Things to do in Moscow and London

[essence_of_soy]

Next month I'm off to Moscow for Worlds with a week in London either before or after.

When I'm not at the rink in Moscow, I'll only have a few days to sight - see, so if there is anything people can recommend, that would be great.

London is a little more open - ended, but I'm keen on galleries, architecture, theatre, museums, and book shops.

Thanks for your help in advance.

[Celine82]

Novodievichi Monastery is my favorite place in Moscow and IMO a must.

If the weather's nice, a cruise on the Moscow river is great, too (if I remember well, we left by the Kiev train station/Kievskiy vokzal).

The Arbat street is very nice, too, and you'll find lots of souvenirs there (someone else will have to tell you if they're more expensive than in other places, though).

If you're interested in architecture and if it still exists, you'll probably like the Eliseev store on Tver Street (the main street leaving from the Red Square).

Which brings us to the Red Square and Kremlin, but I doubt it wasn't on your list yet...


(Lucky you to go to Worlds! Enjoy!)

[JumpinBug]

London...

The V&A, British Museum, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms, Sir John Soane's Museum.

For architecture, I would take a London Walk... or 20. Their City walk goes in and amongst some of my favourite architecture. The Blitz walk is good for this too.

Theatre... sigh. While the half price ticket booth is good, I also pre-buy tickets for bigger things before I leave... things like Helen Mirren in Phedre, or Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan in Waiting for Godot. The booth is great, but doesn't give you everything. I'd recommend checking what's on at the National Theatre complex. http://www.theatremonkey.com/ is good for news on what's new (but I don't buy anything through them). Ooh, Rupert Everett and Diana Rigg in Pygmalion! The site can also make me depressed at what I'm missing, lol.

Books are expensive in the UK, but I highly recommend the charity shops, and various markets. I love my Sharpe's Waterloo book that was bought under Waterloo Bridge.

[GarrAarghHrumph]

I love the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. It's one of my favorite museums on the planet, and I highly recommend it. It's for decorative arts, so it's got furniture, costumes, glass, as well as traditional things like prints, drawings, paintings, sculpture; and an amazing collection of Islamic art.

The building itself is something to see. Be sure to notice, on the exterior, the pockmarks from scrapnel during WWII.


The British Museum is important if you're at all into history. The actual Rosetta Stone is there.


I also really liked the Cabinet War Rooms. They're a museum made from rooms that held a British WWII command center, and they're set up as they were back in that day. What makes them so fascinating is that after WWII, they simply left a lot of the stuff they used there, and it's been preserved as it was then. So basically, the historical materials are preserved where and how they were used - on site.

[PAskate]

I love the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. It's one of my favorite museums on the planet, and I highly recommend it. It's for decorative arts, so it's got furniture, costumes, glass, as well as traditional things like prints, drawings, paintings, sculpture; and an amazing collection of Islamic art.

The building itself is something to see. Be sure to notice, on the exterior, the pockmarks from scrapnel during WWII.

The gift shop at the V&A is also great for picking up things for friends. Even if you're not planning to buy, a walk through Liberty of London and Harrods is always fun. The food shop at Marks and Spencers is also a great place to pick up a meal.

If you have the time, a trip to Windsor or Hampton Court Palace is also great.