Moscow travel guide

The first stop on any Moscow itinerary should of course be the Red Square. It is a long stretch of cobblestones squeezed in between some the most iconic buildings in town; the Kremlin, Saint Basil's Cathedral with its easy recognizable onion domes, the posh shopping arcade of GUM, and the boxy mausoleum of Lenin. It is a strange mix of grand old architecture, Soviet granite and tourist kitsch. The streets that lead to the Red Square are lined with fancy shops and cozy cafes. Don't limit your visit to the Red Square to only daylight hours, but show up during dusk and see the real magic light up.

A small arty park packed with contemporary sculptures mixed with old Soviet statues and relics. You can meet a long line of famous Russians like Stalin, Lenin and Brezhnev and some odd non-Russians like Albert Einstein. It is a funky place to chill out and rest those tired legs. Right outside the park, the giant 94-meters tall nautical statue of Peter the Great rises into the sky.

During the Cold War of the 50s and 60s, the USSR feared an atomic attack from USA and built secret underground bunkers. Bunker 42 is such a bunker aimed for the military communication unit. Placed in a residential area underneath a dummy apartment block, it sits 60 meters underground and was staffed by more than 2500 people at its peak. After the Cold War and the fall of USSR, the bunker was no longer useful and got auctioned off. Today, it is turned into a Cold War museum where you get taken 18 floors underground and walked through the armored tubes and halls - and if you ask nicely, you might get to hold an AK-74.