Nicholas Kruger and Jackie Hogarth are passionate travellers who started OE Travel Blogs. OE stands for “Overseas Experience” and, along with the OE team, they’ve travelled all over the world. The blog has tips and advice from more than 50 countries and the list keeps growing. To discover more of their exciting adventures around the world, visit www.oetravelblogs.com.
The Red Square is one of the first stops for tourists visiting Moscow. The Square was the Soviet parade ground and still is a show of armed forces on Victory day. Red Square is used for concerts, large events and other festivals. As interesting as all of that is, the main reason that people visit the Red Square is to take photos of The Kremlin and St Basil’s Cathedral.
The Kremlin is on the UNESCO world heritage list. It’s a historical fortress and the largest in the world. The State Kremlin Palace is located within the walls. Check opening hours first as we tried to get tickets but missed out due to timing. The Kremlin is shut on Thursdays and tickets can be purchased from the ticket offices at the Kutafiya Tower and Cathedral Square.
St Basil’s Cathedral is the most famous landmark in Moscow. The colourful onion shaped domes are iconic. The Cathedral is now a museum and a very popular tourist attraction.
The Vernisazh weekend market near Ismailovsky park is a must see. It’s very large and here you’ll find a range of different souvenirs, Russian Dolls and other local crafts. The food within the market is also very nice.
Russia is not the easiest country to get into and the process to obtain a visa is not the cheapest. You’ll need to factor this into the length of time you’d like to stay. We went for four days but given the cost of the visa we probably should have gone for longer. With regards to the visa you need to get an invitation. You can do this in one of 2 ways, either ask your hotel/tour company to provide this or if they can’t/won’t, you can buy one online.
(Images: Jackie Hogarth )
