moscow districts
 

i have had no response to my intial question about tsvetnoy boulevarde

so ill rephrase the message title!

can anyone help?
we have to decide on an apartment and i really cant get a sense of the districts even after researching

there seems so few travel agents that have spent more than five minutes in moscow and i know lots of you have done organised tours

but
is there anyone who has an idea of the ambience of each of the areas around central moscow
im leaning towards arbatskaya cos of the pedestrian feel to the area- markets and cafes

id like to be able to walk 'somewhere'- not necessarily to the main sights but just to get the feel of the place - yes i know the touristy bits arent true russia!

any suggestions?
even the russian 'specialists' here need to consult with an agency in russia to get me information - pretty poor (i think) that they dont know first-hand but i dont want to book anything directly from a russian agent- want some guarantee that the place actually exists

tverskaya? kitai gorod? i know theyre all close but what are the areas like in themselves?
any scrap of info would be greatly appreciated!
thanks!

All those areas are fine, it makes no difference as long as you are near a metro to get to other places. New Arbat is not the most attractive area but it is convenient, the markets in pedestrianised Old Arbat are a couple of stalls mostly for tourist things. The real markets where Russians go are elsewhere.

Kitai Gorod is one of the oldest parts of Moscow and is really nice, close to Red Square and has a fab Armenian restaurant called Noah's Ark. It is an atmospheric area with old buildings. Tverskaya is a very long road so depends which part. Tsevtnoy Boulevard is fine too. These areas are not necessarily close especially if walking the distances can be great.

Other nice areas of Moscow include Chistye Prudi and Patriarchy Ponds, areas north of the Bolshoi (ulitsa Petrovka/Dmitrovka/Negglinaya and south west- around Kropotkinskaya.

thank you Odin!
this is a good start and it is reassuring to know that all is ok if youre near a metro
we do love walking and im wondering- how much of a hassle is it to cross those big wide streets and boulevardes? i know jay walking is a no no - ill ask a local how to cross roads when i get there haha

didnt realise that new arbat isnt all that pretty - i thought the old arbat was full of historical buildings and atmosphere so i thought thats where wed stay but it seems that apartments are quite scarce - so the agent tells me
frustrating
dont know if theyre doing their job but i cant bring myself to do it without the help of a local agent in case things do go awry
thanks again for the info!

There are underpasses for crossing the big roads, many of these underpasses have kiosks selling all sorts of stuff e.g. alcohol/cigarettes/lingerie/CDs/flowers/makeup etc and can also be the entrance to a metro station.

New and Old Arbat are different streets, Old as you say has old historical buildings, there are couple inexpensive restaurants eg Moo Moo, New has newer buildings and has supermarkets and other shops eg Dom Knigi (House of Books). It's a good area - you can walk to Red Square, although it is a long walk.

thanks again Odin
i will press my travel agent to look further into the arbat area and then kitai gorod
i did google map the deluxe boulevarde apartments near tsvetnoy boulevarde and it seems ok - doesnt look far on the map but ill need to explore the exact distances to see if it's doable on foot
certainly is close to two metro lines which is a bonus