10 scenic public transportation routes in Moscow (PHOTOS)

1. River route 1: Along ‘Moscow City’ Business Center

Moscow has four regular river electric transport routes, each beautiful in its own way. But, the first is, perhaps, the most impressive. It runs between the ‘Kievsky’ pier (not far from ‘Kievskaya’ subway station) and ‘Fili’ Park (not far from ‘Filyovsky Park’ subway station). In an hour and a half, you’ll travel from the old districts to the skyscrapers of ‘Moscow City’ and then find yourself in a huge green park. There are nine stops along the route in total.

2. Moscow Tram Diameter 1: Through the historic center

The first Moscow Tram Diameter (MTD) connected the ‘Universitet’ subway station in the southwest with the Metrogorodok district in the east of the city, which borders the ‘Losiny Ostrov’ National Park. It passes through the very center and, from the tram window, you can see the famous Chistye Prudy, Yauzskiye Vorota, the Stalinist high-rise on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment, the ancient Donskoy and Svyato-Danilov Monasteries, as well as other iconic places of the capital.
Part of the route overlaps tram No. ‘39’ (‘Universitet’ – ‘Chistye Prudy’), but the MTD 1 goes further.

3. Bus No. ‘297’: From Park Pobedy to the center

Starting at Park Pobedy (Victory), the bus route passes through Poklonnaya Street, where the ‘Battle of Borodino’ panorama is located, Berezhkovskaya Embankment and Vorobyovy Gory (Sparrow Hills), then turns onto Leninsky Prospekt and ends near the ‘GES-2’ cultural center. The ride takes about 2 hours.

4. Bus No. ‘301’: Through Serebryany Bor

From the ‘Polezhaevskaya’ subway station, you can get to Moscow’s beautiful Serebryany Bor Park, with pine forests, beaches, walking paths and other attractions along the banks of the Moskva River.

5. Bus No. ‘522’: Through ‘VDNKh’

‘VDNKh’ is a huge Soviet-era park with many themed pavilions and grandiose fountains. Many of them can be seen right from the bus window: route No. ‘522’ from the ‘Botanichesky Sad’ subway station to the ‘Ostankino’ MCC station, passes directly through the park, making stops at the Green Theater, the Museum of Cinema, the ‘Rabbit Breeding’ pavilion and the Botanical Garden.

6. Tram No. ‘25’: From Sokolniki to Ostankino

Departing from Sokolniki, home to one of the city’s oldest parks, this tram route crosses a wooded area and then heads toward ‘VDNKh’. It passes the main entrance arch, the Museum of Cosmonautics and ends at Ostankino Pond.

7. Bus No. ‘Б’ (‘B’): Around the Garden Ring Road

This is one of Moscow’s oldest routes, making a full circle along the Garden Ring Road. So, if you want to see the main sights of old Moscow in just over an hour, feel free to hop on the ‘bukashka’ (‘bug’) – as Muscovites affectionately call this bus.

On the route you’ll encounter Stalinist high-rises, railway stations and pre-revolutionary apartment buildings.

8. Bus No. ‘M5’: Along Moscow’s boulevards

This route connects the sports heart of the capital – Luzhniki Stadium – with the main boulevards downtown. It passes through the Khamovniki District, along Gogolevsky, Tverskoy and Tsvetnoy boulevards and ends at ‘Dostoevskaya’ subway station.

9. Bus No. ‘M9’: Through the city center to the Moskva River

The route links ‘Rizhsky’ railway station with Tyufeleva Roshcha Park, passing through the heart of the capital. The Bolshoi Theater, Alexander Garden, the Lenin Library and the ‘GES-2’ – you’ll see all these iconic Moscow landmarks from the bus window.

10. Bus No. ‘511’: From ‘VDNKh’ to the center

Another scenic route through Moscow’s historical sites begins on Zvezdny Boulevard, not far from the ‘VDNKh’ subway station. In 70 minutes, it passes ‘Rizhsky’ railway station, the Central Theater of the Russian Army, Tverskoy Boulevard and Karetny Ryad. The final stop is ‘Krasnopresnenskaya’ subway station.

Bonus: Moscow Central Circle

This is a circular urban railway route that runs within a few kilometers of the city center. Along the way, you’ll see ‘Moscow City’, the Botanical Garden, the Izmailovo Kremlin, as well as many other interesting places in Moscow. Find more details about it here.