MONUMENTS, MOSAICS, MEMORIALS AND ARCHITECTURE

DAY 1 – WELCOME TO MOSCOW

Meet-and-greet in the lobby of our hotel of choice in Moscow (exact hotel address and meeting time will be communicated well in advance per email; private airport shuttle service available for a small additional fee).

We’ll spend the first day visiting the Soviet-era architectural highlights of the city: modernist, constructivist and socialist-neoclassicist masterpieces, awe-striking metro stations, imposing statues and grandiose monuments, gargantuan USSR-era hotels, mesmerising exhibition grounds and austere mausoleums.

Overnight in Moscow.

DAY 2 – Soviet Glory

We’ll devote our second day in Moscow to the tragic years of the Great Patriotic War, also known as the Second World War.

In the company of a local expert, we’ll retrace the history of the barbaric Nazi aggression to the Soviet capital, their failed attempt to conquer it during the legendary Battle of Moscow and the heroic Soviet counteroffensive.

Our WWII tour around the city will include an essential visit to the Museum of the Great Patriotic War and a de rigueur pilgrimage to some of the most impressive war memorials you will ever see in your lifetime.

Overnight in Moscow.

DAY 3 – OFF THE BEATEN PATH

Our last day in town will be a memorable one, as we will truly go off the beaten path, deep into Moscow’s massive outskirts – hunting for forgotten Soviet mosaics and public artworks, unveiling the raw beauty of socialist mass housing blocks and wandering around authentic food markets, where you’ll have the chance to meet with real dwellers of this post-Soviet megalopolis, an ethnically and culturally diverse array of people coming from every single corner of the former Soviet Empire.

In the late afternoon we’ll be back in central Moscow and, after a well-deserved break at our hotel, we’ll then enjoy a last Soviet-themed night together and unveil yet another rarely seen side of the city.

Forget those testosterone-filled dancing halls, vodka-fuelled stag parties and similar cheap clichés the West like to depict the Muscovite nightlife with: Soviet Tours will take you beyond ridiculous stereotypes and let you discover a more genuine aspect of the city’s after-dark scene, be ready for a surprise!

Overnight in Moscow.

STAR CITY EXTENSION

For those who have a bit more time to spare for their holiday in Soviet Moscow, we can arrange a full-day excursion to Zvyozdny Gorodok, also known as Star City, a highly restricted military facility northeast of Moscow, where Soviet cosmonauts used to train and reside before their missions into the outer space.

The excursion will include an in-depth visit to the Cosmonaut Training Center, a short architectural tour around the surrounding planned town where time seems to stand still and a de rigueur pilgrimage to the Soviet-era statue of Yuri Gagarin.

Overnight in Moscow.

995 €

© Lana Sator

© Gianluca Pardelli