{"id":2968,"date":"2015-09-01T15:34:42","date_gmt":"2015-09-01T23:34:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/?p=2968"},"modified":"2019-08-27T05:06:47","modified_gmt":"2019-08-27T12:06:47","slug":"5-things-to-know-before-you-travel-to-moscow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/5-things-to-know-before-you-travel-to-moscow","title":{"rendered":"5 Things to Know Before Trip to Moscow"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Planning a<strong> trip to Moscow<\/strong>? It&#8217;s absolutely safe to visit Moscow and the best time to visit\u00a0Moscow is now<br \/>\nHowever, be prepared that Moscow is very different from most cities in the world. Russia has its own peculiarities that need to be considered, and then nothing will spoil your impressions about our country.<\/p>\n<p>Here are\u00a05 things you need to\u00a0know before you travel\u00a0to Moscow. (Though the list would be pretty much the same if you are planning a <a href=\"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/saint-petersburg\/tours\">tour of St Petersburg<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\"  id=\"_ytid_72416\"  width=\"1070\" height=\"602\"  data-origwidth=\"1070\" data-origheight=\"602\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-sqsD9LaDiw?enablejsapi=1&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=0&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;rel=1&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=0&#038;autohide=2&#038;theme=dark&#038;color=red&#038;controls=1&#038;disablekb=0&#038;\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  epyt-is-override  no-lazyload\" title=\"YouTube player\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2>5 Tips for Moscow Tourists<\/h2>\n<p>Despite the fact that Moscow is visited by about 15 million tourists a year, many are afraid to come\u00a0visit us, mistakenly believing that Russia still may not be the best city to visit. We\u2019re going to debunk these myths &#8211; have a tour to Moscow, and you&#8217;ll be surprised how much these facts are overblown.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2977\" style=\"width: 546px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2977\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2977\" src=\"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Our-guide-Dasha.jpg\" alt=\"things to know about Moscow\" width=\"536\" height=\"714\" srcset=\"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Our-guide-Dasha.jpg 536w, https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Our-guide-Dasha-113x150.jpg 113w, https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Our-guide-Dasha-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 536px) 100vw, 536px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-2977\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Our guide friendly local guide Dasha near Red Square<\/p><\/div>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3>1.\u00a0Credit cards<\/h3>\n<p>Worldwide tourists prefer to pay by credit card to avoid currency exchange offices and to feel more secure from thieves. And many countries have already managed to rebuild their service on non-cash payment completely. But, friends, in Moscow it is recommended\u00a0to have some cash in your wallet.<\/p>\n<p>Remember that you can pay only in Russian rubles, we don&#8217;t accept dollars, euros or any other currency! The reason is that our country is only 24 years old, and cashless system is only now begins to spread. In Moscow in 80% cases you can pay with credit card, but souvenir shops and\u00a0\u00a0some museums accept cash only. So always keep some cash with you, and our guides won&#8217;t let you be cheated during Moscow private tour.<\/p>\n<p>Rest assured, most coffee places accept credit cards.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2969\" style=\"width: 546px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2969\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2969\" src=\"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Coffee-in-Moscow.jpg\" alt=\"5 things you need to know before coming to Moscow\" width=\"536\" height=\"953\" srcset=\"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Coffee-in-Moscow.jpg 536w, https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Coffee-in-Moscow-84x150.jpg 84w, https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Coffee-in-Moscow-169x300.jpg 169w, https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Coffee-in-Moscow-432x768.jpg 432w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 536px) 100vw, 536px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-2969\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Local coffee shop in Moscow<\/p><\/div>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3>2. And what about taxi in Moscow?<\/h3>\n<p>In Moscow there are plenty of taxis. But, to catch a taxi on the street won&#8217;t be as easy as in New York, for example. No need to run out on the highway and wave your arms. It doesn&#8217;t really work in Moscow. If you don&#8217;t see any taxi around you, it&#8217;s better to order it using the app in your device. Pre-locate the company that has the menu in English. The wait time is 10-15 minutes maximum. By the way, if there are 3 and more people in your group using taxi can be cheaper than aeroexpress train to get to the city from the airport. And it will be lovely to ride around Moscow on a Night tour.<\/p>\n<p>Uber and GetTaxi applications are most reliable taxi services.<\/p>\n<p>CitiMobil online taxi ordering is also a good option to get fast and cheap \u00a0taxi in Moscow.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/moscow\/tours\/boat-tour-moscow\">Moscow boat trip<\/a> is a great alternative to taxi, and will be cheaper for you if you plan, say, to get from Kolomesnkoe to Kitay Gorod or Gorky Park. Be ready for about 2-hour breeze! Normally, the boat trip costs 500-700 rubles per person.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2970\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2970\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-2970\" src=\"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Taxi-in-Moscow-1024x808.jpg\" alt=\"5 things to know before coming to Russia\" width=\"1024\" height=\"808\" srcset=\"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Taxi-in-Moscow-1024x808.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Taxi-in-Moscow-150x118.jpg 150w, https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Taxi-in-Moscow-300x237.jpg 300w, https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Taxi-in-Moscow-600x473.jpg 600w, https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Taxi-in-Moscow-973x768.jpg 973w, https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Taxi-in-Moscow.jpg 1181w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-2970\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Downtown of Moscow<\/p><\/div>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3>3. Moscow Metro tour on your own<\/h3>\n<p>Every tourist visiting Moscow certainly wants to see the metro. But many do not risk doing it alone because they&#8217;re afraid to get lost in the depths of the Moscow subway web. Overall, they are right. Navigation in Moscow metro is quite tricky. Almost all signs are in Russian. But here are some tips that will help you feel better.<\/p>\n<p>By purchasing a ticket at the ticket office, located in each lobby, you come to the turnstiles. By the way, better buy a one-day ticket with unlimited number of trips. Apply magnetic ticket to the yellow point on the turnstiles and wait for green light, then you can safely pass through.<\/p>\n<p>On the escalator you should stand on the right side. In the subway everybody goes very quickly, almost running. So keep calm and observant.<\/p>\n<p>Now let&#8217;s deal with navigation. Be sure to download the app &#8220;Metro&#8221; to your device, it will automatically select the route and you will only have to follow this route. Please note that each metro line has its own color. These colors are the main mark for you. Above each escalator and at each station you can see signs with colored lines and names of the stations. Don&#8217;t stop abruptly in the middle of the flow, step aside and quietly make sure where you need to go, Check the last station in the list of stations, it will give you an idea if the train is going to the north or south, east or west.<\/p>\n<p>Luckily, unlike many other metro stations in the world, in Moscow the platform is designed only for one line, which causes no confusion and makes it quite easy to change from train to train. The trains on one side go in one direction, the trains on the other side go in the opposite directions.<\/p>\n<p>Seems, easy, right?<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2971\" style=\"width: 546px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2971\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2971\" src=\"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Metro-tour-in-Moscow.jpg\" alt=\"tips before going to Moscow\" width=\"536\" height=\"953\" srcset=\"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Metro-tour-in-Moscow.jpg 536w, https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Metro-tour-in-Moscow-84x150.jpg 84w, https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Metro-tour-in-Moscow-169x300.jpg 169w, https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Metro-tour-in-Moscow-432x768.jpg 432w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 536px) 100vw, 536px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-2971\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Metro in Moscow<\/p><\/div>\n<h3>4. Not smiling Russians. Help!<\/h3>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: .25in; line-height: 18.0pt; background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Georgia',serif; color: #444444;\">Be prepared that Russians aren&#8217;t really smiling people. The same applies to the service sector. But, please, don&#8217;t pay attention to it and don&#8217;t ty to find a reason for such a behavior. And there\u2019s definitely nothing wrong with you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: .25in; line-height: 18.0pt; background: white; orphans: auto; widows: 1; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-spacing: 0px;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Georgia',serif; color: #444444;\">If you ask a Russian \u201cWhy aren\u2019t you smiling\u201d, he\/she will be surprised with your questions ask you in return \u2013 what is there so funny to smile at?<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: .25in; line-height: 18.0pt; background: white; orphans: auto; widows: 1; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-spacing: 0px;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Georgia',serif; color: #444444;\">Russians have nothing against you, it\u2019s just that Russia has a different culture of smiling. Please, don&#8217;t worry and don\u2019t get confused with our not smiling society, and try to accept this fact as a completely unique experience.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: .25in; line-height: 18.0pt; background: white; orphans: auto; widows: 1; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-spacing: 0px;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Georgia',serif; color: #444444;\">Another\u00a0difficulty is that most don&#8217;t speak foreign languages. At least,\u00a0 try to learn most basic words in Russian and the name of the district and street where your hotel is located.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: .25in; line-height: 18.0pt; background: white; orphans: auto; widows: 1; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-spacing: 0px;\">You will certainly meet very open and positive people in Russia who will amaze you with their sincerity and easy attitude. We don&#8217;t consider it a bad manner not to be always smiling. Nobody will judge you for the lack of smiles here. And maybe you will like it, as your face will relax and take some rest.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2972\" style=\"width: 632px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2972\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2972\" src=\"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Russian-girl.jpg\" alt=\"what to know before going to Moscow\" width=\"622\" height=\"953\" srcset=\"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Russian-girl.jpg 622w, https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Russian-girl-98x150.jpg 98w, https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Russian-girl-196x300.jpg 196w, https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Russian-girl-600x919.jpg 600w, https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Russian-girl-501x768.jpg 501w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 622px) 100vw, 622px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-2972\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Smiley Russian girl, our photographer Ksusha<\/p><\/div>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3 style=\"margin-bottom: .25in; line-height: 18.0pt; background: white; orphans: auto; widows: 1; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-spacing: 0px;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Georgia',serif; color: #444444;\">5. Exploring Moscow<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Before having your must see Moscow tour, get ready for an incredible distances. Moscow is the largest city in Europe. We have wide and long avenues, large spaces between houses. So don&#8217;t take on too much. Most likely, all that highlights you want to see will take 3 days in Moscow and not 5-7 hours as you might think. And although the metro runs well, still it will take a lot of time to transfer. Choose the sights you want to see wisely, take Moscow city tours to take the most out of Moscow and enjoy!<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2973\" style=\"width: 470px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2973\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2973\" src=\"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Bikes-in-Moscow.jpg\" alt=\"Travel to Russia\" width=\"460\" height=\"679\" srcset=\"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Bikes-in-Moscow.jpg 460w, https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Bikes-in-Moscow-102x150.jpg 102w, https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Bikes-in-Moscow-203x300.jpg 203w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 460px) 100vw, 460px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-2973\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Walking and cycling around Moscow<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_2974\" style=\"width: 546px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2974\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2974\" src=\"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Breakfast-in-Moscow-min.jpg\" alt=\"things to know before coming to Moscow\" width=\"536\" height=\"953\" srcset=\"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Breakfast-in-Moscow-min.jpg 536w, https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Breakfast-in-Moscow-min-84x150.jpg 84w, https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Breakfast-in-Moscow-min-169x300.jpg 169w, https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Breakfast-in-Moscow-min-432x768.jpg 432w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 536px) 100vw, 536px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-2974\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Breakfast in Moscow<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Planning a trip to Moscow? It&#8217;s absolutely safe to visit Moscow and the best time to visit\u00a0Moscow is now However, be prepared that Moscow is very different from most cities \u2026<\/p>\n<p> <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/5-things-to-know-before-you-travel-to-moscow\">Continue<i class=\"icon-right-dir\"><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2970,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[124],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[1974,1733,705,1972,1969,1968,1887,1336,942,1142,1973,683,811,1301,1971,1970,1967,1157,1889,1555],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2968"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2968"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2968\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6553,"href":"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2968\/revisions\/6553"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2968"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=2968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}