new year in Moscow
 

we are going to Moscow for new year, arriving the 29th Dec and leaving 1st Jan. Want to see Lenin and other sites, we have Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning for visits, does anyone know what is open/not open during that period and any recommendations for New Years Eve Dinner. I understand the Kremlin is the place to be for New Year fireworks, any suggestions on when to get there, where to position ourselves, what to be aware/cautious of. Anything help greatly appreciated!

There are some palaces open for New Years Eve balls, but they are pricey (we're helping a group go to St. Petersburg for this). What are your thoughts as to how much to spend for the evening?

hmm... I'm not sure the Lenin Mausoleum will be open during this time.

What hotel are you staying in? You might have a good view from a centrally located hotel of Red Square...

I personally have never been over the New Year holidays, but I'm sure it will be fabulous!

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thanks - price is not an issue, we are staying at the SAS Raddison

If money is not a concern, then Moscow is the place for you!

This is one of the most expensive world capitals these days... so have fun, keep my Russian friends in business! (I think Moscow is in the top 3 for the number of billionaires in a world capital currently!)

But seriously, I would imagine that one of the fabulous central restaurants would have a deal or two going for those who can afford it... I would recommend you call the Rad. Slavyanskaya and find out what they would recommend, within your price range.

As far as precautions, just treat Moscow as any other major city. Don't think you can have as much champanskoe as your Russian counterparts can... keep a good head on and enjoy the festivities!

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I just pulled up a few Russian websites to see what would be a good possibility... there is a restaurant called "National" on Tverskaya, building 1- part of the National hotel.

It would be a great place to eat a fantastic meal, and possibly see fireworks from there, too! They have a view of the Kremlin.

Very historic sight... I wish I could be in Moscow for this major holiday... I guess Albany will do though!

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Club Monolit has spectacular parties; also as Katya suggested the National has a restaurant overlooking Red Square. In addition the Baltschug Kempinski overlooks Red Square and has some wonderful restaurants. Also the Park Hyatt has a bar from which you can see the fireworks. Restoran Godunov is centrally located just off Red Square and has a nice New Years' Eve dinner, but you can't see the fireworks from the restaurant. The biggest issue is that often these are rented out for private parties. It would be best to book your New Years' Eve reservations now (possibly through the hotel's concierge) as the better events are sold out well in advance.

At least in previous years there were no special security or ticketing issues for standing in Red Square—but these often do change at the last moment so verify this when you are in Moscow.

Also, you'll probably want to book a driver in advance for the trip back to the SAS Radisson as getting a taxi can be very difficult on holiday nights.

As for museums and the like, almost all have their normal hours for the week before New Years. During the period from January 1-8 (the Russian Orthodox Christmas is January 7) many museums have special hours (sometimes reduced, sometimes increased) for the holiday period.

Finally some restaurants have posted their menus and prices for New Year's Eve menus:-
Godunov $360
Noah's Ark (Noev Kovcheg) $379
Baltschug Kempinski $700
Uzbekistan $1000
Restaurant in the Metropole $1012

And here is how the trip went and our advice to independant travellers..

We had a brilliant time, the Kremlin was closed from the afternoon 31st December 2005 until 10th January 2006, we took a guided tour with Capital Tours (located in gostiny Dvor behind GUM) do not attempt to do it on your own at this time of year!! The Kremlin hosts childrens parties over the holiday period, so all entrances and rules change for this short period, but the info is only in Cyrillic -

We got seriously lucky for New Nears eve, we found a small intimate cafe and restuarant (el Sol) on the top floor of GUM facing Lenin's tomb) with clear views of red square - our all inclusive dinner was $200 each and included as much wine, vodka beer (oh and food) you could consume, entertainment from a 4 piece band, magicians, singers and participant games (in which we participated)! What was truly priceless was the other diners - made up only of local Moscovites, both families and youngsters, we shared a table with a family who owned a small trucking business (we learnt all this using hand signs!) and Vladimar became my husbands' vodka drinking partner for the night, we saw midnight chimed in by the famous Red Square clock and all the action on the red square from our prime location - thoroughly recommend this place!!

As for getting around, it was safe but we are streetwise, we actually walked back to our hotel at 4.00 a.m. without incident (2 miles) as the metro closed at 2.00 a.m.

TIP - make sure your metro maps and street maps are in cyrillic as this is the only language used - without this it is very hard, most of our maps had the words but using Roman letters - useless!

Terrific place, terrific friendly warm people, had a super time - Happy New Year!!

Dear Wendy,

Thanks for your report. Sounds like a fantastic New Year's Eve.

We've visited Moscow twice, and agree that it's a fantastic city.

Best wishes in 2006, SusanEva

I'm so glad to hear that you had a fun time in Moscow! S novym godom!

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