On the radar: Moscow
Moscow has been hounded as one of the most expensive cities in the world. Russians hounded as being unwelcoming. Nothing could be further from the truth. Okay, a hotel room in Moscow can seriously put your travel budget over the edge but flights are super cheap right now! You can fly for little more than £120 (one-way, tax included) from London on a regular scheduled flight, British Airways for example.
As for hospitality, you can certainly get around the city with English... if not then having a translation app on your smartphone goes a long way! The city hits our radar for cool places to see not only because there are a ton of flight deals to the Russian capital right now but because they're really upping their hospitality game, especially in the art scene.
The old Red October chocolate factory has gotten a major face-lift and houses some of the best galleries, bars and restaurants in the city now! The factory is on Bolotny Island in the middle of Moscow River and is an icon for the city. The old Red October factory even plays its part in the Moscow Biennale which takes place every other year, attracting the attention of contemporary art lovers and collections from all over Russia and abroad.
If you're interesting in heading out to Moscow to get a taste for its art scene there are a ton of other galleries to check out besides the ones on Bolotny Island. Here are just a sampling:
- Trtyakov Gallery - in the boyar castle in Zamoskvorechie with an amazing collection of pre-revolutionary Russian art
- Pushkin Fine Arts Museum - mostly European works but nonetheless incredible
- Shilov Gallery - this museum houses the life works of Alexander Shilov who dedicated his painting career to portraits
- Glazunov Gallery - located just opposite the Pushkin Museum, here you'll find work from Ilya Glazunv, a post-Soviet artist
- Winzavod - check out this gallery behind Kursky vokzal, exhibit space for Moscow's edgy artists
- Moscow House of Photography - exhibiting mostly small collections of photos from the Soviet era
Will you be Moscow-bound this year?
Image: ddrueding / Flickr cc.