Half-Day Moscow Excursions

Half-Day Moscow Excursions

Within easy reach of half-day excursions from the city await majestic old palaces, estates, and former noble residences, all set in emblematic Russian countryside. To see them to the best advantage you should try to make your visits in spring or summer.

All of these sights can be accessed by metro, though you may have to take a connecting bus or trolley.

Arkhangelskoye

In addition to its fine location on the banks of the Moskva River, the town of Arkhangelskoye holds a beautiful example of a noble country palace of the late tsarist era, the imposing estate of Prince Yusupov. Yusupov's neoclassical palace forms the centerpiece of a striking group of 18th- and 19th-century buildings that make up the Arkhangelskoye Estate Museum. The main palace has been closed for restoration work for several years and will reopen in fall 2006 or later. In 1997 the estate was named one of the world's most endangered sites by the World Monuments Fund. Excursions can still be made to the estate grounds, but with the exception of the closed palace's ongoing reconstruction, a definite sense of disrepair pervades.

The main palace complex was built at the end of the 18th century for Prince Golitsyn by the French architect Chevalier de Huerne. In 1810 the family fell upon hard times and sold the estate to the rich landlord Yusupov, the onetime director of the imperial theaters and St. Petersburg's Hermitage Museum, and ambassador to several European lands.

The estate became home to Prince Yusupov's extraordinary art collection. The collection includes paintings by Boucher, Vigée-Lebrun, Hubert Robert, Roslin, Tiepolo, Van Dyck, and many others, as well as antique statues, furniture, mirrors, chandeliers, glassware, and china. Much of the priceless furniture once belonged to Marie Antoinette and Madame de Pompadour. There are also samples of fabrics, china, and glassware that were produced on the estate itself.

Allées and strolling lanes wind through the French Park, which is populated with statues and monuments commemorating royal visits. There's also a monument to Pushkin, whose favorite retreat was Arkhangelskoye. In the western part of the park is an interesting small pavilion, known as the Temple to the Memory of Catherine the Great, that depicts the empress as Themis, goddess of justice. It seems that Yusupov, reportedly a Casanova, had turned the head of Russia's empress, renowned herself for having legions of lovers. This "temple" was built as a compliment for a painting she had previously commissioned—one in which she was depicted as Venus, with Yusupov as Apollo.

Back outside the estate grounds on the right-hand side of the main road stands the Estate (Serf) Theater, built in 1817 by the serf architect Ivanov. Currently a museum, the theater originally seated 400 and was the home of the biggest and best-known company of serf actors in Russia. The well-preserved stage decorations are by the Venetian artist Pietrodi Gonzaga.

Prince Yusupov was a kindly, paternalistic man and often opened his home and gardens to the public, a tradition that continues today. The Arkhangelskoye Estate Museum can be reached by Bus 541 from the Moscow metro station Sokolniki, or by car from the Rublevskoye shosse (turn right at the Militia Booth toward Ilinskoye and take a right turn after you pass the Russkaya Izba restaurant). Check first with your hotel's service bureau or your tour agency for updated information on the renovation project. Arkhangelskoye. 495/561-9660. www.arkhangelskoe.ru. 150R

Where to Eat

Arkhangelskoye Restaurant. A palekh motif—a traditional lacquer design depicting characters from Russian fairy tales—decorates this restaurant. The convenient location (directly across the road from the entrance to the Arkhangelskoye Estate Museum) adds value to the decent food. Try the borscht, followed by veal with mushrooms. Grilled salmon is also delicious. Ilyinskoye shosse, across from main entrance to Arkhangelskoye Estate Museum. 495/562-0328. AE, MC, V

Russkaya Izba. This wooden restaurant's rustic decor is patterned on the izba, a Russian country home. Caviar, blini, and other Russian dishes are served here. Reservations are recommended. Ilyinskoye village, on road to Arkhangelskoye, near Moskva River. 495/561-4244. No credit cards

Victory Park

This 335-acre park (Park Pobedy) near the landmark Triumphal Arch, on the western edge of the city, is historically linked to the defense of Moscow against invaders. Poklonnaya Gora, the hill that used to be here, is where Napoléon is said to have waited in vain for the keys to Moscow in 1812. Once the highest hill in Moscow, Poklonnaya Gora was razed in the 1970s to build Triumphal Arch, a World War II memorial, which was unveiled in 1995 in time for the 50th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany. Packed with all sorts of documentary evidence of the Soviet Army's victory, the memorial is the centerpiece of the park, but also here are a chapel and an outdoor display of vintage World War II arms. Victory Park is a popular spot for festivities on public holidays, including Victory Day, Orthodox Easter, and Christmas. On a warm day, expect to see strolling couples and hordes of rollerbladers, including whole families rollerblading together. The park is near the Park Pobedy metro station.

Kolomenskoye

If you want to spend an afternoon in the great Russian outdoors without actually leaving the city, Kolomenskoye, on a high bluff overlooking the Moskva River, is just the right destination. The estate was once a favorite summer residence of Moscow's grand dukes and tsars. Today it's a popular public park with museums, a functioning church, old Russian cottages, and other attractions. It's also the site of the city's main celebration of the holiday Maslenitsa, or Butter Week, which usually falls at the end of February or beginning of March. Traditional Russian amusements such as mock fist fights, bag races, and tug-of-war are held on the park's grounds, with heaps of hot blini served as round reminders of the spring sun. In September beekeepers from around the country set up a giant honey fair.

As you approach Kolomenskoye, the first sight you see are the striking blue domes of the Church of Our Lady of Kazan, a functioning church that is open for worship. It was completed in 1671. Opposite the church there once stood a wooden palace built by Tsar Alexei, Peter the Great's father. Peter spent much time here when he was growing up. Nothing remains of the huge wooden structure (Catherine the Great ordered it destroyed in 1767), but there's a scale model at the museum, which is devoted to Russian timber architecture and folk crafts. The museum lies inside the front gates of the park, at the end of the tree-lined path leading from the main entrance of the park.

The most remarkable sight within the park is the Church of the Ascension, which sits on the bluff overlooking the river. The church dates from the 1530s and was restored in the late 1800s. Its skyscraping tower is an example of the tent or pyramid-type structure that was popular in Russian architecture in the 16th century. The view from the bluff is impressive in its contrasts: from your 16th-century backdrop you can look north across the river to the 20th-century concrete apartment houses that dominate the contemporary Moscow skyline. In summer you'll see Muscovites bathing in the river below the church, and in winter the area abounds with cross-country skiers.

Examples of wooden architecture from other parts of Russia have been transferred to Kolomenskoye, turning the estate into an open-air museum. In the wooded area near the site of the former wooden palace you'll find a 17th-century prison tower from Siberia, a defense tower from the White Sea, and a 17th-century mead brewery from the village of Preobrazhenskaya. One of the most attractive original buildings on the site is the wooden cottage where Peter the Great lived while supervising the building of the Russian fleet in Arkhangelskoye. The cottage was relocated here in 1934.

To get to Kolomenskoye take the metro to Kolomenskaya station; a walk of about 10 minutes up a slight hill brings you to the park's entrance.

39 Andropova pr. 495/112-0416. Free. Tues.-Sun. 10-5.

Tsaritsyno

This popular boating and picnicking spot is the site of the 18th-century summer palace that was started but never completed for Catherine the Great. Tsaritsyno was always an ill-favored estate. The empress pulled down the work of her first architect; the second building phase was never completed, probably for financial reasons. Her heirs took no interest in Tsaritsyno, so the estate served all sorts of functions, from a wine factory to a testing ground for rock climbers. In 1984 the long-needed reconstruction began, and a museum was founded. By that time some buildings had been so neglected that tall trees grew inside the walls. The government allocated funds to restore the fabulous Opera House and the elegant Small Palace, but the funding dried up in 1996. In summer 2005 this most neglected of the Moscow estates was transferred to the control of the Moscow city government. Mayor Yury Luzhkov announced a plan to spend 410 million rubles ($14.38 million) on the ruins and surrounding park. Restoration is underway on the bread house (kitchens), the bridge, and other structures. The Gothic Revival architectural ensemble is still worth checking out, along with a collection of porcelain, paintings, and sculptures on display at the Opera House. Tsaritsyno is close to the metro station of the same name, three metro stops south of Kolomenskoye.

1 ul. Dolskaya. 495/321-0743. Free. Wed.-Sun. 11-6.

Kuskovo Estate & Palace Museum

In the 18th and 19th centuries the country estate of Kuskovo was the Moscow aristocracy's favorite summer playground. It belonged to the noble Sheremetyevs, one of Russia's wealthiest and most distinguished families, whose holdings numbered in the millions of acres. (Today, Moscow's international airport, built on land that once belonged to one of their many estates, takes their family name.)

The Sheremetyevs acquired the land of Kuskovo in the early 17th century, but the estate, often called a Russian Versailles, took on its current appearance in the late 18th century. Most of the work on it was commissioned by Prince Pyotr Sheremetyev, who sought a suitable place for entertaining guests in the summer. The park—one of the most beautiful spots in all of Russia—was created by Russian landscape artists who had spent much time in Europe studying their art. The French-style gardens are dotted with buildings representing the major architectural trends of Europe: the Dutch cottage, the Italian villa, the grotto, and the exquisite hermitage, where, in the fashion of the day, dinner tables were raised mechanically from the ground floor to the second-floor dining room.

The centerpiece of the estate is the Kuskovo Palace, built in the early Russian classical style by the serf architects Alexei Mironov and Fedor Argunov. Fronted by a grand horseshoe staircase and Greek-temple portico, this building is the absolute quintessence of Russian neoclassical elegance. The palace, which is made of timber on a white-stone foundation, overlooks a human-made lake. It has been a house museum since 1918, and its interior decorations, including fine parquet floors and silk wall coverings, have been well preserved. The bedroom, with its lovely canopy bed, was merely for show: the Sheremetyevs used the palace exclusively for entertainment and did not live here. The parquet floors, gilt wall decorations, and crystal chandeliers of the marvelous White Hall testify to the grandeur of the ballroom extravaganzas that once took place here. On display in the inner rooms are paintings by French, Italian, and Flemish artists; Chinese porcelain; furniture; and other articles of everyday life from the 18th and 19th centuries. The palace also houses a collection of 18th-century Russian art and a rather celebrated ceramics museum with a rich collection of Russian, Soviet, and foreign ceramics.

Pyotr Sheremetyev had more than 150,000 serfs, many of whom received architectural training and participated in the building of his estate. The serfs also constituted a theater troupe that gave weekly open-air performances, a common practice on nobles' estates—the crème de la crème of Moscow society made it a point to attend the Sheremetyev showings. Today, of course, only the setting for this spectacular lifestyle remains, but the dreamlike park and palace persist as mute and eloquent testimony to a royalty long vanished.

Kuskovo is just outside the ring road marking the city boundary, but you can reach it by public transportation. Take the metro to Ryazansky Prospekt station and then Bus 208 or Bus 133 six stops to Kuskovo Park. You may find it more convenient to book a tour that includes transportation. Whatever you do, be sure to phone ahead before making the trek, because the estate often closes when the weather is very humid or very cold.

2 ul. Yunosti. 495/370-0160. 200R. Nov.-Apr., Wed.-Sun. 10-4; May-Oct., Wed.-Fri. 11-7, weekends 10-6; closed last Wed. of month.