Get FREE email communications from Fodor's Travel, covering must-see travel destinations, expert trip planning advice, and travel inspiration to fuel your passion.
These days, shopping is a national sport in Moscow. Locals shop in brand new mega-malls, revamped department stores, designer boutiques, and busy food markets. Display windows in parts of historical shopping districts in downtown Moscow, such as pereulok Stoleshnikov, Kuznetsky Most, and proyezd Tretyakovsky, are filled with brands like Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Brioni, Prada, and Fendi.
Big emporia such as GUM showcase midrange Western brands like Levi's and Nike. Russian designers also have a presence: some names to look for include Alena Akhmadullina, Alexander Terekhov, Igor Chapurin, Denis Symachev, Kira Plastinina, and Sultanna Frantsuzova. If you're simply on the hunt for souvenirs, the best bets are shops in the Arbat district or the Izmailovsky Flea Market in the Eastern Outskirts.
Stores are generally open Monday through Saturday 10 to 7, and many are open seven days a week; shopping malls are open daily from 10 or 11 in the morning to 9 or 10 at night. Some specialty stores and many supermarkets may operate 24/7.
This bustling outdoor market surrounds a covered circus-shaped hall. Inside are meats, spices, vegetables, pickles, flowers, and pyramid-shaped displays of goods from Central Asia, especially dried fruit in extravagant quantity and combinations. In the outdoor stalls you're likely to come across porcelain Uzbek tea sets, woven baskets, and hand-knit wool socks.
This large covered hall is next to the outdoor Veshchevoy Rynok (literally, "Market of Things," which is certainly an apt name). Inside are rows of vendors hawking homemade cheese and milk products, honey, flowers, and produce of all kinds. Against one wall are sellers of pickled goods, an understandably popular form of conservation in this land of long winters; you may want to sample some of their cabbage and carrot slaws, salted cucumbers, or spiced eggplant or garlic. Many Moscow chefs buy ingredients here.
In terms of choice and value, this is really the best stop for those looking for traditional Russian souvenirs in Moscow. Matryoshki (nesting dolls) come in a variety of styles here, and the stalls are also stacked high with amber, lacquer boxes, linens, used books, and Soviet memorabilia (such as authentic army belts and gas masks). Connoisseurs may find the real treasures in the antique aisles, such as Soviet porcelain figures or fully functional 19th-century music boxes. The flea market is open daily 9–6, but many stalls are only open on weekends. It's best to go early.
