SHCHUSEV STATE MUSEUM OF ARCHITECTURE
ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫЙ МУЗЕЙ АРХИТЕКТУРЫ ИМЕНИ А.В. ЩУСЕВА
MUSEUM OF MOSCOW
МУЗЕЙ МОСКВЫ
MULTIMEDIA ART MUSEUM
МУЛЬТИМЕДИА АРТ МУЗЕЙ
VASNETSOV HOUSE MUSEUM
ДОМ-МУЗЕЙ ВИКТОРА ВАСНЕЦОВА
GORKY PARK MUSEUM
МУЗЕЙ ПАРКА ГОРЬКОГО
TO SEE
About
This outstanding museum was, in fact, the first museum of architecture to open in Europe. The buildings which house the museum are architectural masterpieces on their own, and a good way to learn how Russian architecture evolved through centuries. Each building has its own rich history. The main building, an 18th-century classicist city estate once belonged to a military officer Talyzin who was mainly known for once borrowing his coat to Catherine the Great. The house was then bought by a family of merchants who turned it in a cultural salon popular with the high society of Moscow, including Alexander Pushkin himself.
One of the buildings in the courtyard is a former monastery refectory built in the 17th century, which later served as the Kremlin phramacy office. The other building is known as 'Ruin Wing' is the former stables, currently closed for renovations. The long enfilade in the main building has recently opened after several years of renovations. At the moment, it houses an excellent exhibition on Russian wooden art explored through the centuries.
Address
5/25 Vozdvizhenka St. (ул. Воздвиженка, д. 5/25)
Directions: Exit Biblioteka Lenina metro station and walk down Vozdvizhenka St., past the Russian State Library building. It's the next building after the library.
Opening hours: Tue-Sun 11am-8pm, Thu 1-9pm. Last admission is 30min before closing
Average visit duration: 2h
Admission: General 250₽/ Student 100₽/ Free for children under 18
Tips: the museum occupies several buildings. Explore the main building first and then head to the courtyard with statues. It's well worth visiting on its own! There're usually two more exhibitions in Aptekarsky Prikaz building (meaning Pharmacy Office in Russia). The so called Ruined Building is closed for renovation until the end of 2016.
What's On: Moscow Undeground: the Subterranean Monument (until 17 July 2016)
About
TThe Museum of Moscow opened its doors only a couple of years ago, but has already become one of the best museums in the city. It previously existed under different names, and moved from one location to another, until it finally settled on Zubovsky Boulevard. The building where the museum is now housed is very unusual for Moscow architecture. It's an early 19th century former provisions warehouse built in the Empire style. The museums occupies several buildings which all have their own exhibitions. There's also a courtyard which functions both as an exhibition place and, occasionally, as a flea market or a food festival. The museum also has the best museum souvenir shop in Moscow, and there's a lovely coffeeshop by the museum entrance.
Address
2 Zubovsky Blvd. (Зубовский Бульвар, д. 2)
Directions: Exit Park Kultury metro station and cross the road to the other side (through the underpass if you exit the circle line station, or under the bridge if you exit the red line station). There're two entrances to the museum, one is from Zubovsky Boulevard, and the other is from Ostozhenka St. The ticket office is located in the building on Ostozhenka St.
Tue-Wed, Fri-Sun 10am-8pm, Thu 11am-9pm
Average visit duration: 1h30min
To one exhibition: General 200₽/ Children under 17 100₽; to all exhibitions: General 400₽/ Children under 17 200₽; Free for students.
Tips: the museum occupies several buildings. And there's usually an outdoor exhibition in the courtyard.
About
An excellent contemporary art space that always has several excellent photography and modern art exhibitions. The Museum doesn't look like much from the outside, and you can easily miss it if you walk along Ostozhenka St. but it is very unusual from the inside. It feels quite small and narrow, but it occupies 7 floors, and each floor has only one or two rooms which gives each exhibition a separated area. The museum organises lecture courses, mostly dedicated to the history of art or photography, and they often do cinema screenings.
Address
16 Ostozhenka St. (ул. Остоженка, д. 16)
Directions: Exit Kropotkinskaya St. (choose exit towards Prechistenka and Ostozhenka streets, cross the road towards the monument of Friedrich Engels and walk down Ostozhenka St. for about 5 min. The museum is going to be on your right.
Tue-Sun 12-9pm, Closed on Mondays
Average visit duration: 2h
General 500₽
Tips: the admission is free on the 3rd Sunday of each month
About
The quaint little house is hidden deep in the alleys between Tsvetnoy Boulevard and Mira Avenue among ordinary Soviet residential blocks. The house that looks like a mixture of a 19th-century town house and a wooden hut as you would imagine it in Russian fairytales. The house was designed and built by Victor Vasnetsov for himself and his family. Vasnetsov was one of the most celebrated Russian painters of the last quarter of the 19th century up until his death in 1926. His studio with a large window occupied the upper floor of the house, whereas the family lived on the ground floor. Vasnetsov is particularly loved by Russians for his illustrations for traditional Russian fairytales and myths. He was one of the most prominent painters of Russian Revivalist style. Did you notice a certain similarity between the Vasnetsov House and the Tretyakov gallery? Don't be surprised, it's his job as well.
Vasnetsov had been dreaming of moving to Moscow for many years, so when opportunity presented itself, he decided to make an ideal house for himself and his family. All items inside the house are designed by Vasnetsov himself. You can explore all the rooms, see many of his paintings, illustations and letters, and even climb up to his studio and see his monumental works, as well as his last unfinished painting.
Address
13 Vasnetsov Lane (пер. Васнецова, д. 13)
Wed-Sun 10am-5pm, Closed on Mondays, Tuesday, and on the last Thursday of each month
Average visit duration: 1h
General 200₽/ Students 100₽, Free for childern under 18
Tips: the admission is free on the 3rd Sunday of each month
About
A new museum entirely dedicated to the history of Gorky Park. The museum is located in the entrance gate of the park, and has several floors with multimedia exhibition where you can read, watch and listen to the history of this famous park. The exhibition includes old photos, videos, stories related to the park. You can learn about the objects which once stood in the park, i.e. the parachute jump which you can actually test in VR glasses. But the highlight of your visit is the viewing platform on top of the gates from which you can see the whole park, the Moscow City and even the Moscow State University in the distance. Don't forget to pop into their cool souvenir shop and take a picture with the famous state of a Girl with an Oar which once stood in the park.
Address
9 Krymsky Val (ул. Крымский Вал, д. 9)
Tue-Sun 11am-10pm. Last admission at 9pm. Closed on Mondays
Average visit duration: 45min
General 300₽/ Students, Seniors, Children under 17 150₽
THE PUSHKIN STATE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS (MAIN BUILDING)
МУЗЕЙ ИЗОБРАЗИТЕЛЬНЫХ ИСКУССТВ ИМ. ПУШКИНА (ГЛАВНОЕ ЗДАНИЕ)
About
It is one of the largest and most prominent museums in Russia boasting a collection of over 700 000 works of arts from all over the world. Today, the museum owns 4 buildings around Volkhonka St., and two more are coming in the next few years (as well as the new underground station next to the museum). The main building houses a huge collection of Ancient Greek and Roman statues, as well as objects from Ancient Egypt and Babylonia. The most famous part of this collection is the Trojan Gold or Priam's treasure discovered by Heinrich Schliemann during his excavations in Troy.
The Main Building of the Pushkin Arts Museum also has a magnificent collection of 16-19th century art including famous works of Rembrandt, Botticelli, Cranach, Rubens, Zurbaran, Brueghel, van Dijk, etc. They also hold various temporary exhibitions. Famous works of Leonardo da Vinci (including Mona Lisa), Raphael, Botticelli, Rambrandt and many others have been exhibited here in the past.
Address
12 Volkhonka St. (ул. Волхонка, д. 12)
+7 495 697 95 78
Tue-Wed, Fri-Sun 11am-8pm. Last admission at 7pm. Thu 11am-9pm. Last admission at 8pm. Closed on Mondays
General 300₽/ Free for children under 16. Separate tickets for temporary exhibitions. You can also buy a combined ticket to all three buildings of the Pushkin Arts Museum (750₽).
Average visit duration: 2h30min
THE MOSCOW LIGHTS MUSEUM
МУЗЕЙ "ОГНИ МОСКВЫ"
About
Located in one of the oldest parts of the city once known as the White City, the Moscow Lights is a quirky little museum telling the history of Moscow street lighting. You may not find the subject exciting right away, but once you step inside a pitch-dark room of this 17th-century merchant's mansion and take up the role of a lamplighter it suddenly becomes very amusing. Walk around with a remote control and try lighting and extinguishing all types of street-lamps and lanterns and see what it felt like walking the streets at night in the 18th and 19th centuries. Turn all the lights back on - and you'll find yourself in a vaulted basement (which was once used for storing furs for sale) surrounded by dozens of lanterns, wicker lamps, torches and other types of lighting used before the 20th century. The other two rooms are dedicated to the introduction of electric lighting and everything that comes with it. The lampposts that didn't fit inside the museum were placed in a shady garden in front of it.
Address
3/5 bld.1 Armyansky Lane (Армянский пер., д. 3-5, стр.1)
+7 495 624 73 74
Go to Website (only in Russian)
Mon-Wed, Fri-Sun 11am-6pm. Thu 11am-8pm
General 150₽/ Concessions 50₽
Average visit duration: 45min