la tour d'argent wine cellar

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Srn member links, thieves steal $1.63 million in wines from legendary paris restaurant la tour d’argent.

More than 80 rare bottles went missing from the Grand Award winner’s cellar, perhaps during recent renovations

• Suzanne Mustacich

The owners of La Tour d'Argent , the legendary Parisian restaurant and Wine Spectator Grand Award winner, filed a complaint with police last week following an inventory taken of their extensive wine collection. More than 80 bottles, worth $1.63 million (€1.5 million), are missing from the cellar, including bottles from Burgundy’s Domaine de la Romanée-Conti . There were no signs of forced entry.

The theft came to light following an extensive renovation, when the restaurant was closed, between April 2022 and September 2023. The 83 missing wines were taken sometime between 2020 and January 2024, when the most recent audit of the cellar was conducted.

La Tour d'Argent is synonymous with French gastronomy. Located on the Seine at 15 Quai de la Tournelle, the restaurant is known for a stupendous view of the river and Notre Dame Cathedral from the sixth-floor dining room. The atmospheric wine cellar, two floors underground, houses some 300,000 bottles totaling an estimated $27 million.

La Tour d'Argent’s long history begins in 1582, when it first opened as an inn where King Henry III's nobility could dine. The restaurant soon was among the most fashionable places to eat in Europe.

It was rebuilt after the French Revolution. During the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1867, when countries showcased their finest inventions and products, Russian Czar Alexander II, the future Czar Alexander III, King Wilhelm I of Prussia and Prince Otto von Bismarck dined at the same table. In the 1930s, the building took the shape it has today, when the owners moved the kitchen and dining room upstairs to take advantage of the breathtaking views. During the Nazi occupation of Paris in 1940, the restaurant's then-owner hid his most prized wines behind a fake wall.

Normally, the wine cellar is under tight security. The bottles are numbered, making resale on the open market difficult. In recent years, though, several top restaurants have been struck by knowledgeable wine thieves , who are suspected of selling to private collectors.

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Interview: David Ridgway, La Tour d’Argent

Words by Barnaby Eales

Photography by Thomas Renaut

David Ridgway, head sommelier and wine buyer at La Tour d’Argent in Paris, has spent more than 35 years transforming the legendary restaurant’s cellar into a veritable library of the finest French wines.

Home to 300,000 bottles, the cellar includes up to 40 vintages of the greatest wines of France. Prices range from €60 for entry-level wines to €20,000 for wines like 1990 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and 1982 Pétrus. The rarest and most expensive wines, held on the cellar’s first floor, are protected by wrought iron gates and walls reinforced with battleship-grade steel.

The cellar temperature is controlled to within half a degree: 13 ° C in summer and 11.5 ° C in winter, allowing wines to mature at the optimal rate, and providing Ridgway (whose office is in the centre of the cellar) with the cool head he needs for making decisions on his annual wine buying budget of €1m.

You once described La Tour d’Argent’s cellar as a paradise of wine, saying you would never wish to work elsewhere. What have you enjoyed most about your 38 years there?

There is the beauty of tasting the finest wines on earth, of tasting the wines that you have laid down for 15 or 20 years. I have tasted the last 40 vintages of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti . They imbue you with a unique feeling of wellbeing; they transport you to a higher plain. At vineyards in Burgundy and elsewhere, I have developed relationships with three generations of vintners.

Earning the respect of customers and winemakers is very rewarding, as is the constant sharing of opinions with chefs at the restaurant. This combination, together with the exceptional view of the Seine and Notre Dame, has created a unique atmosphere at La Tour d’Argent.

You expanded La Tour d’Argent’s wine list from 100 pages with 1,000 wines in 1981, to today’s 400 pages with 15,000 wines. How have buying decisions changed of late?

I like to spend money. It is always been a bit of a problem, discussing budgets with the accountants and the restaurant owner, but now we are buying less as customers are drinking less. In Paris, we sell a maximum of 15,000 bottles a year in the restaurant, which, on average, represents close to a quarter of a bottle per person per meal. 75% of reservations are now for two people, many of whom order wine by the glass.

Customers now have a tendency to drink younger wines. We buy up to five or ten cases directly from about 40 to 50 producers. Buying wine on allocation from producers now means that if you don’t buy one year, the wines may not be available to buy the following year. The very high prices of the most recent Burgundy and Bordeaux vintages make buying them more difficult, but you can still find a Bruno Clair for €180 a bottle, for example, which shows how some red Burgundy can be relatively cheap, considering its rareness and quality.

What are customers at La Tour d’Argent drinking?

We are selling more red Burgundy than ever, but less white Burgundy. In the restaurant, most people ask for Burgundy, the Rhône and the Loire Valley.

Which celebrities or heads of state have you served there?

Mick Jagger, Prince, Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman, to name but a few. Woody Allen has a keen interest and knowledge in wine; his taste has evolved from Bordeaux to Burgundy over time. Elton John, who ordered a bottle of Louis Roederer’s Cristal , was extremely charming. In just one week, we had a visit from Bill Clinton, who drank a 1988 Château Margaux, and from Boris Yeltsin, who drank a 1990 Chambertin Clos de Beze. Of the two, Yeltsin drank the most.

In just one week, we had a visit from Bill Clinton and from Boris Yeltsin. Of the two, Yeltsin drank the most

Some French sommeliers complain that restaurants in Paris mark up wine by as much as five or six times the buying price…

Managing prices is a difficult daily task. We try to keep prices down, but it’s hard to explain why we are selling wine cheaper than they could be sold at auction. Some customers ask to buy a case of wine to take home with them, but I know it’s not to drink themselves – it’s to sell them on at higher prices.

I gather there was an accident with an 1811 Chateau Lafite Rothschild, which was once the oldest wine in La Tour d’Argent cellar. What happened?

A cellar assistant was up a stepladder and knocked the bottle to the ground, smashing it. He didn’t  have to pay for the wine, but I had great difficulty explaining the damage to Claude Terrail [Tour d’Argent’s then owner]. The 1811 vintage from the Year of the Great Comet was known to be a wine of exceptional quality. I daren’t think what it was worth [so-called Comet Vintages occur after comets are seen and in winemaking lore are reckoned always to be exceptional: 1811 is one of the most legendary. In 2007 a bottle of 1811 Lafite fetched €36,000 at Christie’s Los Angeles].

You joined La Tour d’Argent in 1981 after moving to France from Britain .  The management initially kept it quiet that you were British. Having now lived in France longer than in Britain, do you feel more French or British?

Until now, I never really wanted to obtain French nationality. There was no need. But now [with Brexit] I am dying to do so, but it has become a very lengthy process because so many people are applying for French nationality.

The word is that you are about to retire. Is this true?

I no longer do the restaurant service – I am rather bored of people spending the whole evening on their smartphones rather than talking to each other – however, there is no date set for my retirement.

If you had to choose five favourite wines and their vintages what would they be?

The pleasure of wine lies in its diversity. Choosing wines depends on what you are eating, your mood, where you are, how you feel and the atmosphere. If I had to, I would choose reds or whites from my go-to region, such as the 1985 vintage Côte de Beaune in Burgundy. Any Champagne from the Grand Cru villages of Chouilly and Cramant, aged 10 years in the bottle, would be marvellous. As Claude Terrail always said: ‘There is no party without Champagne.’

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Tagged: la tour d’argent wine cellar, wine cellars, part 2 – the big boys.

After my intro with two modest private wine cellars from the previous post, a visit with the big guns.  My three top wine cellars around the world. One from Paris France, the other in London, England and the last one representing The Americas a wine cellar in the Bahamas with close ties to Italy (the owner’s Homeland)

  E’ videmment we start with Good old PARIS

La Tour D’argent cellar

You cannot select a wine from such a comprehensive list just by a quick glance at the list. Careful reading would literally take HOURS! It details a wine selection from the 18th and 19th centuries to date and is the best wine list I have had the chance to lay my eyes upon in France, or anywhere else in the world. If you look carefully you can also find inexpensive gems such as the 2 wines we chose for our Lunch (before visiting the cellar), but we had the chance and time to select the wines well in advance at Yair’s flat which lies one floor beneath the restaurant, how convenient! They were 1986 Domaine Francois Raveneau Butteaux, Chablis Premier Cru, a 25 year old Chablis with all the fruit and acidity to keep the wine afresh yet with complexity that has developed within the wine, to equal white wines from grand cru lots around Bourgogne in the south.

The Red was:  1990 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Clos des Réas: Medium bodied brownish red, brick color, with notes of sweet red and black fruits, some sweet dried plums and figs and a wonderful earthy smell of wet mushrooms, still retaining nice acidity, vigor and a long finish. We were told it was the very last bottle of its kind in the cellar, mixed feelings from the sommelier of happiness for us a “sad” moment for a 21 year old chapter closed as the bottle was opened… Incidently I had The Quenelles de brochet “Andre’ Terrail” (Pike dumplings) baked (gratine’) in sauce Mornay, and grated cheese, fluffy light sublime. and the legendary Roasted Duckling for main course, The two Flag dishes of the restaurant.

After our perfect Lunch with my good friend Yair Haidu (who lives one floor under the restaurant) arranges a tour for us in the cellar, and the photos speak for themselves.

  La tour d’argent : 

Berry Bros. & Rudd Wine cellar

BBR are the oldest wine and spirit merchant in England, having traded from the same shop for over 300 years. The business was officially established in 1698 by the Widow Bourne at 3 St James’s Street in London, opposite St James’s Palace. At first the company was selling mainly overseas provisions: exotic spices, tea and coffee, around 1760 after entering the business of fines wines and quality Scotch whisky, Berrys are appointed ast suppliers of wine to the British Royal Family during the reign of King George III (1760-1820) and has continued to do so to the present day. The first Royal Warrant (seal) was awarded in 1903 by King Edward 7 th and today they hold two Royal Warrants for H.M. The Queen and H.R.H. The Prince of Wales.

In addition to the Finest Reserves Room, hidden beneath Berry Bros. & Rudd’s historic wine shop are the Georgian vaulted cellars which date back over 300 years, and hold around 20,000 bottles of wine, Simon Berry believes there’s a passage, (now blocked by wine racks and plastered brick work), that leads from this room to St James’ Palace (southbound across the Mall).

The company holds in their wine cellars rare wines for sale and export.  Red Bordeaux wines, dating back to 1860, Tokaji Essencia dating from 1870 and later, fine wines and port and spirits dating back to the turn of the 19 th century 1820 to date including all the “Important” Vintages of the 20 th century of all existing wine, all tucked in behind iron gates to all the underground nooks and crannies.

Back in 1998, when I asked the Simon Berry direct descendent to the founders of the store, what are the special bottles he would select from the vast collection in the company cellars, he found it hard to answer, but gave me  two stories he believes would give a fitting image to his special and wise approach to his fine wine collection : ” I believe that in most cases, it is not the wine itself but rather the event and company for which a certain wine is opened. To celebrate our 300 Jubilee we invited for lunch eighty Chateaux Owners, with whom BBR had working relations relations for centuries, here at No. 3 St. James’s we served:

Chateau Langoa Barton Saint Julien 1982 , Chateau Cos d’Estournel Saint Estephe  1970, Chateau Haut Brion Pessac Leognan  1961, and Porto Quinta do Noval Nacional.1954 (“the last 2 receiving prolonged applauses from the all attending”).

The second story Yesterday we invited for lunch one of our most veteran of Berry customer (since 1935) enabling us to give him the first wine ordeal from us In 1935, the Chateau Margaux 1926 we have it now only in half bottles, and  although the wine is already old and tired, it was still a great way to celebrate our long-lasting relations .

The building of the palace laid the foundations for the development of the entire area and by 1662 Henry Jermyn had begun his ambitious building programme, starting with St James’s Square. A small row of houses had been built along the eastern side of what is now St James’s Street and it was in number three that a lady we know as ‘the Widow Bourne’ lived. (from BBR site)

In 1698 the Widow Bourne she set up business at number three, buying the famous coffee scales and the mill – that are still in the shop today. There’s a leather bound book complete with records of customers’ weights spanning three centuries.

  Berry Bros & Rudd : ADDRESS: 3 St James’s Street, St James’s, London SW1A 1EG. TELEPHONE: 0870 900 4300

Graycliff Hotel , Restaurant

Graycliff’s Wine Cellar is world renowned. The wine list has won the Wine Spectator’s best wine list, Grand Award since 1988. The wine cellar has an inventory of over 250,000 bottles of fine wine from 15 different countries.

Graycliff’s wine list and cellar receives The Grand Award Restaurant Wine List since1988. This award is given to restaurants that show an uncompromising, passionate devotion to the quality of their wine list and inventory.

There is a Vertical collection of most of Chateau D’Yquem wines from the 1875 vintage on to the present days. (A somehow “must” for a cellar of this caliber)

It was New Years Eve of 1996 as we sat down we were served a champagne cocktail made from 1976 Dom Perignon champagne and 50 years old cognac. On New year’s eve they stop at nothing to make this occasion / Bahamas Junkanoo a feast to remember. We take the 80 page wine list (it’s 125 pages long now) and sit by the pool to choose our wines. With list like that this is not an ordinary matter.

There are Chateau Latour 1911, Haut Brion 1924 50 vintages of Lafite, 1858 Chateau Gruaud Larose and others all at thousands of $ a bottle. We opted for white we chose the Francois Raveneau Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru 1976 which was so delicious and fresh at 20 years of age. The color is golden yellow, without its greenish hints of youth Refined nose with flavours of ripe peach and apricots, preserved lemon or orange peel and honey, with floral touch of lily and freesia  On the day, a wine of incomparable quality and finess. A great wine, perhaps the one most able to express what the terroir of Chablis really is.

The Foie gras came with a glass of Chateau Rieussec Sauternes 1975 which was a divine, Nectar of Botrytized honey and iced orange peel.

To wrap it all up we celebrated the countdown to the new year with a glass of 1976 Dom Perignon champagne .

We did not go out for the Jankanoo (Local fancy dress Carnival) it came in to us and with it each and every guest was rolled on site his very own cigar different cigars and flavours for different guests, this certainly called for our very last lavish move we ordered Armagnac’s from 4 different Vintages 1896,1918,1928 1934 what a joy of smoothness and subtlety.

Thanks Enrico, the Garzaroli Family, Husdon Clarke, Willie Armstrong, and all at Graycliff.

Graycliff Hotel , Restaurant & Cigar Company   8-12 West Hill Street Nassau Bahamas  West Hill St, Nassau N 10246, Bahamas (242) 302-9150

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Paris restaurant La Tour d’Argent ‘loses’ more than £1.25m worth of wine

The one-star Michelin restaurant sits on the banks of the Seine and boasts sweeping views of Notre-Dame Cathedral.

La Tour d’Argent, which provided the inspiration for the film Ratatouille , is renowned for having one of the world’s greatest wine cellars.

The tightly-guarded cellar is home to more than 300,000 bottles, and the collection’s worth has been conservatively estimated at £24m.

Staff recently conducted their first inventory since January 2020, and they discovered that 83 bottles had vanished.

They could have gone missing at any time during the past four years, a sommelier at the 422-year-old restaurant told Le Parisien .

Prestigious wines from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti are among those missing, according to the sommelier.

La Tour d’Argent has filed a complaint to the French police. No evidence of a break-in was discovered but the Third Division of the Paris Judicial Police is investigating the disappearance of the wines.

The restaurant has been an icon of Paris ever since it was founded in 1582. It was frequented by King Henry IV, and it has gone on to welcome famous diners from around the world.

Queen Elizabeth II was the guest of honour in 1948. Other famous visitors include Theodore Roosevelt, Charlie Chaplin and Bill Clinton.

Guests will see pictures of the famous diners when riding the elevator up to the restaurant, which is located on the sixth floor of the Quai de la Tournelle in Paris’ 5th arrondissement.

The wine list is an enormous book, which is so heavy that it needs to be wheeled out on a cart to each table. It specialises in old wines, with vintages dating back to the late 19th century, and it houses back vintages of almost every top wine from Burgundy , Bordeaux , the Rhône , Alsace and the Loire .

La Tour d’Argent is also famous for late owner Claude Terrail’s quick thinking in 1940, when he hid his most prized bottles behind a fake wall as the Nazis prepared to seize the restaurant.

Yet for many people around the world, the restaurant is primarily known as the inspiration for the hit Pixar animated film Ratatouille , in which a young rat with heightened senses of taste and smell takes over the kitchen and wows Parisian society with his culinary creations.

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Review of La Tour d’Argent’s Wine List

When La Tour d’Argent lost its second Michelin star a few years ago, continuing its slide down the ranking of top French restaurants, television crews were camped outside for days. Its food may not be what it once was, but this Left Bank institution is as newsworthy as ever. To many people, it is the most famous eaterie in the capital, a four hundred year old restaurant that continues to attract actors, musicians, business leaders, politicians and the Parisian beau monde.

The food isn’t bad, just a little predictable and pricey at E180 for the tasting menu. No matter. There are still two things that make a visit to La Tour d’Argent unforgettable. The first is the jaw-dropping view from the sixth floor dining room, taking in Notre Dame, Sacré Coeur, the Centre Beaubourg and the quais of the Left Bank.

The second is the wine list, which can justifiably claim to be the greatest in France. So extensive is the 450,000 bottle selection that guests have been known to arrive two hours early at La Tour d’Argent, just to read a part of it before dinner. If I tell you that the full list weighs a bicep-straining 9kg, you’ll have some idea of its dimensions.

For lovers of great French wines, there is no better place to drink. To take only two examples, the warren of cellars contains thirty-five vintages of Château Cheval Blanc and ninety-five different Montrachet Grands Crus. The same strength in depth applies to virtually every top wine from Bordeaux, Burgundy, the Loire, Alsace and the Rhône, with vintages dating back to the late-19th in some cases.

La Tour d’Argent specialises in old wines. And when I say specialise, I mean it. Apart from a youthful Aligoté (used to make Kir) and the excellent non vintage house Champagne, the youngest wine on the list, red or white, is a 2003. “If I can’t keep a wine for 20 years,” says the restaurant’s wry English chef sommelier, David Ridgway, “then I don’t really want to buy it.” Maturity is not always an easy sell, mind you. “Apart from here,” he adds, “the people who like to drink older wines in restaurants are probably drinking bad older wines, and that can put them off.”

Patience, good provenance and temperature-controlled storage conditions are the key. La Tour d’Argent buys nearly all of its own wines young, storing them until Ridgway considers they are ready. The list does contain younger vintages, tantalisingly held “en vieillissement” in the cellars, but these are off limits to diners. One punter apparently offered $1000 to drink a youthful, if highly praised, Châteauneuf-du-Pape and was turned down.

Unless you know a fair bit about wine it’s hard to know where to start with such a list. It is arranged by region and appellation, starting with the youngest vintage and descending, step by venerable step, into the past, but there are no tasting notes and no indication as to the style of the wines.

That’s where Ridgway comes in. Each week he makes a personal selection of 20 or so bottles that he thinks are at their peak, which certainly cuts the choice down to a palatable size. Failing that, you can ask him to recommend something else. He’s been working at the restaurant since 1981 and estimates that he has served 700,000 bottles of wine in his twenty-eight year stay. The man arguably has a deeper knowledge of old wines, especially Burgundies, than anyone else in France.

I gave him a budget of E100 per bottle, modest by the standards of La Tour d’Argent, and asked him to choose a red and a white to partner the seven course tasting menu. His choices were as unpredictable as they were brilliant, matching the food to perfection. The 1985 Riesling Grand Cru Muenchberg, Lorentz (E95) and the 1985 Montus Prestige Madiran (E95) were delicious old wines, the first a dry Alsace Riesling of haunting restraint, the second a mature, Tannat-based red that’s as good as many a Classed Growth Bordeaux at three times the price.

It’s almost sacrilegious to say it, but the list could be improved. A few by the glass wines would help, although there are 1000 half bottles by way of compensation. I’d also like to see more information about the producers and vintages, even if you’d need a small crane to prize the resulting list off the table. Lastly, a handful of younger wines wouldn’t go amiss. Not everyone wants to drink six year old Sancerre.

But these are caveats. This is an amazing treasure trove of wines, priced fairly and sold with knowledge, passion and obvious enjoyment. If they gave Michelin stars for wine lists alone, La Tour d’Argent would have three.

La Tour d’Argent, 15 Quai de la Tournelle, 75006 Paris. Tel : 00 33 1 43 54 23 31

Number of wines: 450,000

By the glass: 2

Under E30: None

Over E100: 4000 plus wines

Best value: 1991 Volnay Pitures, Domaine Boillot at E125 per bottle

Worst value: 1982 Château Pétrus at E19,826 per bottle

Gluggability: *****

Expense account adjuster: *****

Sancerre index: Not applicable. No one else sells six year old Sancerre.

Originally published in Intelligent Life

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• Appellation - Champagne
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Tour of the Novodevichy Monastery. Founded in 1524 by Grand Prince VasiliIoanovich, the original convent was enclosed by fortified walls and contained 12 towers. The structure served as a convent for women of noble birth...

• Schedule Daily 09:00 - 17:00

The Moscow Metro is one of the largest and most grandly built metro systems in the world. It was meant to be a showcase of the Soviet Union’s achievements for both the Russians themselves and for visitors from abroad....

• Schedule Daily 10:00 - 17:00

The history of Kolomenskoye stretches back for centuries. In 1380, Dmitri Donskoi’s army passed through Kolomenskoye on their way to the Kulikovo battlefield, and it was here that Donskoi celebrated his victory over...

• Schedule Monday not available Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday 10:00 - 17:00 Saturday 11:00 - 18:00

Considered by some to be the Russian Vatican, Sergiev Posad is the temporary residence of the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Trinity St. Sergius Monastery (Lavra) was built in the first half of the 1340s by...

The Tsaritsyno Estate is located in the southern part of Moscow. The estate was constructed for Catherine the Great by the Russian architects Bazhenov and Kazakov in a romantic gothic style. The complex includes a landscape...

• Schedule Monday not available Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 11:00 - 17:00 Saturday 11:00 - 19:00 Sunday 11:00 - 18:00

The Kuskovo Estate often called the Moscow Versailles due to its perfectly preserved French park, is an example of an 18th century, luxurious Moscow summer residence. Its history dates back to 1715, when the village of Kuskovo...

• Schedule Monday, Tuesday not available Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday 10:00 - 18:00

Vodka is an important component of Russian life, an element of national identity and everyday culture. We invite you to visit the Vodka Museum and feel the atmosphere of long-gone centuries. You will get to know the story...

• Schedule Daily 10:00 - 19:00

Take this opportunity to learn more about the Russian writer Lev Tolstoy. During the visit to the museum you will see part of a vast collection of exhibits connected to Tolstoy and his family including books and personal...

• Schedule Monday not available Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday 10:00 - 17:00 Thursday 12:00 - 19:00

This apartment museum located close to Patriarch Ponds became the prototype of the "bad apartment" described in the novel "The Master and Margarita." Currently the museum's collection includes more than three thousand...

• Schedule Monday not available Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday 12:00 - 19:00 Thursday 14:00 - 21:00

Express to Russia specializes in Moscow city excursions, an essential part of your Moscow travel itinerary. We offer a large variety of day excursions throughout Moscow and its suburbs. From  Red Square  and the  Kremlin  to a city tour of Moscow’s  Old Arbat Street  or the  Moscow metro , an excursion specializing in Stalin and the KGB and much more. No travel to Moscow is complete without taking a few of our day tours that most meet your interest in Russia.

Moscow City Tours

Our Moscow day excursions can be organized on foot or with transport. All of our excursions are led by an experienced guide, specializing in the subject matter of the tour. Excursions are privately run and can be booked for 1 traveler all the way up to large groups of travelers. We run our Moscow city tours in every season. This is because travel to Moscow is excellent in any season. In the summer take a stroll through  Gorky Park  or take a riverboat tour along the Moskva River. In the winter, see Moscow’s winter wonderland of ice and snow and then settle in for a cozy lunch or dinner with a hot bowl of borsht. In winter, spring and fall, you can beat the crowds at all of Moscow’s main attractions and museums. Regardless of when you come, Express to Russia will make sure that your trip is one of your best vacations ever.

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17 Exciting Things to do in Moscow

Written By: Linda Voltaire

Updated On: December 21, 2022

Visiting Russia? These are the top 17 things to do in Moscow to help you plan your trip.

If the western world has New York City , the first great metropolis on the eastern side of our planet is Moscow. A huge city with a complicated and impressive history, Moscow gets a bad rep over Russian politics – but that doesn’t make it any less impressive. Capital to the largest country in the world, Moscow takes the grandeur of its standing very seriously.

This is a place where luxury is king and where opulence takes a front seat in every aspect of life. The buildings are grand and imposing, the parks are luscious and enormous, and even the subway stations look different in Moscow than anywhere else in the world.

Table of Contents

Best Things to do in Moscow, Russia

Walking around Moscow is also going through the tumultuous history of the 20th century, which had Russia as one of its main protagonists. There are fascinating remains of these times everywhere in the former Soviet capital, from the gorgeous Seven Sisters skyscrapers to the Orthodox cathedrals that were closed for the better part of a century.  Still, Moscow is also a completely modern city, with a vibrant social and party scene, incredible restaurants, and some of the most luxurious hotels in the world.

After living in Russia’s capital as an ex-pat for four years, I got the privilege to experience not only the main attractions in Moscow but also the everyday life in this huge city and quickly found my sweat spots off the beaten tracks! So here is my list of my top 17 things to do in this exciting metropolis!

Attractions in Moscow

When visiting a famous city like this one, it’s a must to go through the most iconic landmarks first. Moscow has plenty of those, most of them in the center of the city, which is very well-planned for tourists.

1. The Red Square, Kremlin & Surrounding Area

No place tells the story of Moscow’s power in the past century the way the Red Square does. This is where the biggest political meetings in the USSR occurred for many decades, and you can feel the power on each step.

Here, you’ll also find the historic museum at the entrance, showcasing the decades of history behind this iconic landmark. The Lenin Mausoleum, perhaps the most famous resting place in the world and home to the remains of the former communist leader, is also here.

On one side of the Red Square you’ll find the Kremlin, the fortified complex that now hosts the presidential residence. This is also home to the most iconic of all Moscovite landmarks: St. Basil’s Cathedral, a 16th-century marvel of colors. This is the best spot to take a selfie and show the world you’ve reached the Russian capital!

• Get your Kremlin Skip the Line Tickets and Kremlin tour here.
• Free cancellation up to 24-hours in advance of the tour.

2. Bolshoi Theatre

You can easily spend a couple of days just exploring the Moscovite city centre, and the Bolshoi Theatre should be your second stop. Walk past the Red Square and then head to the nearby Bolshoi Theatre, one of the oldest and most renowned houses of opera and ballet on Earth.

Visit for the impressive early 19th-century architecture, but if you’re seeing a ballet performance, make sure you book between 3 and 6 months in advance! I can strongly recommend this as it is a truly unique experience!

• Book a private 2-hour tour of the legendary Bolshoi Theatre.
• See the presidential box reserved for tzars, watch a rehearsal and skip the lines through a separate entrance.
• Free Cancellation up to 24-hours in advance.

3. Luxury Shopping at GUM and TSUM

While many might think of Moscow as the sad place with the long bread queues from the USSR days, it’s been quite the capitalist haven for a while.

If you’re up for some shopping, you’ll find one of the biggest luxury malls in town, TSUM, right behind the Bolshoi and GUM, at the red square. GUM is the most famous department store in town, where you’ll find luxury everywhere and all high-end brand. 

All in an imposing late 19th-century building with lots of history, worth a visit just for the design, its bridges and the glass roof even though you are not up for shopping!

4. Christ the Savior Cathedral

A newer addition to the gorgeous Moscovite cathedrals and my grandeur neighbor during my years in the city Don’t let the young age of this building fool you. After the perestroika in the early 90s, the newly revived Russian Orthodox Church received permission to build a cathedral on this site. They did the location honors and built the largest temple of the Christian Orthodox Church.

The façade is as grand as you’d expect, but it’s the inside that will mesmerize you, with its domes as tall as the skies in bright gold and gorgeous paintings and decor! Bring a shawl to cover your hair to adjust to the local tradition.

Head to the back of the cathedral and you will find one of the most photographed bridges in Moscow, the Patriarshiy Most. This is the perfect spot to get a good view and photo of the cathedral but also to see the Kreml and Gorky Park from a distance. Or why not just enjoy a moment watching the river and its boats!  

• Get around Moscow with ease using the Hop On Hop Off boat and Bus ticket. 24, 48 or 72-hour tickets available.

5. Gorky Park

Cross the river and head to Gorky Park along the Moscow river. The most famous green area in town, similar to New York ’s Central Park and the weekend hangout for locals. There are many beautiful parks in the city, but if you’re only visiting for a few days, this is the unmissable one! 

With fair attractions to entertain children, beautiful artificial lakes and gardens, and lots of outdoor activities, it’s a lovely place to relax. A place of rest in the middle of the metropolis. The area in front of the New Tretyakov Gallery & the Muzeon Park of Arts is actually one of my favorite oasis as a bit more quiet and peaceful than Gorky itself.

Why not spend some time in the museum to get a great tour of Russia’s history through art or just enjoy the art exhibition outside where local artists spend their weekends. 

6. River Cruising

One of the best ways to experience Moscow is from the Moscow River. There are many stops for the boats and one is just next to Gorky Park. See the city from another perspective – and turn the ride into a romantic one by taking the evening cruise. Moscow is magic during the night.

If you’re looking for a truly luxurious experience, take the Radisson Blu cruise – or the Erwin for a delicious seafood dinner. Both stop at Gorky or at the luxury Radisson Royal Hotel, set in one of the Seven Sister’s skyscrapers.

• We use Get Your Guide when booking city tours and they offer a River Sightseeing Cruise seeing all the main tourist attractions in Moscow

7. Metro Hopping

First inaugurated in the 1930s, the Moscow subway system is one of the oldest in the world, and certainly the most beautiful. Started under Stalinist times, each metro station is dedicated to grandeur and oozing personality.

Visiting the subway stops is an attraction in and of itself, and Komsomolskaya, Mayakovskaya, Kropotkinskaya are my favorites. Those surrounding the Red Square are also mesmerizing – in general, these are kind of like underground palaces.

Most of the signs at the Moscow Metro now have Latin letters, so it’s very easy to get around!Unfortunately, the trains are not as beautiful and pleasant as the stations but still, this is a true Moscow experience.  Take a guided tour of the 9 most beautiful Metro Stations including the award-winning art deco station. See more details here.

8. Arbatskaya & Artsy Moscow

Novy Arbat Street is one of the most touristy areas in the city, with lots of shops and cafés directed at visitors. When you walk a little beyond, you’ll find a different part of town, where the hip scene thrives because so many artists live in the area. Just follow the small streets with fewer tourists!

9. Moscow State University View

In his effort to create a grander Moscow, Stalin had seven skyscrapers built in different parts of town; they’re called the Seven Sisters. The largest of these buildings hosts the main building of the Moscow State University, one of the most prestigious colleges in Russia – and the one with the best view.

Although this is a little outside the city centre, the sight from above is more than worth it, with the nearby fountains and park and then the whole of the city behind them.

10. Russian Market

If you love to visit markets wherever you go, Moscow has one of the most impressive ones in the world – the Izmailovsky. You can easily take the metro here and feel like you’ve been transported to another time.

This place was first built in the 16th century and retains the look of an old fairytale, with a lineup of colorful old castle. A lovely local experience beyond the confines of the bustling metropolis, where you can also try some delicious Russian barbecue.

Here, you’ll find beautiful souvenirs at great prices.

Off The Beaten Track Moscow

Once you’ve covered the most touristic spots, Moscow still has plenty to offer – and the places below will also be full of locals! Moscow is a city for hipsters, full of trendy and arty spots where you can literally feel the creativity oozing! So for some local vibes, I would strongly recommend my sweat spots below!

11. Patriarshiye Prudy

This is my favorite area in the entire city! While Moscow is generally a very noisy metropolis, Patriarch Ponds is far quieter, yet such a vibrant place. This is a very hip and trendy area making you think you are rather in Paris than in Moscow. Here the streets are narrow and full of chic eateries and clubs to see the local crowd.

A little bohemian and with an air of peace you won’t find anywhere in the city this is a great spot to spend an afternoon with your thoughts.

12. ArtPlay

Barely 15 minutes away from the city center you’ll find the artsiest Moscow district: ArtPlay. For decades, this block was a factory, but it was renovated to become a hub for the arts not too long ago.

Now, you’ll find it’s full of exhibitions, showrooms and art schools – and some of the most creative people in town. Writers, painters, and young hip people use ArtPlay as a rendezvous, and you can feel the creative energy here. The industrial design with modern interior decoration is also a feast for the eyes!

13. Shopping Local Designs

If you’re into design, both international and local, you’ll find lots of cute things at Patriarshiye Prudy. Department store Podium Market is also a great spot for shopping, as a department store everywhere in town, with lots of local and international brands. There’s one in the Four Seasons Hotel next to Red Square. My favorite Moscow mall is Tsvetnoy Central Market, a cool spot with great brands, lots of inspo, and even a cute café!

14. Moscow City

Like many other great capitals of the world, for the past few decades, Moscow has hosted a super modern area full of modern skyscrapers – Moscow City. With a completely different vibe than the rest of town, it’s like a mini Dubai, with lots of impressively tall glass buildings. Here, you’ll find the best rooftops in towns, such as Ruski and Sixty they are perfect spots for dining or enjoying a glass of wine with a view. There are also a relatively new shopping mall with lots of international brands called Affimall!

Wine, Dine, and Party in Moscow

Gone are the gloomy Moscow days – cold as it might be in the winter, Russia’s capital is a place for the senses. Great food and drinks abound – and the clubs are hot, too!

15. Where to Eat in Moscow

Moscow is a great metropolis where people love to dine out, and there are endless options for delicious food. The flavors are as diverse as you’d expect from a big city, with options of fine dining and little hipster eateries. 

• For traditional Russian flavors, I can’t recommend Café Pushkin, Dr. Zhivago, and Turnadot enough.
• When looking for international cuisines, Italian is always the way to go, and my local favorite is Probka.
• Fine dining is best done among the clouds at White Rabbit, with European flavors.
• As for the hip spots, you can spend a full day just eating around trendy places, from burgers to Asian fusion.

More Dining Options

• Patriarshiye Prudy offers a lot of small and classy spots with cool concepts, like breakfast restaurants I Love Cake and Fresh.
• For dinner, I love the NYC experience of Saxon & Parole, and the wonderful trendy Pins, with its delicious food and drinks.
• For delicious Asian food head to CutFish. 
• Lastly, there’s a recent revival of food markets in Moscow, offering lots of great choices of international flavors at affordable places.
• Don’t miss out the Vietnamese food stand at the Danilovsky market, and everything at Usachevsky!

16. Rooftopping

Big cities deserve to be seen from above, having a cocktail among the clouds. These are my recommendations for rooftop bars in Moscow.

• As I mentioned in the Moscow City section, Sixty & Ruski are two of my favorites, overlooking the newest part of town. 
• White Rabbit and its fine dining is also a lovely place for a fun dinner looking down on Moscow.
• O2, in the city center, has an advantage above all others: amazing views of the Red Square.
• Buono, above the Radisson Royal Hotel, might be the most romantic rooftop hotel in town, with its candlelit setting.
• Also on the Radisson stands the Mercedes. It’s a luxurious and posh experience with delicious cocktails.
• The Sky Lounge offers a peculiar experience, mixing an old Soviet building with futuristic additions.

17. Moscow by Night

Party the night away! The city is full of bars everywhere, but there are some areas where you’ll find more than others.

• Patriarshiye Prudy has lots of hip and small clubs and great bars, including the super fun private club Clava, which has a great vibe and people from all walks of life.
• For more hipster style bars, Red October is the place to go.
• Streak is a summer favorite, with a lovely terrace to catch a beautiful sunset – plus, their mozzarella bar is delicious.
• At night, Red October lights up with clubs everywhere, including the cool rooftop one Gipsy.
• Jagger is also a great spot during summer with a more relaxed vibe in garden setting. 
• For the traditional Russian luxury experience, go to SohoRooms, a whole other world including all-night go-go dancers.

There are so many things to do in Moscow at night and during the day, you definitely need several days to explore this exciting destination.

Moscow is a must-see city, a city like no other ! I hope you will enjoy this Russian metropolis as much as I did!

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About Linda Voltaire

Linda Voltaire is the owner of Travel with a Silver Lining, home to reviews of gorgeous boutique & design hotels, hip & trendy eateries as well as authentic and personal travel experiences beyond the crowd. She started blogging after a life-changing trip across South America. Follow Linda at TravelWithASilverLining / Facebook / Instagram /

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10 thoughts on “17 Exciting Things to do in Moscow”

These places look so awesome! Moscow is truly a beautiful city

Very good article, you have explained so nicely. Russia has always been a part of history and its good to know about much more about architecture and other things, wish i could see the inside of façade

Thanks for sharing such a nice article.You have very beautifully explained everything that one need for a trip to Moscow.

Nice article. Love the hidden gems and graffiti art, would love to visit Artplay. Thanks for a comprehensive guide to Moscow!

Moscow is a city where the past and the future live side by side. Here we can find everything from medieval fortresses and Soviet monoliths to glass skyscrapers and innovation centers.

Your article is good and meaningful .

Thanks for sharing about ArtPlay district, we didn’t know about it and it looks amazing 🙂 Hopefully there’ll be a second time in Moscow, we visited last May and really liked the city!

Wonderful stuff! I’ve been to Moscow, but not properly – it’s a long story lol!

Anyhoo, my next thing is to fly from Berlin to Moscow and then travel from there to Beijing via the Trans-Mongolian / Trans-Siberian train. Now, if only I could just find the time …!

I hear Moscow is very beautiful at night. I hope to get out there one day. A friend of mine went to St. Petersburg and had a great experience. Despite all the tension we see on the news with Russia and other Countries like the U.S. I wonder what the sentiment is with Russians and foreigners visiting their country for tourism. Especially Americans.

that looks like quite a beautiful place. 🙂

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