Moscow

For those who are really making your way there...here's some info on Moscow for you.

Moscow, the capital of Russia, is a city that is way more vibrant and contemporary than what one would imagine given its communist history. Moscow is Russia’s centre in terms of politics, economics, finance, education, religion and transport.

Like many other capitals in the world, Moscow is situated on the bank of a river known as the Moskva River. The Moskva River runs about 500km and has 49 bridges built across it. Given that the city lies on the northern hemisphere, winter months are typically in December / January with summer months in July / August. Moscow winters are usually long and cold while summer months are warm and somewhat humid.

Moscow is headed by one mayor, Mr. Yuriy Luzhkov. The currency of Russia is the ruble, which is further subdivided into 100 kopecks (or kopeks or copecks).

The heart of Moscow is the Moscow Kremlin, a historical fortress that houses many palaces, churches, armories and buildings, built over a span of many hundred years. It is the official residence of the President of Russia.

Moscow has five primary commercial airports. The Sheremetyero International Airport handles mostly international flights and is located 10 km (6.25 miles) from the MKAD beltway (which is a freeway). The Domodedovo International Airport typically handles long haul domestic flights as well as flights to CIS destinations. The other three airport (Bykovo Airport, Ostafievo International Airport and Vnukovo International Airport) handles typically inter-Russian flights.

There are nine rail terminals in Moscow, all of which are located close to the city centre. Each terminal handles trains from different parts of Europe and Asia.

Moscow’s road system is centered around Moscow Kremlin. Roads radiate out from the Kremlin to intersect with a sequence of circular roads.

Local transport in Moscow includes the Moscow Metro (with 12 lines and 176 stations), a comprehensive bus network, an electricrail network (which connects suburbs and satellite cities) as well as the tram and trolleybus networks.

Finally, there are 170 hotels in Moscow. Read the guide here to choose your hotel.