#Things to do in Moscow

13. Tsaritsyno Museum-Reserve

Once upon a time, the Empress Catherine the Great used this as her summer residence; given her reputation as a fearsome and formidable woman, one can only imagine what her reaction to the disrepair and ruin that it fell into under Soviet rule would have been. Since the 1980s, the whole reserve has been restored and extended, and provides a welcoming green space in the busy capital. The buildings, opulently decorated, are also endlessly Insta-worthy, and you can spend quite literally hours wandering the grounds – they cover a whopping 405 hectares, wound through by various waterways, including the Zhuzha River, which springs up from underground.

14. Ostankino Television Tower

Built in 1967, it used to be that only meteorologists were allowed up on to this tower’s observation deck, but now you can take to the 85-meter-above-ground-level vantage point without having the faintest idea of how to read a weather map. Views are, unsurprisingly, pretty epic even from this level but if you laugh in the face of vertigo, then head on up to the even higher deck which, at 337 meters, is sheltered behind glass. Security is tight, so be prepared for airport-style bag checks – and if the height hasn’t made you too queasy to eat, then the tower’s revolving restaurant serves up decent, if not especially cheap, food, all the while turning twice every 40 minutes to offer you a ever-changing view of Moscow.