Moscow From Above

Route developed
in collaboration with

oscow reveals itself differently from above. From up high you see what the streets conceal: Moscow is plural. There is the business city - glass and towers three hundred meters tall. There is the historical, Kremlin Moscow. There is the Soviet one - fountains, pavilions, a Ferris wheel at 140 meters. And there is another Moscow entirely, athletic, where the river and the stadium lie below and the young and beautiful live their own lives. One city, four characters. Each worth a separate visit and a separate table with a view.

Moscow City

354 meters above the city. On the bank of the Moscow River, ten minutes from the Kremlin, lies Moscow City — the capital’s business district. Six of Europe’s ten tallest buildings stand here. Thirty years ago this was an industrial zone; today it holds the financial headquarters of the country’s largest corporations and apartments where decision-makers live. The money here is big, Russian, and quiet — and you feel it.

Where to dine

Ruski

On the 85th floor of OKO Tower stands a Russian wood-fired oven. Eight meters of whitewashed clay — inside a skyscraper, above the city. The panoramic restaurant Ruski — Europe’s highest restaurant — builds its menu around it: venison dumplings, Volga fish pies, slow-cooked cabbage soup. The entire floor is floor-to-ceiling glass — the city below, the sky alongside. Next door: Ice Bar at −15°C, real fur coats, beluga caviar, a bar counter carved from ice blocks — the world’s highest ice bar. The cold is real. So is the caviar.

Moscow City, OKO Tower, 85th floor

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High Bar

For an evening under music — High Bar on the 56th floor of Imperiya Tower: signature cocktails, Russian desserts, DJs, and a panorama of the city through floor-to-ceiling glass.

Moscow City, Imperiya Tower, 56th floor

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What to do

Vyshe Tolko Lyubov — Open Observation Deck

An open-air platform on the roof of OKO Tower, 354 meters, 360° views. The highest open observation deck in Europe.

Afimall City

A large shopping centre connected directly to the towers. Shops, restaurants, a cinema — an entire day without stepping outside.

Shelepikhinskaya Embankment

A modern riverside promenade with cycling paths and greenery along the water. Electric river trams depart from the pier at Moscow City and run routes across the city.

Vorobyovy  Gory — Luzhniki

One of Moscow’s seven hills. A wooded riverbank, a quiet neighbourhood — home to MSU professors and old Moscow families. Vorobyovy Gory stands apart from the tourist centre, and you feel it. The viewing platform at the top is open and free. Behind you: the main building of MSU — Moscow State University, a Stalinist high-rise from 1953, 240 meters tall. In front: a vast green complex with Moscow’s famous stadium, and the entire city beyond. To the right, Moscow City. Below, the river. A cable car descends directly there — a few minutes over the water. Luzhniki is Moscow’s sporting heart. Someone is always running, training, working out. From April to October people come to walk, eat, and sit on the embankment until evening.

Where to dine

Ambassadori

A panoramic restaurant directly on the Vorobyovy Gory viewing platform. Floor-to-ceiling views of Luzhniki and Moscow City. A good place to sit before the descent and try Russian classics: beef stroganoff with wild mushrooms, honey cake medovik, smetannik.

Kosygina St., 28, Vorobyovy Gory, Moscow

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Aquamarine

A restaurant by Novikov Group — one of Russia’s largest restaurant groups, with venues in London, Dubai, and Miami. Quality is watched closely here: Novikov Group does not open careless places. A good spot to try Russian classics: beef dumplings, cherry varenyky, beef stroganoff with mashed potato.

Luzhniki Street, 24с4, Moscow

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What to do

Cable Car

720 meters above the river, 5 minutes in the air. The cable car runs between Vorobyovy Gory and Luzhniki. You can ride both ways.

Walk Through Vorobyovy Gory and Luzhniki

The Luzhniki grounds cover 150 hectares, the riverside embankment runs 3 kilometers. Too much to cover in one go. Bicycle rental is available on site.

Winter at Vorobyovy Gory

In winter, ski slopes open on the hillside with equipment rental. In Luzhniki, an outdoor skating rink is set up on the grounds.

VDNKH

VDNKH — an exhibition park of 325 hectares, opened in 1939 as a showcase of Soviet power. Triumphal arches, gilded fountains, Stalinist empire-style pavilions — each dedicated to a republic or industry. Built to show: one country, many peoples, all flourishing. The country changed. The ensemble did not — only now the avenues are filled with Muscovites with strollers and ice cream. At the southern entrance stands Solntse Moskvy — the Sun of Moscow — a Ferris wheel 140 meters tall. The highest in Europe, five meters taller than the London Eye. 30 climate-controlled cabins, five with glass floors, one full rotation in 18 minutes 40 seconds, and on a clear day you can see 50 kilometers. Moscow City greets you with glass towers; Vorobyovy Gory with river and forest. Below your feet lies all of VDNKH: golden, grand, laid out like a scale model of an era.

Where to dine

Dom Rossiyskoy Kukhni (House of Russian Cuisine)

A food hall on the VDNKh grounds. 15 counters of regional cuisine from Kamchatka to Kaliningrad under one roof, cooking masterclasses and tastings throughout the day. A rare format: the gastronomy that usually takes a month of travel across the country — covered in a single lunch.

Prospekt Mira, 119, building 66A, Moscow

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Moskovskoe Nebo (Moscow Sky)

A restaurant inside a historic VDNKh pavilion. Soviet cuisine in a contemporary reading. The interior: white halls, pale blue textile draped from the ceiling, socialist realist frescoes on the walls. Pike cutlets, Olivier salad with beef pastrami. Familiar names, unexpected contents — that is exactly how this place works.

Prospekt Mira, 119, building 422, Moscow

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What to do

Solntse Moskvy —  Ferris Wheel

140 meters, one full rotation in 18 minutes 40 seconds. The highest Ferris wheel in Europe stands at the southern entrance of VDNKh. From the top: the Kremlin, the Stalinist high-rises, Moscow City, and the entire park below — golden, grand, enormous. Five cabins have glass floors.

Cosmos Pavilion

A real Vostok rocket stands at the entrance — the same series that carried the first human into space in 1961. Inside: the Soviet space programme in detail. Spacesuits, descent modules, station models. The country that reached space first tells the story without unnecessary words.

Cycling Through VDNKh

The park covers 325 hectares. Rent a bicycle and ride the central avenues between Stalinist empire-style pavilions, past fountains and restored facades. In the evening the fountains are lit up — the park becomes something else entirely.

CDM — Observation Deck

The final location in the Moscow from Above collection — the rooftop of CDM, the Central Children’s Store on Lubyanskaya Square, where generations of Muscovites were brought for gifts. Built in 1957 by Alexei Dushkin, the architect of Moscow Metro stations. The first escalators in the USSR were installed here — people came to ride them, not to shop. In the atrium: one of the world’s largest mechanical clocks, in the same rank as the Kremlin Chimes and London’s Big Ben. Inside, childhood endures: brands, a museum of Soviet toys, interactive zones. Worth the visit with children. On the roof — two open terraces on either side of the sign. Intimate, without crowds. Below: Lubyanskaya Square, further the Kremlin, the Polytechnic Museum, and on the horizon the spire of MSU. The only point in this collection where the historic centre is this close.

Where to dine

Savva

A restaurant at the Metropol, opposite the Bolshoi Theatre, featuring historic interiors, marble, columns, and a view of Teatralnaya Square.

Chef Andrey Shmakov presides over the kitchen, blending Russian gastronomy with French techniques; the menu features a mix of dishes such as *botvinya* with pike-perch, *sugudai* (marinated fish) made from muksun, pike dumplings, and a Pozharsky cutlet served with Camembert and foie gras tartare.

Hotel Metropol, Moscow

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Hotel Metropol

A hotel built in 1905, five minutes on foot from CDM. Guests who have stayed here include Bernard Shaw, Marlene Dietrich, Michael Jackson, Julio Iglesias, Luc Besson. A hotel that became part of the city’s history itself.

Teatralny Proezd 2, Moscow

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Shalyapin

A refined cocktail bar at the Metropol Hotel in Teatralny Proyezd. Beyond its intricate drink menu, you can often find guest shifts and alcohol sets by touring stars. The experience is enhanced by a cultural programme: occasionally, you can catch live performances on a Bechstein grand piano, vinyl DJ sets, or immersive theatrical productions.

Teatralny Proezd, 2 (Hotel Metropol), Moscow

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What to do

Walk Along Nikolskaya to Red Square

A pedestrian street with its facades and evening illumination, leading directly to the Kremlin walls. Ten minutes on foot — and the whole ceremonial centre is in front of you.

Zaryadye Park

A park at the foot of the Kremlin with a cantilevered bridge that extends over the Moscow River with no supports beneath its edge. Unusual architecture and a separate gastronomic quarter inside.

Streets of the Old Centre

This is the heart of Moscow, and it is simply pleasant to walk without a fixed route — Kuznetsky Most, Nikolskaya, Varvarka, the lanes of Kitay-Gorod. Facades, shopfronts, cafes, and five centuries of history on every block.