25 most interesting places near Moscow โ photo, description, map
The surroundings of the capital are reminiscent of a giant museum where everything is there. It is not necessary to fly abroad or go into space to find out what alien landscapes, ancient European cities, ancient fortresses, palaces of nobles look like. Interesting places of the Moscow region include natural, architectural monuments, numerous exhibition halls, recreational areas. They are full of secrets and mysteries.
Park Kudykina Gora
The attraction got its name in honor of the legendary place where in the old days people went to get the help of the Magi, wise advice, and healing. The area in the Moscow region is not a park in the legal, organizational sense. There are no rides, multi-meter figures of fairy tale heroes.
If you need an adrenaline rush, a sea of โโemotions, you need to go to the sights of the same name in the Lipetsk region. The main values โโof Kudykina Gora in the Orekhovo-Zuevsky district of the Moscow region: unique energy, history, nature. Magi thousands of years ago performed mysterious rites here. The mountain is known as a place of power. It is believed that taking a selfie next to a homemade landmark brings good luck.
On the territory of Kudykina Gora there is an ancient church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. From its bell tower you can see the Quarry Lake, where, as if in a miracle mirror, birds, the sky, and trees are reflected.
Nikola-Lenivec
The exotic art object is located in the Kaluga region, from the capital it can be reached by car in 3.5 hours. Muscovites often choose the hostel of the same name for family vacations. The attraction was named after the village of Nikola Lenivets, adjacent to the park. The art object is a giant collection of contemporary works of art in the open air.
Experts call it architectural madness, but it is in it that the โzestโ of the largest entertainment complex in Europe lies. The park is open around the clock. His hotels are also a collection of works of art. The villas offered for rent in the complex are built in different styles. Among them are clover-shaped buildings, wagons on wheels, surreal loft-style buildings.
They, along with strange constructions, perfectly fit into the picturesque nature and formed a new space. Popular park activities: hiking, horseback riding and cycling, master classes in folk crafts, tasting honey, farm vegetables and fruits. The gifts of nature are grown without the use of pesticides, which is also exotic today.
Museum โNew Jerusalemโ
The State Museum and Exhibition Complex in the city of Istra is striking in its scale. Exhibitions of international level are regularly held on its territory, in the halls you can see masterpieces created in any style. Currently, the museum has more than 180 thousand items: icons, manuscripts, awards, paintings, examples of applied art. This is one of the few art objects where free amateur photography is allowed.
The first collection of antiquities, with which the โNew Jerusalemโ traces its history, was collected 150 years ago and is dedicated to the monastery of the same name. There is evidence that her age is at least 2 times greater. The museum has repeatedly changed its location and name, and in the 21st century it was recognized as one of the largest in Russia.
A special part of it is occupied by an art gallery with paintings by famous domestic and foreign artists. According to these paintings, it is easy to see how the techniques for depicting human faces have changed over the centuries: from schematic to multidimensional.
Museum Estate Arkhangelskoye
The history of the palace and park ensemble is associated with the names of great Russian statesmen and nobles. Its architecture is consonant with Versailles. The first mention of the estate is found in documents of the 16th century. Rarities belonging to the princely dynasties of the Golitsyns, Odoevskys, and Yusupovs are kept here. All 3 clans were considered cursed by the people, therefore few people are surprised that tourists in the estate periodically see ghosts.
Arkhangelsk consists of 2 palaces, several temples and recreational areas. The museum-estate is open for year-round visits. Monuments to Russian sovereigns and the rebellious poet Alexander Pushkin coexist on its territory. This is very symbolic, because the owners of the estate hosted the Decembrists, revolutionaries, they themselves actively participated in state conspiracies.
Exhibitions of objects of decorative and applied art, masterpieces of painting are constantly held in Arkhangelsk, lectures and concerts are held. One of the visiting cards of the museum: a large-scale summer jazz festival.
Vadim Zadorozhny Museum of Technology
The exhibition space is located next to the Arkhangelskoye Palace and Park Ensemble. The private museum is considered the largest in Europe in terms of the number of exhibits and the area it occupies. In its halls you can see not only domestic, foreign cars. The museum's collection includes rare, unique examples of military, aviation, and space technology.
It has more than 100 exhibits, some of which are located in the open air. The museum operates in summer and winter modes, so it is better to check the time of visiting exhibitions in advance. Holidays and historical reconstructions are regularly held on its territory. The most popular entertainments among the guests of the museum: shooting at a shooting range, training in assembling and disassembling a Kalashnikov assault rifle, auto walks in vintage cars, military armored vehicles.
Manor Serednikovo
A cult place for fans of Mikhail Lermontov's work in the Solnechnogorsk region has repeatedly changed names and owners over the 5 centuries of its existence. For 33 years, Serednikovo belonged to the Arsenyevs, the family of the great poet's grandmother. After the death of Lermontov, evil fate began to pursue the estate. The estate was visited by celebrities, but its owners were on the verge of bankruptcy.
In 1917, Serednikovo was nationalized, and later the state did not take measures to save the unique object. During the Great Patriotic War, there was a line of defense near the estate, there were battles, then a medical institution worked in the estate.
It was possible to restore the architectural ensemble built in the style of Russian classicism with hints of Gothic only at the end of the last century. Today there is a Sunday school in Serednikovo. The estate is open to the public, it regularly hosts exhibitions of all-Russian, global scale, presentations. A film town Piligrim Porto has been created on the territory. Its facilities, along with ancient buildings, are actively rented by film companies.
Piligrim Porto Movie City
An entertainment venue in the Solnechnogorsk region is called a ghost town. 2.5 hectares are occupied by scenery, against which filming and photo shoots take place. In it, tourists get the feeling of traveling in time and space (300 years ago to Europe). There are residential buildings, taverns, fortress walls, market rows, wells, a port, a cemetery, a prison. Everything looks realistic. And after all objects from a chipboard and gypsum cardboard are created.
In some houses of the cinema town, antique furniture has been recreated, there are copies of ancient utensils. The main attraction of Piligrim Porto: a frigate in a pit. During filming, a huge pit was filled with water. The ship was built according to European drawings.
It looks interesting even in the โland versionโ. Film City is popular with fans of quests, costume parties, and private VIP parties. Any photo and video filming on the territory is paid.
Ethnographic park-museum Ethnomir
In Russia, there is a network of entertainment complexes with the same name. The journey to Etnomir from the Kievsky railway station in Moscow (with a transfer to Balabanovo by taxi) takes 2-2.5 hours. Transfer services are provided for tourist groups. The complex occupies 140 hectares. There are hotels, guest houses, amusement parks, real and virtual attractions.
Ethnomir is an alternative to multi-day trips. It allows you to plunge into the authentic atmosphere, to feel the exoticism of different countries. In it you can touch the era of the USSR and the ancient times of the domination of nomadic tribes, the culture of the Slavic and Asian peoples.
The complex includes museums of matches, Russian stoves, stones and minerals, irons, dolls. Its buildings are exact copies of world-famous architectural monuments. Master classes are very popular with visitors to Ethnomir, where experts teach how to create amulets and jewelry using ancient technologies.
The museum has workshops for soap making, baking, glass painting, water drawings, Smaltese mosaics, and pottery. Ethnomir is famous for its unique exhibitions, baths, national cafes and restaurants.
Museum-Reserve โBorodino Fieldโ
The history of this place in the Mozhaisk region was redefined until 1812. The wife of General Tuchkov had a dream where Maria learned about the death of her husband near Borodino and her fate to become the abbess of the monastery. After the battle, the woman found her husband's body, was declared insane by her relatives, was able to obtain the support of the imperial family in the construction of the temple complex, and provided shelter for widows who did not want to remarry.
There are legends that she predicted the time of the battles near Moscow in the 40s of the XX century, because I.V. Stalin personally ordered her diaries to be classified. Years later, the House of Mother Superior Mary (along with the monastery) became one of the attractions of the Borodino Field protected area. On the territory of the museum there are more than 300 historical objects, among them: the palace, mass graves, fortifications, parks.
The exhibition halls and funds contain paintings by artists, weapons of the defenders of the Fatherland of different generations, old coins, photographs, personal belongings of L.N. Tolstoy. It is noteworthy that the creator of the novel โWar and Peaceโ was excommunicated from the church, but the exhibition dedicated to the heroes of his work works in the temple part of the complex.
Bird Park โSparrowsโ
The bird nursery was organized in 2005 near the village of Sparrows in the Kaluga region. Initially, enthusiastic ornithologists were engaged in the selection of exotic birds from distant countries and birds from almost all regions of Russia. Over time, the owners began to breed rare wild animals, which led to the creation of a small farm called the Sparrow Bird Park. Its staff, in addition to caring for birds and animals, is engaged in breeding parrot chicks, poultry and animal breeding. Today, more than 3,000 rare birds, animals, fish, reptiles live here, excellent conditions for family holidays have been created. The park consists of 2 parts. In one of them there is a rock garden, closed pavilions for representatives of the world of flora and fauna. The structure of the โSparrowsโ includes an ostrich farm, bath complexes, sports grounds.
The place is popular with outdoor enthusiasts, fans of quad biking, badminton, horseback riding. The infrastructure includes a hotel, cafe, barbeque, barbecue area, areas for corporate and family celebrations. The park regularly hosts entertainment programs, quizzes, master classes, and sales of designer souvenirs.
The park, together with the Ivolga and Golovinka recreation centers, form a harmonious recreation and ecotourism complex. Visitors will not only be able to admire the wildlife, but also hear from the guide the interesting history of the estate. For the first time the village of Sparrows was mentioned in historical writings in 1627.
Prioksko-Terrasny Nature Reserve
The specially protected area occupies almost 5,000 hectares. The reserve was established in 1945. It is surrounded by villages and is a kind of indicator: scientists use it to compare indicators on changes in the environmental situation in the Moscow region. Small rivers flow on the territory, there are lakes and swamps.
The relief of this corner of the Moscow region is very peculiar: boulders, hollows, funnels, hills. They formed an unusual environment where steppe and meadow plants, steppe forests and pine, linden, oak forests coexist. Sparrows, capercaillie, hazel grouse, kites, pigeons, owls, tits, woodpeckers and other birds are the main inhabitants of the reserve. Wild boars, roe deer, deer, foxes, hedgehogs, moles, hares, beavers, squirrels live here, but bison are recognized as the hallmark of the area. It is for them that a separate nursery has been created.
Excursions in the reserve take place daily. Several routes operate on the territory all year round, but the complex of rope crossings and suspension bridges does not work in the cold. In the reserve there is an interesting art object โSeasonsโ, it creates the illusion of the presence of bison next to people.
Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra
The largest Russian spiritual Orthodox center has played a special role in the history of the state since its opening. At the same time, the Lavra serves as an educational, cultural space, a museum where relics, miraculous icons, handwritten and printed church books, and precious utensils are kept. It consists of temples built at different times, they form, despite the stylistic difference, a harmonious ensemble.
The buildings of the complex show how Russian church architecture has changed over the past centuries. The ascetic forms of buildings here are not overshadowed by the luxury of baroque decorations. Icons for temples were created by Andrei Rublev, Daniil Cherny, who were canonized by the church as saints, and many more masters whose names have not been preserved in the annals.
Every day, thousands of tourists and pilgrims come to the monastery founded by Sergius of Radonezh to admire the buildings, bow to the relics of Orthodox saints, receive advice and blessings from the elders.
Waterfall Gremyachiy Klyuch
The place is located not far from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, it is covered with numerous legends. Monks, laymen believe: the springs arose through the prayer of Sergius of Radonezh. The saint was tired on the way, he was tormented by thirst, he prayed, and the water found its way through the stones. The waterfall, indeed, beats from limestone crevices at a height of 20 meters.
The water is saturated with radon. The chemical element is contained in exactly the safe concentration that allows the liquid to be used to treat diseases. It is noteworthy that the name โGremyachyโ refers to pre-Christian times. It was these sources that the ancient Slavs once worshiped. They believed: water appears in places where lightning strikes the ground, and is a gift from the gods.
Nowadays, next to the source there is a chapel, a temple, a font. Orthodox pilgrims from all over Russia come to the waterfall in the hope of receiving healing.
Children's dream space
The largest family entertainment complex is working, but its existence in the current park-hotel format is in doubt. On this territory in Domodedovo there are museums of a shoe, fairy tales, a cow, a happy Soviet childhood. The structure of the complex includes the Skazka park, the Kolobok art gallery, a garden nursery, and a tavern.
Figures of magical characters are installed in the art space, a military dugout from the Second World War is open to the public, there is a small zoo, and conditions for childrenโs, family, and corporate recreation have been created. It will not be possible to see all the sights, unique exhibits, visit amazing attractions, play on the playgrounds in 1 day.
Experienced travelers are advised to stay in park hotels. Externally, the interiors of the buildings differ significantly, but each of them has a wonderful atmosphere. The hotels have baths, swimming pools, rooms where you can relax next to bee hives, immerse yourself in a multidimensional fantastic space. Some of the rooms occupy the territory of the Domodedovo Kremlin, which gives them a special charm.
Romantsev mountains
A tourist site in the Tula region (220 kilometers from the capital), many guidebooks add to the list of attractions of the Moscow region. This is probably due to the fact that the city of Novomoskovsk is located nearby. The fame of the anomalous zone, where UFOs often appear, is firmly entrenched behind the Romantsevsky Mountains. There are no stone giants in the vicinity.
The main โbuilding materialโ of the mountains: pressed clay. The place is interesting because nature and people (coal in the area was once mined in an open way) formed the Martian landscape. Do you dream of being in the desert?
Visit the suburbs of Novomoskovsk, where you can meet landscapes reminiscent of Saudi Arabia. Favorite entertainment for tourists on the Romantsevskiye Gory: skiing from a 200-meter white embankment on ATVs, sandboarding. Another surprise for selfie fans against the backdrop of the exotic: there are dwarf plants in the area.
Syanovskie caves
The system of quarry caves attracts with its mysteries. It is believed that stone mining for the construction of the capital began here 400 years ago. However, well-known historians put forward versions that artificial caves were created 500 years earlier. In Soviet times, all entrances were covered under the ground, and in the new century, the monument gained a second life.
Part of the communications of the quarries was restored. At the moment, the entrance to the caves from Domodedovo is open. The main underground attractions of the quarry are the temple, the Milky Way grottoes (in which, when light hits the vault, there is a feeling that the stars are twinkling) and Gromov. The latter is easier to get into than to get out through the same hole. Caves traditionally attract speleologists, lovers of mysticism, because, according to eyewitnesses, ghosts often appear in them.
Sand dunes in Sychevo
The attraction is located in the Volokolamsk region on the territory of a sand pit. This is another place near the capital where you can see the Martian landscape. This is exactly what the red planet might have looked like after the colonization of its USSR. In a once popular Soviet song there are lines: โAnd apple trees will bloom on Mars!โ. There are no fruit trees in the dunes, but there are old towers and sunken barges everywhere.
On the territory there is a huge number of reservoirs of green and blue color. They were formed from the water that filled the pits. Dunes are traditionally chosen by lovers of beach holidays, fishing, and extreme sports. There is a great opportunity to go sandboarding, ride SUVs, ATVs and just have fun with sports fans.
White mountain from phosphogypsum
A visit to the sights near the city of Voskresensk is a chance to visit the Moon without space flights and weightlessness. The presence of such an object is compared by many with an environmental disaster. However, the authorities assure: the mountain is absolutely safe. Its real height: 200 meters.
In official sources, the figure is often indicated 2 times less. Phosphogypsum slopes attract extreme lovers. To stop the uncontrolled flow of tourists, the administration of the local plant closed access to the snow-white waste heap.
At the moment there are no jeep tours and cycling tours, however, a group visit with escorts without access to the summit is provided. The snow-white mountain is surrounded by lakes that arose on the site of quarries, swamps, birch, pine forests. Hares, beavers, wild boars, elk settled down superbly on the territory; the area is famous for its abundance of berries and mushrooms.
Vladimirskaya Church in Bykovo
The monument is located in the Ramensky district and is a confirmation that the Gothic style was not alien to Russian architecture. The main difference between the temple and similar European buildings is that it is finished with white stone, therefore it does not evoke gloomy feelings. There are versions: the church was designed by the architect Vasily Bazhenov.
The following is known for certain: the famous freemason, the developer of unique drawings for Orthodox churches, the โfather of Russian pseudo-Gothicโ (which is paradoxical in itself) designed neighboring buildings. The architecture of the temple is unique: it managed to harmoniously combine the features of ancient Russian and Byzantine church styles, European classicism, and baroque sophistication.
This is another argument in favor of the version that the author of the project is Bazhenov. Near the temple there is a bell tower, from its height offers a stunning view of the old noble estate. Many church icons and frescoes were destroyed during the years of Soviet power. Today, services are being held in the temple, and parishioners of the local Orthodox community are trying to restore the shrine to its original appearance.
Air Force Museum in Monino
Distance between the capital and the unique complex: 25 kilometers. The museum owns one of the best collections of civilian and military equipment in the world. According to official figures, there are more than 51,000 items in it. Unique exhibits are placed in halls, hangars, in the open air. In Monino you can find literally everything: from tools, technical details to works of art dedicated to the history of the Air Force, legendary pilots and astronauts.
Of particular interest are its pre-revolutionary exhibits. A significant part of the exhibition space is occupied by equipment from the times of the Great Patriotic War. All hangars of the complex are historical monuments. The museum is open daily from Wednesday to Sunday. Entrance to it is paid, prices for visiting the halls, sightseeing tours vary. On holidays, large-scale celebrations take place on the territory.
For those who dream of visiting Monino at this time, experienced travelers are advised to purchase tickets, book rooms in local, metropolitan hotels, inns, guest houses at least 1.5-2 months before the events โ otherwise there is a high probability of not getting to the holidays.
Abramtsevo Museum-Reserve
If you drive about 60 km northeast of the city limits of Moscow, you can get to the territory of the Abramtsevo Museum-Reserve. In the first half of the 18th century, the first settlement arose here, which eventually acquired the appearance of a manor. The estate was then called the family home of the landowner, surrounded by outbuildings and other buildings. The owner of Abramtsevo was the famous writer and public figure S.T. Aksakov. The estate was acquired by him in 1843.
Here the writer created all his best works. โNotes on catching fishโ is still relevant among avid fishermen. Hunters and today are read out โNotes of the gun hunter of the Orenburg provinceโ. The autobiographical novels โFamily Chronicleโ and โChildhood of Bagrov the Grandsonโ are included in the extracurricular reading program in many schools. And finally, who in childhood did not read the fairy tale โThe Scarlet Flowerโ, based on which the famous cartoon of the same name was shot.
The writer in his estate received N.V. Gogol, I.S. Turgenev, M.S. Shchepkina and many other celebrities of that time. In 1870, S.I. became the owner of the estate. Mamontov, who was known as a railway industrialist, philanthropist โ the founder of the first private opera in the Russian Empire. At his invitation, famous Russian artists such as Polenov, Vasnetsov, Serov, Repin, Korovin, Vrubel, and others lived and worked here.
In the thirties of the last century, the association of artists โNovo-Abramtsevoโ was located on the territory of the estate with an area of โโ49 hectares, and the estate acquired the status of the Abramtsevo Museum-Reserve. The museum unites the manor house (1760), the Studio-workshop (1874), Banya-Teremok (1878), the Church of the Savior Not Made by Hands (1882), the children's gazebo โHut on chicken legsโ (1883) and the main building of the museum, built in the style of socialist realism in the 30s of the last century. The museum collection contains about 28 thousand objects of painting, graphics, ceramics, etc.
Mozhaisk reservoir
The artificial reservoir arose as a result of the construction of a dam in the channel of the Moskva River for the Mozhaisk power plant in 1962. On the banks of the reservoir are the villages of Moskvoretskaya Sloboda, Marfin-Brod, Kriushino, Troitsa, Pozdnyakovo, Glazovo, Khotilovo, Aksanovo, Krasnovidovo, Myshkino and the village of Gidrouzel.
The reservoir, popularly nicknamed the Mozhaisk Sea, is located 100 kilometers west of the city limits of the capital in the Mozhaisk district of the Moscow region. Thirty-three hectares of water mirror is the purest drinking water. The artificial lake is surrounded on all sides by forests, which creates an atmosphere filled with an oxygen cocktail from the aromas of forest flora.
On weekends and on holidays, residents of the capital and the Moscow region come here to take off the burden of city bustle, ventilate their lungs, recharge their good mood and vigor for the whole working week. The beach sandy strip occupies 8 kilometers of the coastline of the reservoir. Near the village of Krasnovidovo, on a spit leading to the Mozhaisk reservoir, there is a park-hotel โKrasnovidovoโ.
The recreation center offers modest panel houses and comfortable cottages for living. You can rent a covered gazebo for 30 people for celebrations or celebrate a wedding in a banquet hall for 300 people. In addition, there is a restaurant and a sauna. You can also organize hunting and fishing trips.
Senezh lake
Senezh is not a natural water formation โ it is an artificial reservoir. It was created in 1826 in the form of a canal connecting the channels of the Istra and Sestra rivers. Its construction was caused by the need to deliver building stone for the construction of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior from the Volga to Moscow. The canal was built for a quarter of a century, having built three locks and a dam, breaking through 8.5 km of earthen channel.
Over time, a railway line was built parallel to the canal and the need for a waterway disappeared. Senezh was forgotten and abandoned for some time. Today, on the shores of Lake Senezh stands the city of Solnechnogorsk, surrounded by small villages. Residents of Moscow and the Moscow region consider Senezh a paradise for fishing enthusiasts. A lot of fishing enthusiasts come here for the weekend.
Here you can see fishermen with float rods, spinning rods, feeders and other gear. In the evening, by the fire, you can hear stories about fabulous catches of bream, pike, golden carp, roach, eel, perch, tench and ruff. On the lake you can use the services of several fishing bases.
Zaraisk Kremlin
The oldest fortress near Moscow is a unique monument of Russian defensive architecture of the early 16th century. For all the time of its existence, the Kremlin has practically retained its original appearance. A feature of the fortress are its walls, which are 9 meters high and 3 meters thick. Over time, a vast settlement was formed around the Kremlin, which later became the city of Zaraysk. The first mention of the city in chronicles dates back to 1146.
The Zaraisk Kremlin was finally erected in 1531 by decree of Tsar Vasily III. In the external appearance of the fortification, the influence of Italian architects on Russian architecture is clearly visible. This is evidenced by the teeth of the walls in the form of a dovetail. At the end of the 17th century, the fortress, which was subjected to repeated sieges, lost its defensive significance due to a number of historical events. Today, the Zaraisk Kremlin is a large museum complex located on 25 thousand sq.m.
The central place is occupied by the white-stone Nikolsky Cathedral, built during the time of Ivan the Terrible. The miraculous icon of St. Nicholas of Zaraisk is kept in the cathedral. Also here is the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist and the building of the former religious school with extensive collections of paintings, sculptures, drawings and arts and crafts.
Kolomna Kremlin
The ancient Kremlin is the main attraction of the city of Kolomna. Fortifications were erected to protect the southern border of the Moscow principality. The remains of the walls with the preserved seven towers form an open area of โโone of the districts of the city, along which residents and guests of the city freely walk.
The central place of the Kremlin ensemble is occupied by Cathedral Square, built in the 14th century. Here is the Assumption Cathedral, the hipped bell tower, the Tikhvin Church and a monument with the figures of Cyril and Methodius. On the south side, the Novogolutvinsky convent adjoins the Cathedral Square, and at the western wall is the Assumption Brusensky convent.
On the site of the lost Grand Duke's Palace, there is the only tram museum in Russia. On the territory of the museum complex there is a local history museum, souvenir shops and several cafes. Excursions and interactive programs are constantly held here.