125 Best Sights in Moscow, Russia

This popular boating and picnicking spot is the site of the 18th-century summer palace that was started but never completed for Catherine the Great. The empress pulled down the work of her first architect; the second building phase was never completed, probably for financial reasons, and her heirs took no interest in Tsaritsyno. Now the kitchen, Gothic Revival main palace, and grounds have been restored, and a collection of porcelain, paintings, and sculptures are on display in the theater.

Marina Tsvetaeva (1892–1941), the renowned poet, lived in an apartment on the second floor of this building from 1914 to 1922. Today the building houses not only a museum dedicated to her but also a cultural center that arranges international literary evenings, musical events, and annual conferences covering the poet and the Silver Age (1890s–1917) in general. You must ring the bell to enter the museum, which begins on the second floor. Although the rooms are decorated in the style of the early 1900s, they are not as they were when Tsvetaeva lived here. The poetry written on the wall in her bedroom has been re-created. The children's room has some stuffed animals in place of the real animals—a dog, a squirrel, and a turtle, to name a few—that Tsvetaeva kept in her home.

This last section of ulitsa Tverskaya leads to Belorussky railway station, which also has two interconnecting metro stations. The entrances to all three stations are spread along the edge of sprawling ploshchad Tverskaya Zastava, known for its gnarled traffic patterns caused by construction projects that have occupied it for years. Lately, the area surrounding the square has become home to a number of popular restaurants, including the gastropub favorite Ragout and a midrange steakhouse called Torro Grill. Belorussky station is where trains roll in from Western Europe (and from Sheremetyevo airport on the Aeroexpress) and is the site of the former Triumphal Gates, built in the 19th century by the architect Osip Bove to commemorate the Russian victory in the war with Napoléon. The gates were demolished in a typical fit of destruction in the 1930s. A replica of the original gates was erected in 1968 near Poklonnaya Hill, at the end of Kutuzovsky prospekt.

An excellent traditional theater is housed within this impressive structure named after the great acting teacher Stanislavsky's pupil Evgeny Vakhtangov (1883–1922). The gold statue of Princess Turandot and stone fountain to the right of the theater were created in honor of the 850th anniversary of Moscow in 1997; they are loved and hated by an equal proportion of Muscovites.

In 1812 Napoléon allegedly waited in vain for the keys to Moscow atop Poklonnaya Gora, a hill razed in the 1970s to build Triumphal Arch, a World War II memorial unveiled in 1995 in time for the 50th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany. The memorial is the centerpiece of the 335-acre park that also houses a World War II museum, a chapel, and an outdoor display of vintage weaponry. Victory Park is a popular spot for festivities on public holidays, including Victory Day, Orthodox Easter, and Christmas. On a warm day, expect to see strolling couples and hordes of rollerbladers, including entire families rollerblading together. The park is near the Park Pobedy metro station, on the dark-blue line about 20 minutes from the city center.