What to see in Moscow? The Moscow Kremlin ensemble, classic museums. Part 1.

Moscow is the capital of Russia, the country's political and cultural center. In 2025 the city turned 878 years old. Moscow is home to many architectural and historical monuments, museums, galleries, parks, and urban and public spaces. We have compiled a list of attractions worth seeing.

Moscow Kremlin

The Moscow Kremlin is a fortress in the center of Moscow, its oldest part, and the city's main socio-political and historical-artistic complex. The architectural ensemble is included in the UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage List as part of the world's historical and artistic heritage. The Moscow Kremlin includes the Armory Chamber and the architectural ensemble of Cathedral Square, which comprises the Assumption Cathedral, the Archangel Cathedral, the Annunciation Cathedral, the Church of the Deposition of the Robe, the Patriarch's Chambers, and the ensemble of the Ivan the Great Bell Tower.

ENSEMBLE OF THE MOSCOW KREMLIN

Cathedral of the Intercession (St. Basil's Cathedral)

Photo: Pixabay.

The Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos on the Moat (St. Basil's Cathedral) is one of the most significant monuments of 16th-century Old Russian architecture. The cathedral was built in 1555–1561 by order of Tsar Ivan the Terrible to commemorate the conquest of the Kazan Khanate. The central church is dedicated to the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos. Four churches — of the Three Patriarchs of Constantinople, Cyprian and Justina, Alexander of Svir, and Gregory the Armenian — are dedicated to saints whose feast days corresponded to important events of the campaign. The Intercession Cathedral is richly decorated with wall paintings and houses an impressive collection of Old Russian icons and masterpieces of ecclesiastical applied art. The unique ensemble of 11 churches with complete iconostases, whose interiors reflect the history of the church over four and a half centuries, is particularly notable.

Armory Chamber

Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

The Armory Chamber — a treasure museum — is part of the Grand Kremlin Palace complex. It is located in a building constructed in 1851 by architect Konstantin Thon. The core of the museum collection consists of precious items that were kept for centuries in the royal treasury and the patriarchal sacristy, made in Kremlin workshops, as well as gifts received from foreign embassies. The museum's name comes from one of the oldest Kremlin treasuries. The museum displays about four thousand examples of decorative and applied art from Russia, European countries, and the East from the 4th century to the early 20th century. Their highest artistic quality and special historical and cultural value have brought the Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin worldwide fame.

Assumption Cathedral

Photo: Pixabay.

The Assumption Cathedral was built in 1475–1479 by command of the Grand Prince of Moscow Ivan III and the Italian architect Aristotle Fioravanti, who was specially invited for the project. The dedication of Moscow's cathedral to the Dormition of the Mother of God — the principal Marian feast — follows an ancient tradition rooted in the special veneration of the Virgin in Russia.

Archangel Cathedral

Photo: Pixabay.

The Archangel Cathedral, built in 1505–1508 by the Italian architect Aloisio the New, is the most distinctive monument in the unified ensemble of Cathedral Square in the Moscow Kremlin. The church is dedicated to Archangel Michael, the heavenly patron of princes in their military endeavors. The grand princes came here to pray before going to war, hoping to obtain spiritual strength for their deeds. Younger brothers swore allegiance to the grand prince here. After a coronation, the tsar would lead a solemn procession to the church to venerate the tombs of his ancestors. The Archangel Cathedral became the burial place of Moscow's grand princely house; members of the ruling dynasties — the Rurikids and the Romanovs — were buried here.

Annunciation Cathedral

The Annunciation Cathedral is one of the oldest and most art-rich monuments of the Moscow Kremlin. Built during the reign of Grand Prince Ivan III, ruler of 'all Rus'' in 1484–1489, the cathedral holds special significance in the history of Russian architecture. While many of the constructions of Ivan III's new grand-princely residence were built by Italian architects, the Annunciation Cathedral became an outstanding monument of native architectural tradition. According to chronicles, it was created by Pskov masters. In the cathedral's appearance, features of Moscow architecture are combined with details characteristic of Pskov building traditions.

Patriarch's Chambers with the Church of the Twelve Apostles

Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

The Patriarch's Chambers are a rare and one of the finest examples of Moscow civil architecture of the mid-17th century. The chambers were built by order of Patriarch Nikon in 1653–1655 by Russian masters on the site of older structures of the metropolitan and later patriarchal court in the Moscow Kremlin. The work was overseen by stonework journeymen Alexey Korolkov and Ivan Semyonov. The first floor housed household services, the third floor contained the patriarch's private quarters, and the second floor held the ceremonial rooms. The main among them was the Cross Chamber, or Mirovarnaya Chamber, where meetings of the Holy Synod were held and banquets were given in honor of the tsar and foreign guests. In the 18th–19th centuries the Patriarch's Chambers housed the Moscow Synodal Office.

Church of the Deposition of the Robe

Photo: muzei-mira.com

The Church of the Deposition of the Robe occupies a special place in the architectural ensemble of Cathedral Square and is located between the Assumption Cathedral and the Faceted Chamber. The church that has survived to our time was founded by Metropolitan Gerontius in 1484 and was named for the feast of the Deposition of the Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos. For several centuries it was part of the metropolitan court complex and served as the private church of the Metropolitans of Moscow and All Rus' and of the Patriarchs.

POPULAR MUSEUMS AND LOCATIONS IN MOSCOW

State Historical Museum (GIM)

Photo: Pixabay.

The State Historical Museum (GIM) in Moscow is the largest national museum of Russia, located on Red Square. The GIM collection includes archaeological monuments, antique furniture, precious metals, Old Russian painting, fine art materials, ceramics and glassware, manuscripts and early printed books, weapons, written sources, and costumes.

Diamond Fund

A kokoshnik-style diadem that belonged to Empress Maria Feodorovna, the wife of Emperor Paul I. Photo: gokhran.ru

The 'Diamond Fund' exhibition displays valuables from the Diamond Fund of the Russian Federation, a collection of unique nuggets of precious metals and gemstones of historical and artistic significance, as well as a collection of orders and decorations that represent immense historical, artistic, scientific, and material value.

Central Exhibition Hall 'Manege'

Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

The Manege is a historic building located in the very center of Moscow. Its primary function is hosting temporary exhibitions. The Manege regularly holds various conferences, forums, and major exhibitions, significantly influencing the country's cultural life. Its impressive exhibition area (11,000 sq. m) allows the organization of truly large-scale events. The collection contains more than 4,000 museum items. The collection was formed using an integrated approach — combining monographic and thematic acquisition methods aimed at enriching the museum funds with items that reveal multiple themes. Special attention is given to acquiring contemporary art objects.

State Tretyakov Gallery

The main museum of national art in Russia and one of the largest collections of Russian fine art in the world. Founded in 1856 by the merchant and patron Pavel Tretyakov, the collection now includes over 180,000 items, including paintings, works on paper, sculpture, and icons. In the historic building on Lavrushinsky Lane is the collection of Russian art from the 11th century to the early 20th century. In 62 halls you can see icons including Andrei Rublev's famous 'Trinity', as well as works by Ivan Shishkin, Ilya Repin, Vasily Surikov, and other masters.

New Tretyakov Gallery

The 'New Tretyakov' is the Tretyakov Gallery's building in Moscow on Krymsky Val in Muzeon Park. The exhibition is dedicated to 20th–21st century art. It presents the Russian avant-garde (Malevich, Kandinsky, Chagall, Filonov); socialist realism (Pimenov, Gerasimov, Yablonskaya, Reshetnikov); the 'severe style' (Popkov, Andronov); unofficial and underground art (Bulatov and others); and contemporary art of the late 20th–early 21st centuries.

State Tretyakov Gallery, new building

Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

The State Tretyakov Gallery opened a new building at 12 Kadashevskaya Embankment in 2024. This multifunctional complex unites exhibition spaces, restoration workshops, scientific and public areas. The first exhibition was 'The Wanderers' (October 2024 – April 2025), dedicated to the works of the artists of the Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions (Peredvizhniki). The exhibition featured works by Ivan Kramskoi, Vasily Perov, Ilya Repin, Vasily Surikov, and other masters.

Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts

Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

One of the largest museums of Western art in Russia, preserving priceless cultural-historical and artistic heritage. The museum's collections hold about 700,000 original works from different eras — from Ancient Egypt and classical Greece to the present day. In addition to the permanent exhibition, the museum hosts temporary thematic exhibitions.

Museum of Moscow

Photo: rbc.ru

The Museum of Moscow was founded in 1896. It is housed in the Provian Office Buildings, a federally listed architectural monument. The museum's holdings number more than 910,000 items, including a rich collection of archaeological artifacts. The Museum of Moscow also includes several branches: the Moscow Archaeology Museum, the Lefortovo History Museum, the Gilyarovsky Center, the Garden Ring Museum, the Zelenograd Museum, the Dobrolyubov Library, and the Moscow Coat of Arms Hall.

Moscow State Art Gallery of Ilya Glazunov

Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

A unique artistic and cultural-educational center in Moscow. The gallery's distinctiveness is determined by the scale of I. S. Glazunov's work, an outstanding contemporary Russian artist. The exhibition includes over 700 works of painting and graphics donated by the artist to the state.

State Museum of the Orient

The State Museum of the Orient was established on October 30, 1918. Over its century-long history the museum changed names several times (Ars Asiatica, Museum of Eastern Cultures, Museum of the Art of the Peoples of the Orient) and moved locations until in 1984 it deployed its exhibitions in the building known as the 'Lunin House' — an early 19th-century city estate on Nikitsky Boulevard. Today the museum is one of the largest cultural and educational centers presenting the art of Eastern countries. The collection includes about 160,000 works of painting, sculpture, graphics, and decorative-applied arts.

House of Culture 'GES-2'

The House of Culture 'GES-2' is a city space and the main venue of the V–A–C Foundation in Russia. It unites exhibition halls, a library, a cinema and concert hall, studios, workshops and artist residencies, shops, a restaurant and cafes, a children's playground, and rooms for public and educational events. At the House of Culture 'GES-2', any hierarchy has been abolished: artistic disciplines coexist, touch, collide, and flow into one another. Here the dialogue of theater, music, visual art, opera, dance, and film can create territories that do not yet even have names.

Multimedia Art Museum

The Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow (MAMM) was founded by the Moscow Government in 1996. It is the first museum of photography and contemporary art in Russia. After reconstruction and restoration in 2010, the museum received a new building that today is one of the most beautiful and modern exhibition spaces in the city. It consists of seven floors, spacious exhibition halls, a constructivist staircase connecting them, ultra-modern lighting, minimalist dynamic architecture, and a glass elevator. The museum's collection includes more than 180,000 items, and its exhibition projects are constantly changing. It presents the history of foreign and domestic contemporary art, works by world-renowned and Russian photographers, young artists, video art, VR, art linked to new technologies, performances, and more. The museum offers various educational programs for children and adults to help them understand artistic practice and theory.

Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center

The Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center opened in 2012 in the Bakhmetevsky Garage building — a constructivist landmark designed by K. Melnikov and V. Shukhov. Almost a century after the creation of this masterpiece of the Russian avant-garde, the building became the site of Russia's most high-tech museum. The museum includes a historical exposition, temporary exhibitions, an avant-garde center, a space for public lectures, discussions and conferences, a 4D cinema, a tolerance center, and a children's center.

Museum of Russian Impressionism

Photo: afisha.ru

The idea of creating the Museum belonged to collector Boris Mintz in 2012. For the first time as a single collection, the paintings were presented at MacDougall's auction house in spring 2014. After the official presentation in Moscow, a significant part of the future permanent collection toured Ivanovo, Venice, and Freiburg. In 2015 the Museum of Russian Impressionism joined ICOM (International Council of Museums). From its inception the museum has been engaged in special educational and public programs.

Garage Museum of Contemporary Art

Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

Founded in 2008 by Daria Zhukova, the museum is the first philanthropic organization in Russia aimed at developing contemporary art and culture. Garage's extensive program of exhibitions, education, research, and publishing reflects current processes in Russian and international culture and opens opportunities for public dialogue and the creation of new works. On May 1, 2014, the Center for Contemporary Culture 'Garage' was renamed the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art to emphasize the founder's main goal — introducing the general public to works by living artists and materials on art history. On June 12, 2015, 'Garage' moved to its first permanent building in Gorky Park, in the heart of Moscow.

Moscow Museum of Modern Art on Petrovka

Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

The building of the Moscow Museum of Modern Art on Petrovka 25 is the first of the museum's opened venues and is a well-known capital architectural monument. This magnificent mansion was built in 1793–1799 in the mature classicism style by the famous Russian architect Matvey Kazakov as the main house of the urban estate of the wealthy merchant and 'notable citizen' Mikhail Gubin. With two wings (one of which survives), the house faced the street; the grand entrance was on the north side, and behind the residential buildings there was a park with greenhouses and a small pond. The estate ensemble remained in this form until the second half of the 19th century, when ownership was divided, much of it together with the garden and pond was sold and built over. From 1871 to 1904 the main house was leased to Franz Kreiman's gymnasium, one of Moscow's first and best private schools. Among its pupils were the symbolist poet Valery Bryusov, architect Roman Klein, and Alexey Bakhrushin, founder of the Theatre Museum. In the early Soviet period of the 1920s the Petrovka building was given to the newly created State Institute of Physiotherapy, and since 1958 it housed other medical institutions and societies. On December 15, 1999, after a major restoration, the mansion on Petrovka opened as the first Museum of Modern Art in Russia. Thus, in the new 21st century, in the space of Gubin's house with its historic enfilades, preserved interior elements, and unique Empire-style ceiling and wall paintings, a productive dialogue of different eras arose. The museum on Petrovka, with its three exhibition floors, traditionally hosts rotating thematic displays from the collection as well as major international solo and group exhibitions.

Museum of Russian Icon

The Museum of Russian Icon is the largest private museum of Christian art in Russia. Its main mission is the preservation, study, and popularization of Christian art, primarily the Russian icon. The exhibition features 4,500 items. The collection comprises seven main sections: Russian icons from the 14th to the early 20th centuries; Greek and post-Byzantine art of the 15th–18th centuries; Byzantine applied art of the 6th–14th centuries; Old Russian embroidery; Russian decorative-applied arts of the 12th–19th centuries; Ethiopian Christian art; and early Christian monuments. The Museum of Russian Icon is the only private collection of Byzantine and Old Russian art in Russia to have official status as a public museum, confirmed by the International Council of Museums (ICOM) and the Union of Museums of Russia.

State Central Museum of Contemporary History of Russia

Photo: culture.ru

The State Central Museum of Contemporary History of Russia (until 1998 — the Museum of the Revolution) is a unique federal cultural heritage site and one of the largest centers for preserving, studying, and presenting Russian history from the second half of the 19th century to the early 21st century. The museum is located in the very center of the capital in one of Moscow's most beautiful buildings. From 1831 to 1917 the mansion housed the Moscow English Club — a center of public opinion in the 19th century whose members at different times included M. I. Kutuzov, A. S. Pushkin, I. A. Krylov, A. S. Griboyedov, L. N. Tolstoy, and others.

Museum of the Defense of Moscow

Photo: liveinmsk.ru

The State Museum of the Defense of Moscow was created in memory of the defenders of the city and tells the story of the Battle of Moscow — the largest battle during the Great Patriotic War. The exhibition, recreated using authentic items and original architectural-artistic solutions, helps visitors understand what stopped the best forces of the most powerful army of the time at the gates of Moscow. Visitors seem to flip through the dramatic pages of Russian history: the people's militia, anti-air defense of Moscow, and the daily life of Muscovites in 1941–1942. The museum's collection includes about 4,000 authentic exhibits such as documents, photographs, weapons, paintings, and personal belongings of participants in the Battle of Moscow. Each of the five thematic compositions is dedicated to a specific stage of the city's defense.

Panorama Museum 'The Battle of Borodino'

Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

The Panorama Museum 'The Battle of Borodino' tells the story of the Patriotic War of 1812. The central exhibit is the Borodino panorama — one of the largest paintings in the world (115 m long and 15 m high) painted by the eminent Russian battle painter Franz Roubaud in 1912. The panorama depicts the decisive moment of the battle between Russian and French armies near the village of Borodino on September 7, 1812.

Cold War Museum ('Bunker-42 on Taganka')

Bunker-42 (designations ChZ-293, GO-42) is a subterranean fortification located in the heart of Moscow. Its design began in response to the emergence of a new type of mass-destruction weapon in the United States — the atomic bomb. Soviet scientists were tasked by Joseph Stalin to create their own atomic bomb as quickly as possible and to develop methods of protection against this new weapon.

Museum 'Lights of Moscow'

At this museum visitors can watch the lighting of Moscow's street lamps and try their hand at being a lamplighter or a dispatcher at the outdoor lighting control panel. The exhibition introduces visitors to various sources of light — from antique oil, kerosene, and gas lamps to modern electric streetlights — and features a large number of photographs of the capital. It is likely one of the best places to learn about Moscow's past.

Museum 'Underground Printing Press of 1905–1906'

Photo: kudamoscow.ru

One of the most unusual museums in Moscow is located in the historic part of the city in a former tenement house that from the late 19th century belonged to merchant Kuzma Kolupaev. Nearby the Butyrka prison and next to a police station, during the First Russian Revolution of 1905–1907 a deeply covert illegal printing press operated here, producing revolutionary leaflets and the social-democratic newspaper Rabochiy. It operated under the cover of the shop 'Wholesale Trade in Caucasian Fruits Kalandadze.' This is the only illegal printing press in Russia that was never discovered by the tsarist police due to the conspirators' high level of professionalism. The museum has existed since 1924. Its organizers were those who once created and worked in the secret press. That is why the exhibition reproduces all the details of the long-gone past with extraordinary accuracy. The memorial and museum complex consists of the interiors of the salesroom and the manager's apartment. In the basement of the shop, disguised as a warehouse, a 'cave' was dug three meters deep. In this part of the exhibition visitors can see a reconstructed underground printing press with an 'Amerikanka' printing press. The museum gives an idea not only of the conditions in which the underground workers operated but also of the life and daily routines of Moscow's petty bourgeois and middle-class townspeople at the turn of the 20th century. The museum hosts rotating thematic exhibitions dedicated to memorable dates in Russian history and screens films such as 'Amerikanka' (USSR, 1930) and 'Dom na Lesnoy' (USSR, 1980).

A. A. Bakhrushin Theatre Museum

Photo: kudamoscow.ru

The Bakhrushin Museum is the largest keeper of Russia's theatrical heritage. The museum's collections number more than 1.5 million items: archives of celebrated theatrical figures, costume and set sketches by famous scenographers, stage costumes of great actors, decorative-applied art objects, programs and posters, photographs, portraits, and rare editions. The main Bakhrushin estate comprises six sites in Moscow and 10 branches: three memorial houses (A. N. Ostrovsky, M. N. Yermolova, M. S. Shchepkin), five museum-apartments (Vsevolod Meyerhold, G. S. Ulanova, M. M. Plisetskaya, V. N. Pluchek, the acting family of M. V. and A. A. Mironov — A. S. Menaker), the museum-workshop of theatre artist D. L. Borovsky, and the Radio Theatre museum-studio.

Bulgakov House

Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

The museum exhibition at the Bulgakov House is an interactive space featuring not only a permanent display about M. A. Bulgakov's life and work but also constantly changing exhibitions. The former apartment that houses the museum covers just over 100 sq. m across five rooms. Some exhibitions and museum events use exhibition spaces on the black staircase and the summer veranda in the courtyard. The museum is also famous for its secret rooms, which visitors can explore on special tours. In three halls using modern technologies the museum exhibits an archive of photographs, documents, publications, and period items related to the writer and his life. The museum has a unique electronic exhibition, offers specially designed tours of the museum and of Moscow, and conducts research. Telephone devices in each hall allow visitors to listen to a short audio tour of the hall and to 'call' some characters from the novel The Master and Margarita. Tickets for the excursion tram, thematic and theatrical tours can be purchased at the museum ticket office. The well-known electronic exhibition dedicated to Bulgakov's life and work contains over 500 photographs and documents, as well as film and theater excerpts based on the writer's works.

Mosfilm Studio Museum

Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

The Mosfilm Film Concern Museum opened in 2000. Over the years it has become a popular destination for both Muscovites and visitors to the capital. The museum operates as an active subdivision of the film concern, which means it does not have a permanent exhibition — exhibits and props are periodically used in film and TV productions.

Museum of Cosmonautics in Moscow

The Museum of Cosmonautics is one of the largest science and history museums in the world. The museum's history began in the second half of the 20th century when the 'Monument to the Conquerors of Space' appeared on the map of Moscow in 1964.

Moscow Planetarium

One of the largest in the world and the oldest planetarium in Russia. It is located in Moscow near the new territory of the Moscow Zoo, not far from the Garden Ring. It was built in 1927–1929 to a design by architects M. O. Barsch, M. I. Sinyavsky, and engineer G. A. Zunblat.

Lomonosov Moscow State University Zoological Museum

The Zoological Museum of Moscow University is the oldest and largest museum in Moscow where visitors can learn about the diversity of the planet's present-day animals, and professional zoologists can access vast scientific collections. The museum was founded in 1791 as the university's cabinet of natural history, which housed animals and plants, minerals, and coins. In 1902 the museum building on Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street was completed, bringing together the collections and staff, and since 1911 it has operated a public exhibition. Today the Zoological Museum attracts about 100,000 visitors a year. In three halls visitors can see about 10,000 exhibits — from protozoa to primates. The main diversity of animals — from single-celled organisms to reptiles — is concentrated in the Lower Hall on the first floor. Above it is the Upper Hall, entirely given over to birds and mammals. The second floor houses the Hall of Comparative Anatomy or 'Bone Hall', whose display is dedicated to the internal structure of vertebrates. The museum's scientific collection contains more than 10,000,000 specimens collected over its more than 230-year history.

K. A. Timiryazev State Biological Museum

Photo: culture.ru

The State Biological Museum named after K. A. Timiryazev in Moscow is a natural history museum founded in 1922. Since 1934 it has been located in a complex of buildings — an architectural monument of federal significance — formerly the Museum of Old Russian Antiquities of Pyotr Ivanovich Shchukin, built in the neo-Russian style in 1892–1915 on Shchukin's estate. The museum's exhibits cover all of biology — from fungi and orchids to dinosaurs and humans. In addition to zoological and evolutionary themes, the museum uniquely presents extensive sections on botany and physiology not found in other Moscow museums. The halls, occupying 900 sq. m, host wide-ranging exhibitions: 'Nature and Man', 'World of Animals', 'World of Plants', 'Physiology and Anatomy of Animals', 'Plant Physiology', 'Evolutionary Theory', 'Development of Life on Earth', and 'Origin and Evolution of Man'. The museum's highlights are natural-landscape dioramas such as 'Bird Market', 'Mixed Forest', and 'Sandy Desert', created in the 1950s under the guidance of one of the Soviet Union's leading diorama artists, E. I. Deshalyt.

State Darwin Museum

The State Darwin Museum was founded on October 7, 1907, by the young zoologist Alexander Fedorovich Kots. At that time it was the first and only museum of evolution. Today the Darwin Museum is the largest natural science museum in Europe. It actively uses modern multimedia technologies: audio recordings of animal voices, a light-video-musical exhibition 'Living Planet', a video tour 'Diversity of Life on Earth', the modern information center 'EcoMoscow', and an interactive complex 'Journey with Animals' equipped with augmented reality technology. The museum includes the interactive exhibition 'Follow the Path of Evolution', the interactive center 'Know Yourself — Know the World', a teaching laboratory with microscopes, an insectarium with live insects 'MiniZoo', a digital planetarium, and 4D- and 5D-attractions. A small paleo-park with figures of extinct ancient animals that once inhabited the country's territory is located on the museum grounds.

Y. A. Orlov Paleontological Museum

The Y. A. Orlov Paleontological Museum is an integral part of the Paleontological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. It is rightly considered one of the largest natural history museums in the world. The museum's exhibition is dedicated to the evolution of the organic world on Earth.

Moscow Zoo

Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

The Moscow Zoo was founded in 1864 at the initiative of the Imperial Russian Society for the Acclimatization of Animals and Plants. Originally called a zoological garden, it was located on the Presnensky ponds. The zoo houses more than 1,200 species and about 10,000 individuals, including species listed in the Red Data Book. Thematic zones operate here: 'Fauna of Russia' with representatives of animals from different climate zones and ecosystems, and 'Animals of Africa' with giraffes, zebras, and antelopes. Some inhabitants include polar bears, mountain goats, kangaroos, sloths, otters, red and greater flamingos, pumas and white Bengal tigers, Madagascar lemurs, and giraffes.

Museum of Optical Illusions

Photo: culture.ru

This unique interactive space brings optical illusions to life and transports visitors to extraordinary places and worlds. The museum is located next to the cable car by Moscow's most famous observation platform. Guests can be transported to a fairy forest, discover the secrets of ancient Egypt, explore sunken Atlantis, play with tigers, admire a panorama of Moscow from King Kong's hand, snowboard from Vorobyovy Gory, and take stunning photos at dozens of incredible locations. This unusual capital attraction is open every day.

Vadim Zadorozhny Museum of Technology

The largest historical technology museum in Europe. It houses top rare exhibits of the past century: combat vehicles, weapons, rare aircraft, motorcycles and hundreds of retro cars, railway transport, space objects, and household items from the Soviet era. Most exhibits have been restored, are operational, and look flawless. The museum was founded on April 12, 2008, and celebrated its first anniversary in 2018 by being ranked among the top 50 museums in Russia in the nationwide online public vote 'My Favorite Museum — 2018'. The covered exhibition comprises three floors of halls with unique collections of foreign and Soviet retro cars, motorcycles, aircraft, and historical firearms. The spacious outdoor exhibition area of over 3.5 hectares displays examples of domestic and foreign armored vehicles, artillery, and agricultural machines from the 1930s–1980s, as well as a large collection of combat aircraft and helicopters. The museum's collection numbers more than 1,000 exhibits and continues to grow.

Armenian Museum of Moscow and the Cultures of Nations

Photo: m24.ru

The museum's concept is based on preserving the people's identity and preventing distortion of historical facts and realities, particularly regarding the history of Armenia. The museum's exhibitions reflect the development of Armenian culture through its various periods. The exhibits are documented pages of the Armenian people's journey, which has made an undeniable contribution to world culture. The museum presents content in an informative and accessible form so that Armenians of any country, age, profession, or life experience can feel a common 'encoding' of Armenian space — from Armenia as the center to the farthest countries of the diaspora. One of the museum's key goals is to fight fragmentation within the Armenian diaspora. An important part of its work is uniting thinking people on the foundation of love for the homeland and respect for universal human values.