Moscow: How to get there, where to stay

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A couple embraces outside GUM, an arcade-style, three-level shopping center on Red Square that is housed in an 1890s structure. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

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GUM is a retail fantasy land with stores such as Louis Vuitton and Burberry. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

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One of the most popular restaurants in the GUM mall on Red Square is Stolovaya 57, designed to mimic a 1957 Soviet factory cafeteria, all the way down to its plates of “herring in a fur coat” (that’s herring with potatoes, beets and carrots). (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

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A professional photographer waits for tourists in Red Square with a battery-powered printer hidden beneath his sandwich board. The going rate is $10 for a picture in front of St. Basil’s Cathedral. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

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Red Square’s red-brick State History Museum doesn’t get as much attention as the neighboring Kremlin and St. Basil’s Cathedral, but its facade and twin towers add drama to the scene. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

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Domes in Cathedral Square in the Kremlin. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

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This bas-relief near the Kremlin’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier shows an honor guard on the march. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

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The Cathedral of Christ the Savior stands across the Moskva River from the Kremlin. Leveled by the government in Stalin-era 1931, the cathedral was rebuilt, opening in 2000. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

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The Bolshoi Theater, home to Bolshoi Ballet, stands in the middle of Moscow. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

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The State Tretyakov Gallery holds Russian art from the 11th to early 20th centuries. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

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The Tretyakov’s holdings include scores of icons like the image of Jesus shown here. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

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Just outside the State Tretyakov Gallery stands the Lushkov Bridge, where couples hang padlocks to symbolize their love. Hundreds of locks have accumulated. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

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The upstairs “library” area of Cafe Pushkin, on Moscow’s Pushkin Square, is one of the city’s prime power lunch spots. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

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A harpist plays at Moscow’s Hotel Metropol. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

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Pedestrians pass a decorative cow on the Arbat, a Moscow walking street that is popular with tourists. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

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From Moscow’s Patriarch Bridge, the skyline includes ornate lamp posts, golden church domes and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, one of seven skyscrapers built by Joseph Stalin between 1947 and 1953. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

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A stylish, hooded Muscovite steps across ice and slush to hail a taxi on a snowy January day. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

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Muscovites pass a sign advertising a Chuck Berry concert at the Moscow Arena. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

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In Moscow’s Gorky Park, more than four acres are covered by skating rinks and paths, attracting skaters of all ages and skill levels. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

By Chris Reynolds

Jan. 31, 2014 1:12 PM PT

THE BEST WAY TO MOSCOWFrom LAX, Aeroflot offers nonstop service to Moscow, and KLM, Lufthansa, Air France, Delta, Swiss, Turkish and British offer connecting service (change of planes). Restricted round-trip fares range from $965 to $1,655, including fees and taxes.

To arrange my stay and guide, I used tour operator Distant Horizons, 350 Elm Ave., Long Beach; (562) 983-8828, https://www.distant-horizons.com.

Hotel Metropol, 2 Teatralny Proezd, Moscow; 011-7-499-501-7800, https://www.metropol-moscow.ru. Doubles from about $250 a night.

Café Pushkin, 26-A Tverskoi Bulvar, Moscow; 011-7-495-739-0033, https://www.cafe-pushkin.ru/en/. “Library” area main dishes about $15-$80.

Produkti Cafe & Bar, 2C1 Bersenevskiy Pereulok, Moscow; 011-7- 903-789-3474. No website. Meals $10-$19.

State Tretyakov Gallery, 10 Lavrushinsky Lane, Moscow; https://www.tretyakovgallery.ru/en. Adult admission about $15.

TO LEARN MORE

Consulate General of Russia, San Francisco, https://www.consulrussia.org/eng/index.html

Russian National Group, New York, https://www.RussiaTravel.com

Moscow: How to get there, where to stay

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