10 Best Sights in Zamoskvoreche, Moscow

On view are some of the world's greatest masterpieces of Russian art, spanning the 11th through the 20th centuries. The works include sacred icons, stunning portrait and landscape art, the famous Russian Realists' paintings that culminated in the Wanderers' Group, and splendid creations of Russian Symbolism, impressionism, and art nouveau.

In the mid-1800s, a successful young Moscow industrialist, Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov, was determined to amass a collection of national art that would be worthy of a museum of fine arts for the entire country. In pursuit of this high-minded goal, he began to purchase paintings, drawings, and sculpture. He became one of the—if not the—era's most valued patrons of the arts. In 1892 he donated his collection to the Moscow city government, along with a small inheritance of other fine works collected by his brother Sergei. The holdings have been continually increased by subsequent state acquisitions, including the seizure of privately owned pieces after the Communist revolution.

The rich collection of works completed after 1850 pleases museumgoers the most, for it comprises a selection of pieces from each of the Russian masters, sometimes of their best works. Hanging in the gallery are paintings by Nikolai Ge (Peter the Great Interrogating the Tsarevich Alexei), Vasily Perov (Portrait of Fyodor Dostoyevsky), Vasily Polenov (Grandmother's Garden), Viktor Vasnetsov (After Prince Igor's Battle with the Polovtsy), and many others. Several canvases of the beloved Ivan Shishkin, with their depictions of Russian fields and forests—including Morning in the Pine Forest, of three bear cubs cavorting—fill one room. There are also several paintings by the equally popular Ilya Repin, including his most famous painting, The Volga Boatmen. Later works, from the end of the 19th century, include an entire room devoted to the Symbolist Mikhail Vrubel (The Princess Bride, Demon Seated); Nestorov's glowing Vision of the Youth Bartholomew, the boy who would become St. Sergius, founder of the monastery at Sergeyev-Posad; and the magical pieces by Valentin Serov (Girl with Peaches, Girl in Sunlight). You'll also see turn-of-the-20th-century paintings by Nikolai Konstantinovich Roerich (1874–1947), whose New York City home is a museum.

The first floor houses the icon collection, including the celebrated Holy Trinity painted by the late-14th- and early-15th-century master Andrei Rublyov. Also on display are some of the earliest icons to reach ancient Kievan Rus', such as the 12th-century Virgin of Vladimir, brought from Byzantium.

The second floor holds 18th-, 19th-, and 20th-century paintings and sculpture and is where indefatigable Russian art lovers satisfy their aesthetic longings. A series of halls of 18th-century portraits, including particularly fine works by Dmitry Levitsky, acts as a time machine into the country's noble past. Other rooms are filled with works of the 19th century, embodying the burgeoning movements of romanticism and naturalism in such gems of landscape painting as Silvester Shchedrin's Aqueduct at Tivoli and Mikhail Lebedev's Path in Albano and In the Park. Other favorite pieces to look for are Karl Bryullov's The Last Day of Pompeii, Alexander Ivanov's Appearance of Christ to the People, and Orest Kiprensky's well-known Portrait of the Poet Alexander Pushkin.

When you leave the gallery, pause a moment to look back on the fanciful art nouveau building itself, which is quite compelling. Tretyakov's home still forms a part of the gallery. Keep in mind that the ticket office closes an hour before the museum closes. There are no English-language translations on the plaques here, but you can rent an audio guide or buy an English-language guidebook.

The street entrance of this huge, modern building leads to the exhibit halls of the Artists' Union, where members display their work on three floors. This is a great place to find a sketch or watercolor to take home with you. There's also a tiny movie theater that shows old international cinema as well as a concert hall with pop and rock performances almost nightly. Massive exhibitions on everything from books to fur coats to architecture take over the building periodically, and some are worth checking out. The cavernous space also has room enough to house the modern branch of the Tretyakov Gallery. Next door is the Art Park, where contemporary sculpture and old statues of Soviet dignitaries stand side by side. It's a pleasant place for a stroll.

Commissioned by Catherine the Great in 1763 and designed by Karl Blank, this white classical-style church sits on the corner of pereulok Pogorelsky. The freshly restored interior is rather modest compared to that of some other churches in the city, but the central dome has some impressive A-shaped frescoes painted around the windows. Across from the entrance is a shop that sells icons, vivid cloth, and small clothing items, such as scarves.

Because a high fence surrounds it, this colorful church is best viewed from far away. Look for a red-and-white brick bell tower and a large gold onion dome surrounded by three smaller ones. Built in 1687, the church is an excellent example of the Moscow baroque style.

Designed by Osip Bove and built between 1828 and 1835, the neoclassical-era church is an excellent example of the Empire style popular in the early 19th century. It replaced a church that had burned down in the fire of 1812. The interior, filled with icons and gold, is nothing earth-shattering, but it's good for getting the feel of a typical working church. It is one of many churches on this wide boulevard.

The official name of this park laid out in 1928 and covering an area of 275 acres is actually the Central Park of Culture and Leisure. It was made famous to Westerners by its other name in Martin Cruz Smith's Cold War novel Gorky Park, and Muscovites refer to it by yet another name, Park Kultury (Park of Culture). The welcome swath of greenery has undergone a remarkable makeover in post-Soviet years. Gone are the dilapidated rides and unkept lawns littered with passed-out drunks. Today, Muscovites come to the park for yoga and tango lessons, paddleboat rides and bike rentals, picnics on the lawns, a selection of cafés and eateries, and in the winter, snowboarding and ice skating. The park often hosts concerts, and the Garage Center for Contemporary Art features up-and-coming Russian contemporary artists. In summer, boats leave from the pier for excursions along the Moskva River.

The large, redbrick compound on the island in the Moskva River across from the Kremlin was once one of the Soviet Union's beloved chocolate factories, Krasny Oktyabr, or Red October. Whiffs of sweet chocolate used to fill the air around the factory, and its chocolate bars were presented as gifts to visiting dignitaries to the Kremlin. Today the factory is closed, and the sprawling complex has been renovated to house several of Moscow's hippest restaurants and bars. It's worth strolling around the island and stopping in for a bite to eat or a drink.

An enormous figure of the tsar stands at the helm of a ship, symbolizing his role as the founder of the Russian naval force in the 1700s. Most Muscovites agree that the statue, by Zurab Tsereteli, is an eyesore and has no place in Moscow—after all, Peter the Great moved the capital to St. Petersburg. Ongoing movements are afoot to remove the statue, but for the time being, it's here. When you finally set eyes on the colosso you'll probably understand why common nicknames for it are "Cyclops" and "Gulliver." A red light atop the 325-foot-tall monument is a warning beacon for airplanes.

This branch of the Tretyakov Gallery shares a building with the Tsentralny Dom Khudozhnikov (Central House of Artists) across from Gorky Park. Often called the "New Branch," it has a permanent exhibit entitled "Art of the 20th Century" that spans from prerevolutionary work by Chagall, Malevich, and Kandinsky to the socialist realist, modern, and postmodern periods.

The museum collection contains miniatures and portraits by serf artist Vasily Tropinin (1776–1857) and his contemporaries. The pretty period rooms and permanent painting collection offer an interesting peek into a Moscow now long gone.