The capital of Russia, less serious side of Moscow

It would seem that visiting Moscow is constrained only to the Red Square, Cathedral of Vasily the Blesseed, Kremlin, Bolshoi Theatre and other must-see places. Travel guides skip the places showing the capital of Russia from a slightly different perspective than this exclusive and full of splendor in a style characteristic of the Russians.

Meanwhile, there are many beautiful places in Moscow, some of which are located close to famous tourist attractions.

One of them is the popular Arbat district. Most tourists visiting this place head straight to the main boardwalk – Arbat street, which is the oldest in Moscow.

Unfortunately, looking for Moscow from the old years is in vain, the street is the main point of shopping and dining. The true charm of old Moscow lies in the side streets where we won’t meet tourists.

In addition to the ancient houses, there’s a gallery of interesting sculptures in the courtyard of one building.

An interesting gallery called the Garden of Fallen Monuments is located right next to the New Tretyakov Museum.You can see there many banished monuments presenting: Stalin, Felix Dzerzhinsky, Brezhnev and many other “former idols”.

An interesting place adjacent to the Garden of Fallen Monuments is the Red October arts center, located on Bolotny Island. The characteristic red buildings, which are the remnants of the old Alenka chocolate factory, the numerous restaurants and bars create a specific atmosphere of this place.

Right next door is the huge statue of Peter the Great.

The list of unique places includes also Izmailovski Kremlin, I wrote about it here. In addition to the colorful palaces and the bazaar, there you can see numerous murals and visit cosy restaurants.

There’s also a characteristic monument of Stalin and Lenin, which hasn’t been moved to the Garden of Fallen Monuments. I guarantee it won’t miss anyone’s attention.

Some exhibits in the main square of izmailovo can be really scary.

Don’t let yourself be enchanted by the colorful facade of Izmailovsky Kremlin, because on its other less representative side there’re real gems- neglected bizarre monuments.

In Moscow you can see many interesting murals, some of the a little bit scary while othershave political backround.

An interesting 3D mural is located on the facade of one of the buildings opposite the Red Gate metro station.

A lot of murals are located in the Winzavod Centre, in the area of Chkalovskaya metro station. Winzavod was once a wine and beer factory that was transformed into the centre of contemporary art. There are numerous galleries promoting young artists and some interesting dining options.

Near Winzavod you canfind another gem – ArtPlay. As the name indicates, it is the main hub of street art. There are numerous murals on the walls of the old manometers factory.

There’re also various shops that offer both products and used products. In winter, you can skate on the roof of building no. 3, while in the summer you can sip there drinks and listen to music.

For coffee, go to the Flakon Factory – former renovated glass factory, which used to produce perfume bottles. In the old production buildings are numerous shops, restaurants and interesting galleries.

The Square around the factory was designed as a creative space for street art.

A slightly different climate has the restaurant Petrovitch, which I mentioned here. Petrovitch is the best guarded secret of Moscow. Inconspicuous entrance makes this place inaccessible for many.Nevertheless, it is worth going here to see Moscow from another side, the more human, more homely.