Hip Moscow

Recent investment around the city aimed at improving life for Muscovites has brought a plethora of new parks and attractions. Take a short walk along the river to Moscow’s newest park, Zaradye Park, or ‘Putin Park’ as it is known, which opened last year with a price tag of 14 billion roubles ($220 million). It includes 13 acres of beautifully landscaped space, a Philharmonic auditorium embedded in a hillside, an amphitheatre and four microclimate zones to reflect the glories of the Russian landscape: Forest, Tundra, Wetlands and Steppe. The highlight is the stunning view from the 70-metre cantilevered ‘floating’ footbridge, which looks across to the Kremlin, the Krymsky Bridge and the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The floating bridge gives the illusion of precarious fragility, but is strong enough to hold 3-4,000 people at a time and it provides an exciting and fresh perspective on the river and the city.

Across the Moskva river, the Krymskaya Embankment has undergone a similar transformation as part of the hipster renewal of Gorky Park. The park’s full name is The Central Park of Rest and Culture, but there are so many distracting activities on offer you are unlikely to want to take a rest.

Gorky Park was renovated only a few years ago and is maintained as a free space ‘for the people’ and it provides a real glimpse of Russians out and about enjoying themselves. Join in on roller blades and bicycles, which are available to hire, play ping-pong, or just stroll about and people watch. For around

400 roubles you can hire a pedalo boat for four people or, if you are feeling less energetic,