Something different

Across the road from the imposing main entrance of Gorky Park is the Graveyard of Fallen Monuments, which is a fascinating assembly of old Soviet statues and public sculpture that has fallen out of favour. Worth a visit simply to view a curious selection of historical statues, including Lenin and Stalin, or more profoundly, as a keen reminder of the recent past.

The Ukraine Hotel, recently renamed the Radisson Royal following an expensive renovation, is one of the original neoclassical

‘Seven Sisters’ commissioned by Stalin in the late 1940s. Completed in 1957, it is still known as the Ukraine Hotel and the old name is proving hard to shake. The building is worth a visit for its own sake, and from here it is easy to take a river tour along the Moskva river. Radisson Blu, which owns the hotel, has a private flotilla and offers trips that take two hours from the Ukraine Hotel Pier (Taras Shevchenko Embankment/kievskaya Metro station) to Gorky Park. There are regular departures throughout the day, and a trip down the river is an ideal way to enjoy the autumn weather. It is possible to dine on board while serenely drifting past the majestic architecture along the river. Amongst the great landmarks you will pass on the boat trip are the imposing statue of Peter the Great and the ancient and beautiful Novodevichy Convent, a UNESCO world heritage site, which dates back to 1520. It is located toward the southwest of the city at a bend on the Moskva River.

The Novodevichy Convent is well worth a closer look and the Metro makes the trip easy (red line Sportivnaya Station). The fortified walls that surround Moscow’s most famous cloister not only contain the Smolensky Cathedral but also a series of other very pretty church buildings nestled in pleasantly shaded gardens, where the only sound you can hear is of the birds singing amongst the trees. The lake within the grounds is said to have inspired Tchaikovsky when he wrote Swan Lake in