779. There are is the Moscow Theological Academy and the Theologikal college in Zagorsk.

The Civil buildings are very interesting too: the Guest House of the Monastery (1823) is in a classical style, Trade rows (1902), the museum reserve of History and Art (1920) and also the Toy museum (1918).

The observation platform situated there at the steep bank of the Moskva River at an altitude of 85 meters above the river or 200 meters above sea level enables one to enjoy the panoramic view of the city, which gives a better idea of Moscow and its size.

Sparrow Hills is also famous for the Moscow State University, one of the main educational and scientific centers of Russia. It was founded in 1755 by the great Russian scientist Mikhail Lomonosov. The main building of the University is one of the seven high-rises, so-called Stalin sisters, built in the middle of the last century. The total height of the 36 storied building with a spire and a star is 327 meters that makes it the second highest building of Moscow after Ostankino TV Tower, which is around 540 meters high.

The street boasts an impressive selection of cafes, restaurants and bars, where you can sample everything from a decent cup of coffee and a French pastry, to a genuine Lebanese shawerma (kebab) or a tasty thick milkshake in a genuine 1950s American Diner. The Arbat is a symbol of old Moscow and its name is mentioned in the city chronicles as far back as 1493. In that year the whole city was engulfed in a terrible fire, thought to have been sparked by a candle in the Church of St. Nicholas in Peski, which is situated on the Arbat.

The root of the name "Arbat" probably comes from the Salvonic word gorbat, meaning "hilly ground", although it is equally as possible that the word stems from the Arabic word arbad, meaning "suburb". The latter word may well have been used to describe the Arbat area, as in the 15th century only the Kremlin itself was regarded as the city proper, and the area was used to great caravans of goods arriving from the East, so an Arabic word could well have been assimilated into the local dialect.

The restaurant was built and decorated in sumptuous Art Nouveau style by the architects Kekushev and Ericson, and adorned with mirrors, glittering bronze figures and gilt stucco moldings. It was here in 1901 that Chekhov toasted the first performance of his play The Three Sisters, and here in 1913 that the famous Russian painter Ilya Repin celebrated the restoration of his painting Ivan the Terrible and his Son Ivan, which had been slashed by an icon painter of the Old Believer sect whilst hanging in the Tretyakov Gallery. The Prague is also host to the annual Rubinshtein lunch, held in honor of the musician and founder of the Moscow Conservatoire.

Just off the Arbat along Serebriany (Silver) Lane, whose name derives from the silver coin mint whose craftsmen used to live here, there used to exist the estate of the newly married Suvurov couple, whose son became the mighty Alexander Suvorov, the great 18th century Russian military commander who fought victoriously in the Russo-Turkish war of 1787-1791 and the Napoleonic wars of 1812. Opposite Serebriany Lane stands Starokonushenny Lane, once home to the philosopher and Moscow University professor, Sergei Trubetskoi, in whose musical soirees the young composer Alexander Scriabin used to play his new compositions.

On the other side of the Arbat stands Kaloshin Lane, where the residence of a Madame Malinovskaya used to stand, the aristocratic lady who stood in as the mother of the bride in the poet Alexander Pushkin's marriage. The same house was later owned by the geologist, geographer and member of the Academy of Sciences, Obruchev, the principal designer of the Trans-Siberian Railway. The lane was also the site of a small 19th century house in which the great writer Count Fyodor Tolstoy once lived. Just around the corner stands the Wall of Viktor Tsoy, built and adorned with messages to honor the famous Russian rock legend who died tragically in a car accident in 1990.

At the junction of Krivoarbatsky Lane and the Arbat stands the oldest building in the area, a mansion dating form the 18th century. In the 1820s it came under the ownership of Count Bobrinsky, the grandson of Empress Catherine the Great and her lover Count Grigory Orlov, and who came under secret police scrutiny for failing to disclose information about the early 19th century Decembrist Secret Society.

Further along the Arbat, Nikolopeskovsky Lane was home to the composer Alexander Scriabin between 1912 and 1915. It was here that he composed his famous Divine Poem and Prometheus and died at the tragic age of only 43. He was buried in the neighboring Church of St. Nicholas in Pesky. At number 5 along the same street lived Pavel Noshchokin, one of Pushkin's closest friends and the man who lent the poet the dress coat in which he was married and later buried. At the end of the lane used to stand a small square, where in the 16th and 17th centuries the Tsar's hunting hounds were kept.

House number 53 on the Arbat was built in the mid-18th century and was home to the newly married Pushkin and his young wife. It was here that the poet held his stag night, to which he invited his friends Denis Davydov and Pavel Nashchokin. The flat was later home to the cousin of the great composer Tchaikovsky, and was where he welcomed in the New Year at the end of 1884. Between 1920 and 1921 the building housed the avant-garde Red Army dramatic theater, to which the futurist writer Vladimir Mayakovsky and the pioneering theatrical director Vsevolod Meyerhold contributed ideas. The building was later turned into communal flats and it was only in February 1986 after considerable reconstruction, that a museum was opened in the apartment to celebrate the life and works of Pushkin.

Nearby Denezhny (Money) Lane was the 17th century residential area of the coiners who worked in the Imperial mint. During the late 19th century it was home to the writer and director Zagoskin, whose extensive library drew acclaim from the writer Gogol and who the malicious novelist portrayed unkindly in his novel The Government Inspector. After the revolution the house became the German Embassy and it was here on July 6th 1918 that a member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party shot the German Ambassador, marking the beginning of the political uprising that would see Lenin and the Bolsheviks into power.

Along nearby Spasopeskovsky Lane, named after the 17th century church that stands there, is the former residence of the millionaire financier Vtorov, in which Bulgakov chose to host Satan's Ball in his fantastical novel The Master and Margarita. Today the mansion serves as the American Ambassador's official residence.

Not far from the Arbat at No. 32 Glazovsky Lane stands the magnificent late 18th century mansion of General Glazov. Its ownership was later transferred to the renowned patron of the arts Mikhail Morozov, who helped to finance the Moscow Conservatoire, the Stroganov Art School and whose extensive collection of paintings by the famous European and Russian painters Gauguin, Surikov, Levitan and Serov he donated to the Tretyakov Gallery. Morozov's wife, Margarita Kirillovna, was as highly cultured as her husband and is depicted in two of the artist Mikhail Vrubel's most famous works, Venice and The Swan Princess. After the death of her husband in 1903, Margarita hosted regular literary salons in the mansion, where the city's leading intellectuals discussed politics and literature, and later set up the publishing house Put' or The Way.

At the western end of the Arbat visitors cannot fail to notice the imposing Gothic facade of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building. Built according to Stalin's specific instructions, the Ministry is one of 7 high-rise buildings constructed in monumental Gothic style to celebrate the economic and engineering prowess and achievements of the Soviet regime. Known as Stalin's "7 Sisters", the buildings include the Ministry, the Ukraine Hotel and Moscow State University.

Today the museum's collection is vast and would take days to explore in its entirety! We suggest you grab a museum plan and start with the rooms that appeal most. The museum houses an extensive collection of ancient art and artifacts, including Egyptian, Assyrian, Ancient Greek and Roman pieces. Particularly worth a look are the Treasures of Troy in Room 7, once believed to have come from the Troy of Homer's famous work IIliad and allegedly stolen from the Nazis during WWII, and the stunning Byzantine icons in Room 3. The musuem's collection of Western European art extends from the Middle Ages right through to the mid-20th century. It features Gothic and Renaissance works from Italy, Germany and Holland, a selection of canvasses by Rubens and Rembrandt, the largest collection of French impressionist works in Russia and an impressive series of Post-Impressionist and Modernist works, including many notable Picassos and Matisses. The museum regularly hosts temporary exhibitions in conjunction with St. Petersburg and foreign art galleries and musems.

For lovers of art and antiquities the Pushkin Museum offers a rare and impressive collection of works and is definitely worth a look while you're in town.

Address: Ulitsa Volkhonka 12
Tel: (095) 203 7998 (Recorded Information)
(095) 203 7412 (Excursions)
Metro: Kropotkinskaya
Open: Tuesday - Sunday 10am - 7pm, last entry 6pm

The Russian balagan first appeared in the 17th century in fairs and outdoor festive gatherings in towns throughout Russia. In 1702 Emporer Peter the Great ordered a public theater, large enough to house 400 people, to be built on Red Square, and during the intervals of performances at this theater clowns used to entertain people and draw enormous crowds.

In 1880 a former circus horse rider and gymnast, Albert Salamonsky, came to Moscow and built a circus on the city's Tsvetnoy Boulevard. It housed 5 rows of armchairs, boxes, a dress circle, a second row of benches and a stand-up gallery. A stone building for the horses' stables was added to the circus in 1884 and a swimming-pool for water performances was constructed 5 years later.

The circus tradition developed quickly in Moscow and today the Russian capital boasts two main circuses, the Old and original Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard, now renamed the Yury Nikulin Circus, and the New Moscow State Circus on Prospect Vernadskovo.

The Yuri Nikulin Circus or Old Circus, named after Russia's most famous clown and the former longtime director of the circus, is in some ways returning to its traditional roots today and is featuring more and more of the clown acts and tomfoolery that became popular during the 17th and 18th centuries in Russia. The circus also features an excellent range of acrobatic and gymnastic acts, and performances featuring bears, horses, monkeys and dogs.

Performances
Performances are held on weekdays at 7pm and on weekends at 2.30pm and 6pm.

Address: 13 Tsvetnoy Boulevard, Moscow, Russia
Tel: (095) 200 0668
(095) 200 1901
Metro: Tsvetnoy Boulevard
Performances: Daily matinee and evening performances

St. Basil's is a delightful array of swirling colors and redbrick towers. Its design comprises nine individual chapels, each topped with a unique onion dome and each commemorating a victorious assault on the city of Kazan. In 1588 the ninth chapel was erected to house the tomb of the church's namesake, Basil the Blessed. The church's design is based on deep religious symbolism and was meant to be an architectural representation of the New Jerusalem - the Heavenly Kingdom described in the Book of Revelation of St. John the Divine. The eight onion dome-topped towers are positioned around a central, ninth spire, forming an eight-point star. The number eight carries great religious significance; it denotes the day of Christ's Resurrection (the eighth day by the ancient Jewish calendar) and the promised Heavenly Kingdom - the kingdom of the eighth century, which will begin after the second coming of Christ. The eight-point star itself symbolizes the Christian Church as a guiding light to mankind, showing us the way to the Heavenly Jerusalem and it represents the Virgin Mary, depicted in Orthodox iconography with a veil decorated with three eight-pointed stars. The cathedral's star-like plan carries yet more meaning - the star consisting of two superimposed squares, which represent the stability of faith, the four corners of the earth, the four Evangelists and the four equal-sided walls of the Heavenly City.

The extravagant and brightly colored domes of the cathedral's exterior mask a much more modestly decorated and somewhat less spectacular interior. Small dimly lit chapels and maze-like corridors fill the inside of the church and the walls are covered with delicate floral designs in subdued pastel colors dating from the 17th century. Visitors can climb up a narrow, wooden spiral staircase, set in one of the walls and discovered only in the 1970s during restoration work, and marvel at the Chapel of the Intercession's priceless iconostasis, dating back to the 16th century. There was so little room inside the church to accommodate worshippers, that on special feast days services were held outside on Red Square where the clergy communicated their sermons to the milling masses from Lobnoye Mesto, using St. Basil's as an outdoor altar.

The church has narrowly escaped destruction a number of times during the city's tumultuous history. Legend has it that Napoleon was so impressed with St. Basil's that he wanted to take it back to Paris with him, but lacking to the technology to do so, ordered instead that it be destroyed with the French retreat from the city. The French set up kegs of gunpowder and lit their fuses, but a sudden, miraculous shower helped to extinguish the fuses and prevent the explosion.

Early in this century the cathedral almost fell prey to the atheist principles of the Bolshevik regime. In 1918 the communist authorities shot the church's senior priest, Ioann Vostorgov, confiscated its property, melted down its bells and closed the cathedral down. In the 1930s Lazar Kaganovich, a close colleague of Stalin and director of the Red Square reconstruction plan, suggested that St. Basil's be knocked down to create space and ease the movement of public parades and vehicle movement on the square. Thankfully Stalin rejected his proposal as he did a second plan to destroy the cathedral. This time the courage of the architect and devotee of Russian culture, P. Baranovsky, saved the church. When ordered to prepare the cathedral for destruction he refused and threatened to cut his own throat on the steps of the church, then sent a bluntly worded telegram to the leader of the party himself relating the above. For some reason Stalin cancelled the decision to knock the church down and for his efforts Baranovsky was rewarded with five years in jail.

An extensive program of renovation is still being carries out on both the exterior and interior of the church, but will not spoil that essential visit to St. Basil's Cathedral, Moscow's moat famous and arguably most beautiful ecclesiastical building.

In the small garden outside St. Basil's stands an impressive bronze Statue to Minin and Pozharsky, who rallied Russia's volunteer army during the Time of Troubles and drove out the invading Polish forces. They were an interesting duo - Dmitry Pozharsky was a prince, while Kuzma Minin was a butcher from Nizhny Novgorod. The statue was designed by the artist I. Martos and erected in 1818 as the city's first monumental sculpture. It originally stood in the center of Red Square in front of what is now the GUM Department Store, with Minin symbolically indicating to Pozharsky that the Poles were occupying the Kremlin and calling for its liberation. The Soviet authorities felt that the statue had become an obstacle during parades and after the construction of the Lenin Mausoleum Red Square, its position was considered rather ambiguous and was eventually moved to the garden in front of St. Basil's in 1936.

Address: 4 Krasnaya Ploshad, Kremlin, Moscow
Tel: (095) 298 5880
(095) 298 3304 (Excursions)
Metro: Kitai Gorod
Open: Wednesday - Monday 11am - 5.30pm, closed Tuesday

The square first came into being at the end of the 15th century during the reign of Ivan III. It was initially called Trinity Square after the Trinity Cathedral, which stood on the site of the later St. Basil's Cathedral. The name by which we all know the square today originated much later, possibly as late as the 17th century.

Located on the site of the city's old market place, Red Square served as Moscow's equivalent of ancient Rome's Forum - a meeting place for the people. It served as a place for celebrating church festivals, for public gatherings, hearing Government announcements and watching executions, the later becoming particularly commonplace during the reigns of Ivan the Terrible and Peter the Great and during the anarchic Time of Troubles in the early 17th century. Occasionally the Tsar himself would address the people from a platform on the square, named Lobnoye Mesto.

Red Square served as the site of frequent Soviet military parades and demonstrations on major national holidays, such as May 1st (International Worker's Solidarity Day) and November 7th (the Anniversary of the October Revolution). Perhaps the most dramatic and impressive military parade that the square has witnessed took place on November 7th 1941, when Nazi troops were advancing on Moscow and fought just a few miles away from the capital. On that day thousands of Russian soldiers appeared in parades on Red Square and then marched directly to the front line to defend the Soviet capital. The brief parade boosted the confidence and fighting spirit of the Soviet people at the height of their battle with the Nazi forces. After the war, in June 1945, hundreds of Soviet troops marched in columns across the square to celebrate victory over the Nazis and 200 German banners were thrown at the foot of Lenin's Mausoleum.

Today, Red Square is a popular attraction for both Russian and foreign visitors alike. It provides plenty of photographic opportunities, while the area between St. Basil's and the Moscow River is often used for rock and pop concerts.