Moscow, like any metropolis, and even the capital of the state, seeks to surprise both guests and residents. For this reason, the most interesting museums, exhibitions, entertainment centers and memorial complexes are concentrated here. A rich history coexists with modern achievements in various fields. Side by side can be architectural monuments of past centuries and advanced buildings, for example, the Moskvarium.
The Russian capital is huge in terms of its area, and there is something interesting in every corner. On one street, a famous writer lived, on another, some significant event for the city was taking place, the third became the place where the gallery was organized. Extensive collections and unique artifacts - all this can be found in Moscow. The main thing is to follow your tastes and be able to perceive something new.
Must-see museums in Moscow
The most interesting and popular museums. List, photo with titles and descriptions.
Moscow Kremlin Museums
It was founded in 1806, but has existed in its current form since 1991. The general complex includes several buildings, each with its own exposition and specialization. The Armory also serves as a treasury. It contains gifts to the royal family, royal symbols and other values. The Diamond Fund is an exhibition of jewelry items. There are also Orthodox cathedrals: Assumption, Arkhangelsk, Annunciation, as well as the Church of the Deposition of the Robe. Special relics are iconostases and tombs of kings. Exhibitions are held in the Patriarch's Chambers, as in the Ivan the Great Bell Tower. The upper floors are reserved for the museum of the architecture of the Kremlin itself.
Address: Moscow, Kremlin
Website: kreml.ru
State Historical Museum
Founded in 1872, moved to the current building three years later. The exposition of the museum shows the history from ancient times to the present. The museum funds are so large that less than a percent of their total number can be exhibited at the same time. It contains: icons, jewelry, coins, ceramics, copies of the interiors of iconic places, maps, documents and much more.
Address: Moscow, Red Square, 1
Site: shm.ru
Tretyakov Gallery
Opened in 1856. An art museum named after its founder. On the territory of the gallery, there is a permanent exhibition that includes samples of Russian painting from different schools and periods. Especially valuable and famous are the paintings of Repin, Kramskoy, Shishkin, Vasnetsov and others. In addition to paintings, the collection also includes icons. It also hosts temporary exhibitions.
Address: Moscow, Lavrushinsky lane, 10
Site: tretyakovgallery.ru
Victory Museum
Opened in 1995. Includes several thematic rooms. The country's heroes are immortalized in the Hall of Fame. In the Hall of Generals there are holders of the Order of Victory. The Hall of Memory and Sorrow is intended to honor millions of citizens who died during the Second World War. There is also a collection of items that tell about the war. The museum maintains a "Memory Book". Military equipment is on display in the park nearby.
Address: Moscow, Victory Square, 3
Website: victorymuseum.ru
Darwin Museum
The year of foundation is 1907. At the very end of the last century, the museum received a new building. It is the largest natural science museum in Europe. The exhibits tell about evolution and related processes. The exhibition is quite modern: there are computers in the halls that help to deal with the received material on their own. The museum is recommended for visiting with children.
Address: Moscow, st. Vavilova, 57
Website: darwinmuseum.ru
Paleontological Museum
It was founded in 1937, and thirty years later it was named after Dr. Orlov. The museum consists of six halls and a large adjacent territory. The tour tells about the history of paleontology and research within Moscow. The exhibits of the exhibition are skeletons and fossils found all over the world and belonging to different eras. Themed events and workshops are held in the courtyard.
Address: Profsoyuznaya, 123
Site: paleo.ru
Moscow City Museum
Created in 1896. In 2009 he received a new building - Provision warehouses. The funds of the museum are diverse and extensive. They contain a wide variety of art objects, from archaeological finds to art collections. That is why the name of the museum was so comprehensive. The territory of the museum is also used for lectures, children's events, summer festivals and more.
Address: Moscow, Zubovsky Boulevard, 2
Website: mosmuseum.ru
Pushkin Museum
Founded in 1912. It is one of the largest museums of foreign art in Russia. Initially, the collection was based on paintings from the houses of Moscow merchants. Subsequently, the funds were replenished several times. The halls are divided according to eras, styles and geography. Painting, sculpture, graphics, numismatics, decorative arts, archeology - this is an incomplete list of what you can see here.
Address: Volkhonka, 12
Website: pushkinmuseum.art
Museum-panorama Battle of Borodino
Opened in 1962. In addition to the panorama itself, the work of Roubaud, the exhibition includes a collection of books, graphics, a collection of numismatics, paintings and weapons. All this is directly related to the events of the battle or that time period. The museum has a permanent exhibition, sometimes it is supplemented or undergoes changes, so it is impossible to exhibit all the funds at once.
Address: Moscow, Kutuzovsky prospect, 38, p. 1
Site: 1812panorama.ru
Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics
Founded in 1981. The exposition consists of personal and memorable things of cosmonauts, samples of space technology, archives and documents, and other items related to space. Guests can feel like the inhabitants of the Mir station, thanks to the recreated environment. Important exhibits are samples of spacesuits, stuffed Belka and Strelka, a lunar rover, lunar soil and so on.
Address: Moscow, Prospect Mira, 111
Site: kosmo-museum.ru
Moskvarium
Opened in 2015. Built on the territory of VDNKh. On an area of more than twelve thousand square meters, there are aquariums of different sizes with fresh and salt water. More than twelve thousand sea animals live in them. Visitors can not only walk among these beauties on their own, but also attend one of the special programs of the Moskvarium.
Address: Moscow, Prospect Mira, 119, p. 23
Website: moskvarium.ru
Multimedia Art Museum
Opened in 1996. In addition to the photography museum, there is also an exhibition complex that hosts all kinds of temporary collections. Collections on the history of photography from different periods are published under the auspices of the project leaders. Thematic events and contests are held here. There are both regular programs and sporadic endeavors designed to popularize the art of photography.
Address: Ostozhenka, 16
Site: mamm-mdf.ru
Central Museum of the Armed Forces
Founded in 1919. Almost forty years later, the museum received a new building, and already in the 2000s, equipment and technical means were changed here. The museum has extensive funds, so the exposition is periodically updated. In twenty-four halls are located: weapons, banners, uniforms, relics, trophies and more. The exhibits are presented by period and grouped.
Address: Soviet Army, 2, building 1
Site: cmaf.ru
Cold War Museum (Stalin's Bunker on Taganka)
Opened in 2006. Located in the bunker. It was planned for use in the event of a nuclear strike and was equipped for commanding troops from a distance. Many attributes of that time have been preserved in the bunker. There is also a cinema here. A hall with exhibits and a copy of the command post are located nearby. Description of the internal life is part of the excursion.
Address: Moscow, 5th Kotelnichesky lane, 11
Website: bunker42.com
Oriental Museum
Founded in 1918.The collection of the museum is one of the largest in the world, dedicated to the countries of the East, their traditions and art. The exhibitions are divided into halls and are dedicated to each separate territory. Here are collected national costumes, household items, jewelry, unusual types of crafts and more. In addition to permanent exhibitions, temporary exhibitions are also organized. Also lectures are given here.
Address: Moscow, Nikitsky Boulevard, 12 A
Site: orientmuseum.ru
Mosfilm Museum
Created in 1995. Its opening was prompted by practical considerations and the need to store iconic props and decorations somewhere. Such rarities constitute the basis of the exposition. The same applies to the costumes: some of them will be recognized immediately by museum visitors, as they have seen in the studio's cult films. The collection is constantly replenished, and one thing is replacing the other.
Address: Mosfilmovskaya, 1
Website: mosfilm.ru
Izmailovsky Kremlin
Opened in 2001. It represents a recreated manor house, complemented by some architectural elements. Several museums operating on the territory of the Kremlin are quite unusual: the Vodka Museum, the Bread Museum, the Museum of Ill-Bred Children and others. There are also workshops here, offering to get acquainted with examples of folk art and various industries. Some rooms can be rented for events.
Address: Moscow, Izmailovskoe Highway, 73 Zh
Website: kremlin-izmailovo.com
Moscow planetarium
Opened in 1929. The oldest planetarium in the country, one of the largest in the world. There are several halls inside the building, divided into levels. There are special programs for children and a cinema with a three-dimensional image. The observatory is open, and everyone can get access to the telescope of impressive size. The tour also includes a story about the history of the planetarium itself.
Address: Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya, 5, bldg. 1
Site: planetarium-moscow.ru
Winzavod Center for Contemporary Art
Opened to visitors in 2007. It is a center of contemporary art, located on the territory of a former factory. There are several exhibition halls on the territory of the complex - they are ex-workshops for the most part. A monthly newspaper is published under the auspices of the center. Winery events are usually noisy and vibrant and attract a lot of attention. The galleries work on a permanent basis, but the exhibitions change.
Address: Moscow, 4th Syromyatnichesky lane, 1/8, bldg. 6
Site: winzavod.ru
State Literary Museum
Founded in 1934. Became a union of two museums similar in subject matter. The funds and the exposition are based on the idea of studying the history of literature. All rarities related to this area of the museum's activities are immediately sent for study. Among the important exhibits are archives of Russian writers, documents, signed books, rare photographs, handwritten texts, drafts, etc.
Address: Moscow, Trubnikovskiy lane, 17, building 1
Site: goslitmuz.ru
All-Russian Museum of Decorative, Applied and Folk Art
Opened in 1981. It is one of the largest museums in the world of this subject. The types of exhibits are different: costumes, jewelry, furniture, toys, porcelain, samovars and much more. They are made in traditional styles. Some collections are unique and are not found anywhere else, while others are the face of the era and were characteristic of their time. The museum is also the center for a range of special programs.
Address: Delegatskaya, 3
Site: vmdpni.ru
Museum of Soviet slot machines
Opened in 2007. Private project. The museum was constantly moving, but stayed in the last place. It has several branches in other cities. During the tour, visitors receive Soviet coins to play on the machines. All samples, and there are about eighty of them here, are in working order. They have to be assembled in detail: out of three non-working ones, one is functioning.
Address: Moscow, Prospect Mira, 119, Pavilion 57
Website: 15kop.ru
Museum of optical illusions
Began to receive visitors in 2014. Located on the Arbat. An area of one thousand square meters has become a single canvas for artists from many cities of Russia. They faithfully and imaginatively portrayed reviving pictures, as well as works that change depending on the angle and point of view. It is especially good to come here with a company and a camera.
Address: Moscow, Maly Nikolopeskovsky per., 4
Website: bigcreative.fun
Museum of vintage cars on Rogozhsky Val
Now it bears the name "Moscow Transport". The exposition of the museum - more than three hundred units of vehicles, both domestic and foreign production. Here are: passenger cars, special equipment, motorcycles, trucks, racing cars and so on. All of them have been restored and restored to their proper condition, many on the move. The tour includes a story about the evolution of vehicles.
Address: Rogozhsky Val, 9/2
Site: mtmuseum.ru
Polytechnical Museum
Founded in 1872. It is one of the oldest museums in the world of this direction. His initial funds were samples from the Polytechnic Exhibition. The museum census numbers more than two hundred thousand exhibits of various values and trends. A special place in the exposition is occupied by a collection of vehicles, models of computer technology and exhibits under the general title "Radio electronics and communications".
Address: Moscow, Novaya square, 3/4
Site: polymus.ru
Biological Museum named after K. A. Timiryazev
Founded in 1922, the current building has been in use since 1934. Natural Science Museum, whose main task is to educate the public and involve them in the research environment. In the halls, expositions are compiled according to the chosen directions: "Physiology of Plants", "Development of Life on Earth" and others. That is, from narrow topics to wide ones, and vice versa. Interactive events are held here on weekends.
Address: Malaya Gruzinskaya, 15
Site: gbmt.ru
Museum "Intercession Cathedral"
It was first mentioned in 1554. It is a branch of the Historical Museum. Management is carried out jointly with the ROC. Protected by UNESCO. In architectural terms, it is not only a monument, but also a symbol associated with Moscow. The interior decoration is of no less historical and cultural significance than the architectural ensemble. The guide will tell you in detail about the cathedral, but you can also see it yourself.
Address: Moscow, Red Square
Site: shm.ru
Museum of Contemporary History of Russia
Founded in 1917, the first name is the Museum of the Revolution. More than a million exhibits are stored in the funds. In one of the halls, a discussion platform is open: disputes are held, lectures are given, important topics of the past and present are discussed. According to the adopted concept of development, the museum should carry the country's historical heritage to the masses. The exhibitions held within its walls should contribute to this.
Address: Moscow, st. Tverskaya, 21
Site: sovrhistory.ru
Theater Museum named after A. Bakhrushin
Opened in 1894. It all started with the merchant Bakhrushin's passion for the theater. From his trips, he brought various rarities, and later the private collection became a museum. There are many types of rarities in the funds. Of particular interest to guests are posters, sometimes colorful and inventive, stage costumes, exhibits from puppet theaters, gramophone records, photographs of performance scenes.
Address: Bakhrushina, 31/12
Website: gctm.ru
Museum of Entertaining Sciences Experimentanium
Opened to visitors since 2011. The first science museum of this kind in Moscow. Most of the exhibition is interactive. Its goal is to show in an accessible form how the laws of physics work, explain many natural phenomena, tell about amazing devices that make science more like magic.
Address: Moscow, Leningradsky prospect, 80, cor. eleven
Site: experimentanium.ru