Red Square, the Tretyakov Gallery and GUM - these are the three pillars on which the modern tourist life in Moscow rests. However, even their splendor can become boring. Sometimes you want to go untouched paths, to look at something really non-standard, curious and interesting.
For connoisseurs of exoticism, we offer a list of the most unusual places in Moscow, where everyone will find entertainment to their liking - from walks in nature to an alternative virtual universe.
10. Experimentarium
Address: Leningradsky prospect, 80, building 11
Our selection is opened by a phenomenon of its own kind. This is not just a museum, where exhibits are arranged on shelves and a label is glued to each. No, the real exhibits of the Experimentarium are experiments, from traditional chemical to optical and acoustic illusions, mechanical miracles, as well as magnetic gizmos. And everyone, young and old, can do them.
Moreover, children in the Experimentarium may be more interesting than adults. After all, here you can collect and disassemble things, jump, shout and do dozens of other things that are prohibited in ordinary museums.
And in this unusual institution, shows are regularly held, in which they show and tell in detail (and very spectacularly) about the wonders that are hidden in the world around us.
9. Wall of Viktor Tsoi on Arbat
Address: st. Arbat, 37/2, building 1,
Almost a third of a century has passed since the death of Viktor Tsoi in a car accident. However, as stated by one of the very first inscriptions on the wall, "Choi is alive." And in the hearts of his fans, he will live forever.
The material expression of this love can be seen with your own eyes on the Old Arbat, where for many years Muscovites and guests of the capital have been leaving inscriptions on the wall, pasting photographs and lighting candles. Tsoi's wall is rightfully considered one of main sights of Moscow.
Over the years, both the capital's mayor's office and unknown vandals have repeatedly tried to paint over the wall. However, every time, like a phoenix, she rose from the ashes in all her awkward and touching grandeur.
8. Sandunov baths
Address: Neglinnaya st., 14 p. 3-7
The bathhouse is as much an integral part of Russian national traditions as vodka, matryoshka and balalaika. And the Sandunov Baths are the most famous of all.
In addition to the bathhouse component, they are an impressive monument of Russian architecture at the turn of the century. At the time of their foundation, they shocked the public with an unheard-of luxury then: separate men's and women's departments, a chic mirrored hall, the cleanest linen and the softest sofas.
Two centuries have passed since then, but the Sanduns keep their reputation, so if you want to take a high-quality steam in the atmosphere of "expensive-rich", then you know where to turn. And the queues there are very long, so we recommend booking your seats in advance.
By the way, Sandunovsky Baths is also a cinematic attraction. Their interiors flashed in many films: in "The Irony of Fate", "Brother-2", in the beloved Russian people "Red Heat" and even "Battleship Potemkin".
7.Museum of Soviet slot machines
Address: Prospect Mira, 119, p. 57
This is probably one of the most unusual places in Moscow, which has no analogues in the whole of Russia. It is dedicated to slot machines that were once produced in the USSR.
Middle-aged readers will probably remember how, dropping a fifteen-kopeck piece into the slot, they could play Sea Battle or shoot red targets with a rifle. So, in the museum, these memories can be brought to life again, all the machines in it are fully functional. By the way, they still demand the same 15 kopecks that are issued at the entrance.
6. Moscow House of Butterflies
Address: VDNKh, Prospect Mira 119, bldg. 519
One of the most interesting and exotic museums in Moscow, exhibits of which are real live butterflies. They fly completely freely throughout the room, delighting visitors (and sometimes even frightening - when a giant tropical butterfly with a wingspan of a quarter of a meter flies by).
There is also a more traditional entomological exhibition in the Butterflyarium, which the creators have painstakingly collected around the world for half a century.
We must warn you that butterflies must be handled very carefully - after all, they are valuable museum exhibits. And the visit to the museum is limited to 40 minutes, so it's worth considering in advance what exactly you want to see. The smartest decision is to hire a guide.
5. Zhivopisny bridge
Address: Moscow, 123103
You will not surprise anyone with high and beautiful bridges in the world. What about the highest cable-stayed bridge in Europe?
During the implementation of this project, Moscow architects showed the highest class, and its author was awarded an international prize for achievements in the field of construction.
The main difficulty was represented by environmental restrictions: both banks were "green" zones, where it was impossible to cost anything, plus ships had to sail freely along the river. Therefore, the canvas of the bridge does not go directly across the river, but as if along it, and it is supported by a giant arch of defiantly red color.
This view is really impressive, and a silver capsule suspended under the arch attracts special attention. Once it was planned to make an observation deck there, then a restaurant, and now they are going to open a registry office. This will certainly be the most unusual registry office in the world.
4. Scenery “Moscow. XIX century "
Address: st. Mosfilmovskaya, 1
To see with your own eyes the old Moscow two hundred years ago, you don't need a mad professor and his magic time machine. You just need to come to the territory of the Mosfilm film studio and buy a ticket. And here it is, the same Moscow that Russians saw in many paintings - from the Fandorin saga to "The Horseman Called Death".
This is a real city, albeit slightly ghostly. Although the full face looks eminently real, the profile reveals that the buildings are dummies made of plaster and plywood. However, they were made very reliably: both the old spelling and the peddler's shop with the goods, as well as the firewood carefully stacked by the porch, are not forgotten.
By the way, several times old Moscow, with a slight movement of the hands of the stage workers, turned into revolutionary St. Petersburg, now into bourgeois Paris, but it always returned to its original state.
3. Rowing canal in Krylatskoye
Address: Krylatskaya st., 2
In a city with a population of more than 10 million people, greenery with large water is very rare. That is why the rowing canal in Krylatskoye shines so brightly against the backdrop of the never-sleeping metropolis, where those who wish can touch the world of water sports and gaze at kayaks, canoes and boats.
One of the most beautiful places in Moscow meets the best world sports and entertainment standards. It is completely man-made and isolated from the waters of the Moskva River, where waves from passing tourist ships could interfere with athletes. And the International Canoe Federation generally considers this channel to be the best in the world.
However, such a popular and attractive place for Muscovites is not living by sports alone. Water festivals are often held in Krylatskoye, for example, "Circle of Light" - a pyrotechnic show on water.
2. Bunker-703
Address: 2nd Novokuznetskiy per., 14, building 1
Moscow is rich in bunkers, where the country's government planned to sit out in case of danger, if the Third World War suddenly breaks out. Now, some of these shelters have turned into museums. Bunker-703 was no exception.
The former secret facility, despite its size (three buildings on top, two levels below and a giant ten-ton door that securely seals the entrance to the holy of holies), served not as the headquarters of the KGB, but as a repository of documents. True, top secret.
And he would have served them until now, but groundwater began to seep through the walls, threatening the safety of the papers. Therefore, the documents were hastily evacuated, and a museum was set up in the bunker after restoration. It opened quite recently - last summer.
1. Another World - Virtual Reality Arena
Address: st. Folding, 1 page 1
Virtual reality is still a new and unexplored thing. However, Moscow is ahead of all of Russia. Another World virtual reality club has the largest squares in Europe (at least among those who use the "latest equipment", as the club's website hints).
Its creators have thrown all efforts to make virtual reality as much as possible resemble the reality given to us in sensations. This is served by the very "latest equipment" (ranging from sensors that are abundant in players, weapons that resemble the present, to heat generators, air movement and tremors).
And then! Have you seen films about post-apocalyptic reality? This is where you will find yourself - in the very epicenter. You really run, you really fight, and the insidious enemies dream of truly destroying you. The players say that the sensations are strong. And they recommend playing in a team - it's more fun.