The Top 10 Things to Do and See in Moscow's Kremlin

Home to Russia‘s most powerful residents throughout the years, these palaces, with their exquisite architecture and ornate exteriors, retain a sense of their glorious past. Most notable is the Grand Kremlin Palace which, on its own, cost a mind-boggling 11 million rubles when it was first built in 1838, and a further one billion dollars was spent renovating it in the 1990s. The site of the tsars’s private rooms, the signing of many landmark treaties, and the current residence of the Russian President: history simply shines from every facet of this building’s gloriously gilded exterior.

Other sites, located just on the Kremlin’s periphery, are equally deserving of a visit. For starters: Red Square. This iconic Moscow landmark, with its red walls and view across to St Basil’s and of the Kremlin’s dazzling domes, is the archetypal view of Moscow that no tourist should miss. Wander round the former site of declarations of new tsarist laws and the home of monuments to some of Russia’s greatest heroes, such as Minin and Pozharsky. Take in the imposing sight of the Kremlin’s towers and Moscow’s most famous shopping center: GUM. Constantly buzzing with activity, Red Square is also often home to many markets, festivals, and celebrations.