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The Best RV LED Lights for Your Travel Trailer & Motorhome

Writen by Tom Hank

Fact checked by Joseph Varney

If you own an older model RV, from the 1990s or early 2000s, the lights installed in your vehicle are likely all incandescent bulbs. If so, it is about time to switch to the best RV LED lights to enjoy updated features.

One reason why RV LED interior lights are preferable is that they have a much brighter light than incandescent lamps.

Moreover, LED lamps consume less electricity, which is just a fraction of what incandescent bulbs use to provide the same amount of illumination. You can find several other reasons why it would be in your best interest to use an efficient 12v LED RV light.

However, you need to brace yourself for the deluge of many different lighting options that you will be seeing once you start shopping for new lights. To help you make the right decision and find the best place to buy RV LED lights, continue reading this article.

Table of Contents

Best RV LED Light Reviews

1. leisure led rv led double dome light.

The thing that I liked the most about this 12-volt LED lights for RV interior is its extremely long service lifespan. Compared to the old incandescent bulbs that only last around a thousand hours, you can expect these LED lights to last for 60,000 hours, maybe even longer.

Also, I wanted to switch over to LED lights for camping trailers since they were very energy-efficient. As expected, this product did not disappoint.

Each bulb uses around 6 watts of energy, which is much less than old bulbs used to consume.

Another unexpected benefit of these lights, for me at least, is that they help make the air conditioner work much better. Even after hours of being on, the lights do not even heat up enough to make you want to pull back your hands.

Because there are significantly fewer heat loads now, the AC system of my RV does not need to work as hard as before.

Another excellent thing about these lighting fixtures is that even though they consume just a couple of watts of electricity, each lamp can produce an impressive amount of illumination, 550 lumens worth of light to be specific. Just a couple of these lights installed on the ceiling of your RV will be enough to light up the whole interior of the vehicle.

• Proven to be energy-efficient
• Does not produce a significant amount of heat
• The lights last for a long time.
• Produces a lot of bright white light
• Has a built-in switch that allows the use of either both lights or just one side
• The grooves in the plastic dome cover cast weird shadows.

2. Kohree Upgrade LED RV Double Dome Light

I am impressed with these RV LED ceiling lights because of their brightness. They can replace the halogen lamps that originally came with the RV.

Another thing that I liked about these new LED bulbs for RV interiors is that each one has an independent power switch. With that, I can wire these bulbs up to turn them on with one master switch. Moreover, the switches will allow you to choose between lighting up one or both sides of the dome light.

Plus, you are going to love how easy it is to install the Kohree 12-volt LED RV light fixtures. It is nice that the fixture perfectly fits the hole left by the old incandescent bulb. Since the wires do not have any polarity, connecting them properly to available spots are effortless.

Also, these replacement RV interior lights do not produce a significant amount of heat. Some of the halogen and incandescent lights that I had in my RV got so hot that they melted the plastic housing of the fixtures. With these new pieces, you can touch the dome lights while still feeling a bit warm without burning your hands at all.

• Produces 700 lumens of light, which is plenty for most people’s needs
• Comes with independent light switches
• Consumes little electricity
• Easy to install; minimal wiring required
• Stays cool even after being lit for hours
• Comes with quite fragile plastic dome covers

3. Facon Classic LED Bright Pancake Light

The main reason why I wanted to replace RV interior lights with led is that it can help me save money on electricity.

Each of these Facon 12v RV ceiling lights only consumes 7 watts of electricity. It is just a fraction of the amount that my old incandescent bulbs used.

The neat thing about LEDs is that they can work for hours without heating up too much. If you leave these travel trailer LED lights on for hours, you will still be able to touch the bulbs directly without any problem whatsoever.

Because the new LED lamps produced very little heat, it made the air conditioning system of the RV work easier to maintain a comfortable temperature inside. It means that the A/C does not need to use up as much electricity, thus adding even more energy savings.

Most users love pancake light for its beautiful style. Aesthetically speaking, these lights look great. The lights sit almost flush against the surface, and the trim almost seems to blend into the lens. You can’t also find any exposed screws, giving the illusion that the lamps are just glued onto the surface.

• Does not heat up to the point that it can melt plastic
• Does not produce any additional heat load for the A/C to cool down
• Stylish and sleek
• Has individual switches so you can turn any one of them off while leaving the others lit
• Kind of tricky to install

4. Thalassa 12V RV Bedside Reading Lights

These 12-volt LED camper lights quite a lot provide the perfect brightness for cabin reading.

Buyers are pleased that these products are easy to install. The base is removable from the rest of the lamp, giving the entire thing a clean look after installation.

The items already come with two wires for tapping into the RV electronics, but you need to be careful not to get the cables switched or else the lamp will not work.

Best of all, you can dim these LED lights for RVs interior without any hassle. You just need to hold your finger down on the switch and take it off when the brightness is already to your liking. Here is the even better part. When you turn the light off, it will remember your dim settings. It means that you do not need to set the light all over again.

Beyond that, the product comes with a USB port when you need to recharge your gadgets. I like this feature as there are no convenience electric outlets near my RV bedside. With this light within reach, I can have my smartphone always by my side while charging it through the night.

Another neat thing about this design of RV light is that a light beam can be directed anywhere you like. Unlike dome or pancake lights where the light is dispersed over a large area, you can focus it on your side of the bed only.

• Installs cleanly without any visible screws or mounting brackets
• Provides just the right amount of light, and can be dimmed down when necessary
• Comes with a USB charging port for smart gadgets
• The light can be directed towards a specific direction.
• The lamps are rated to last up to 30,000 hours of use.
• The lamp is not replaceable.

5. MICTUNING 12V LED RV Double Dome Light

I did not regret even a bit my decision to replace the old lamps of my RV with these brand new MICTUNING 12-volt LED light bulbs for RV. Purchasing this item save my money on electricity at a much larger scale than I expected.

Notably, these lights helped reduce the amount of electricity my RV consumes since they minimize the amount of heat the air conditioner has to deal with. The old lights that came with my RV got so hot that some of them had melted dome light covers. These newer LED dome lights only feel warm even after a few hours of use.

Another thing that I liked about these new lights is that each dome light has its switches. It means that you can turn off each light if needed, thus saving you even more electricity.

I also appreciate the fact that these lights are so easy to install. They are the same size as the old lights in my RV, so I did not need to do anything to the existing holes. Also, the lights already come with wires that I can splice onto the RV’s electric circuit.

• Uses up little electricity
• Does not add additional heat loads for the A/C to deal with
• Not a fire hazard, making it different from halogens
• Comes with individual switches
• Produces much more light compared to old incandescent bulbs
• The plastic diffuser casts weird shadows.

6. Facon 4.5-inch LED RV Puck Light

The thing that I liked the most about this Facon LED puck light is the unique installation style.

First of all, this light is recessed into the ceiling, giving it a clean, flush profile. Moreover, you can choose between screwing the base onto the roof, or using the spring clips to hold the light in place securely.

The majority of customers are amazed by the long-lastingness of this product. It is better than the incandescent ones that need replacement every year or so. In detail, the lights are rated for 50,000+ hours of continuous use – that is more than five years.

Moreover, I also like how energy-efficient these lamps are. Compared to the old incandescent bulbs that used to consume around 60 watts of power, these new lights only need 4 watts to operate. They not only use less electricity but also produce more light, making them more cost-effective.

The smoked dome covers of these lights also disperse light softly and evenly. Unlike other dome lights, these items do not cast any shadows, thus providing excellent mood lighting wherever you need it.

Because these lights are not quite as bright as others, they work perfectly for the corners and sides of the RV interior to provide a warm, welcoming glow.

• Easy to install and does not require screws, but you can use them if preferred
• Mounts flush into the wall
• Consumes just 4 watts of electricity
• The plastic dome disperses light evenly.
• Produces more light compared to incandescent
• The plastic domes are kind of hard to take off.

7. Lumitronics RV LED Mount Scare Light

I wanted to change the scare lights of my RV because they have been consuming quite a lot of electricity. And I am happy that I chose the Lumitronics LED scare light as the replacement. It uses less energy than the old light while being significantly brighter.

Regarding the brightness, this scare light is twice as bright as the old one installed on my RV. It is beneficial whenever I have camped at a secluded place away from the noisy trailer parks.

This light provides sufficient illumination when I want to sit back and relax outside the RV in the evenings. Because the product can be mounted outside the RV, it is incredible that the bulb can withstand changing weather conditions. Also, its base is made of thick sheet metal that is powder-coated white.

This item does not only match the exterior of the RV but also makes it highly resistant to rust and other forms of corrosion. It also comes with a thick mounting gasket to make sure that rainwater will not seep into the mounting holes.

When utilizing this model, you do not have to climb up to it every couple of months to replace the burnt-out incandescent bulbs. The LED used to power this light is rated for more than 50,000 hours of continuous use.

• Easy to install as it comes with everything that you will need for the installation
• Completely weatherproof
• Consumes just a fraction of the electricity that the old bulbs used to use
• Produces significantly more light compared to incandescent scare lights
• Lights last for many years
• The gaskets were a bit too soft for my liking.

8. Kohree 12V LED RV Dome Light

One impressive fact about the Kohree LED light bulbs for RV interior is that they have an incredibly long service lifespan. Its durability easily surpasses numerous users’ expectations.

Apart from its long service lifespan, these LED camper lights are also very energy-efficient. If you compare these dome lights to similar ones that use incandescent bulbs, the ones from Kohree only use a fraction of the electricity at just 3.6 watts. On such a little amount of power, they can generate 320 lumens of light.

Another reason why I genuinely liked the Kohree RV interior lighting is that it did not add to the overall heat load inside the RV. So the air conditioner of the RV does not need to compensate for cooling down the interior. It results in more savings in electricity.

I have one of each installed in the bunk beds of the sleeping quarters. I wanted to give the same feel as those capsule hotel rooms in Japan where everyone will have their miniature room in the RV. And these lights worked great for that purpose.

• Easy to install and wire
• Boasts of an incredibly long service lifespan
• Does not add to the overall heat load of the RV
• Produces a lot more bright light compared to similar-sized incandescent bulbs
• Some dome lights produce inconsistent light.

9. GRB Super Bright T10 921 922 912 LED Bulbs

You might want a pack of these 921 LED bulbs for RV for better lighting inside the RV. These new GRB LED bulbs are a lot brighter than the old bulbs, making the interior of my RV a bit more cheerful and lively.

Aside from the excellent brightness, its colour temperature of this item is also cooler than the old bulbs. I was not too fond of the yellowish light that the incandescent light bulbs produced. Luckily, these LED bulbs deliver a light that is easier on the eyes.

I am happy that the base of these light bulbs is the same size as the old bulbs that came with the RV. You should not worry about the installation process of this piece since it can be an effortless DIY task.

The main reason why I wanted to switch over to LED light bulbs is that I wanted to save money on electricity, and this product did not disappoint. For the amount of light that this bulb produces, it consumes very little power, therefore saving me the huge expenditure spent on electricity.

• Produces a lot more light compared to the old incandescent bulbs
• Has a brighter and cooler colour temperature
• Fits perfectly into the old lighting fixtures
• Consumes significantly less electricity
• Does not produce a noticeable amount of heat
• The light has a slightly bluish tinge.

10. Lumitronics RV LED Lights Interior

When I was looking for replacement LED lights for my RV, I was lucky enough to stumble upon this product made by Lumitronics.

For first-time users, attaching these lights to the RV roof will give them no trouble whatsoever.

I am delighted to say that this dome light can provide extra bright light for your space. In detail, the dome light can produce a whopping 455 lumens of light. Sometimes, I find myself turning off a couple of them because they are just too bright.

Speaking of turning off the lights, I am also happy that each dome light has its independent power switch. The great thing about this switch is that you can choose to turn on both bulbs of the dome light, just one side, or turn both off. You can, therefore, customize how much light is in the RV at any given time.

Apart from all the good things about the Lumitronics dome light, another reason why I chose it is that it has a very impressive service life span. It is not a problem with this dome light because the bulbs are rated for 70,000+ hours.

• Very easy to install – Even someone with limited electronics skills can do it.
• Produces much more light than expected
• Bright light for your space
• Comes with separate switches
• Can last up to 70,000+ hours of continuous operation
• Replace the entire fixture when broken

11. InLED 12V Recessed Light

One impressive thing that is worthy of highlighting about the InLED recessed decorative RV interior lights is the way that they look. If you want the interior of your RV looking sleek and polished, look no further than these lights.

With these lights, your RV interior will receive a more relaxed mood lighting. It is the reason why the products provide just 270 lumens of light. Here is the kicker. Because these products only produce not that much light, they also consume very little electricity.

I notice that even when all six of these lights are turned on, the fan of my 12V inverter would still not turn on because it is just a small load.

Plus, people also love these LED lights for the ease of their installation. The product comes with a long extension wire, which you will then connect to a central cable hub (included in the package). After connecting all the lights to the hub, you can joint it to the 12v system of the RV.

Moreover, you do not have to use screws to mount these lights into your ceiling or walls. The items are spring-loaded. You only need to push the lights into the recess hole, and the spring-loaded latch will hold the light in place. Furthermore, the piece locks automatically and keeps the fixture completely secure.

• Very easy to wire and comes with a wiring hub
• Produces just enough warm light
• Small and low profile
• Snaps into place, no need for screws
• The wires jutting out of the lights are not soldered well enough.

12. Camco 54788 Backup Light Bulb

These Camco products are replacement light bulbs for the backup light of your car – lighting up whenever you place your vehicle into reverse. It is essential to tell the car behind that you will be reversing the RV.

This replacement light is the perfect choice for burned-out tail light bulbs. You do not need to worry about how it will fit. It is because the bulbs are all identical to the ones that have been used in other cars and vehicles.

These are not just used for tail lights. The bulbs are also the perfect fit for cabin lights, trunk lights, and license plate lights. You can use this light anywhere where there is a socket for a single-contact bulb.

If you are not familiar with these types of light bulbs, note that they are not threaded like regular bulbs. The sockets are spring-loaded, and you can find notches along the side. You can start pushing and twisting the bulb a bit to secure it in place.

• Easy to install and replace
• Produces a respectable amount of light
• Boasts of an industry-standard design
• Can be used anywhere that has a double-contact socket
• Short service lifespan

Best RV LED Lights Buying Guide

As mentioned earlier, you can find thousands of different RV LED lighting options in the market nowadays. To help you choose the right one, or at the very least considerably limit the number of your possible options, here are some factors you need to take into consideration.

The size of your budget – While the price of a single LED bulb will not set you back too much regarding its price, keep in mind that you will be replacing a lot of lights so that the costs will stack up. Another thing to remember is that you will need to pay for quality lights.

You can expect the cheapest ones to be excellent. Odds are you will be more satisfied with the quality of bulbs that at least cost more than a dollar each.

You will need to set a reasonable budget for the lights in your RV, especially if you want them to perform a certain way. For example, if you’re going to retain the same colour temperature as the original RV lights.

The base of the lights – Most RV owners would just like to replace the bulbs instead of the whole lighting fixture because they want to preserve the original look of the interior as much as possible.

Changing the lighting fixtures is a bit risky as you will be putting something in that was not designed for the RV. It might look tacky. If you are planning on getting replacement bulbs, take the ones that have a 921 base.

You can find lights with bases that look like a wedge. You just need to insert these lights directly into the fixture, making them much more compact than bulbs that have screw-on bases. The good thing is that plenty of 921 LED bulbs are available today, and they are not that expensive either.

Wattage – A bulb’s wattage is the amount of electricity that it consumes. The good news is that LED lights are so efficient at producing light, using at least 85% less energy compared to incandescent bulbs that provide the same amount of illumination.

For instance, an average 6-watt LED bulb can produce the same amount of light as a 60-watt incandescent bulb. Many people mistake wattage as the amount of light that a bulb emits, but that is not the case. That value is determined by the light output, which we will be discussing next.

Light output – The light output of a bulb is measured in lumens. The higher the number of lumens, the brighter the light the bulb produces. It is the reason why a 6-watt LED bulb can generate the same amount of light that a 60-watt bulb produces.

Although both bulbs produce the same amount of lumens, the incandescent bulb uses significantly less energy than the LED. It is essential since when replacing the bulbs in your RV, you have to consider the amount of light produced by the replacements.

Do you want to retain the same amount of brightness inside your RV, or something a bit brighter than the ones that you had before?

If you are thinking of retaining the original light output of your RV interior lights, use a photometer to measure the present amount of light. After that, look for LED lights that have the same output.

Colour temperature – Color temperature refers to the description of how warm or cold the colour of the light is. This value is measured in Kelvin units. It describes the light intensity according to that of the sunlight

This scale starts at 2700K. The higher the number, the whiter it looks. If the number is close to 2700K, the light will appear yellowish.

• 2700K – This product is the warmest colour of light bulb that you can get nowadays. It is the most relaxing for the eyes, thus suitable for use in bedrooms and living rooms.
• 3500K – This colour of light is a bit whiter, but still not entirely as white as natural daylight. You can often use it in bathrooms, kitchens, and dining rooms.
• 5000K – Often called cool white, these options refer to bulbs that have a fluorescent glow. You can expect these options to provide quite a lot of brightness and visibility, though they are still not so bright that they hurt the eyes. It is the reason why it is the colour light that is often used in hospitals.
• 6000K+ – It is the brightest option, composing most white light bulbs that you can find in the market. Also referred to as daylight bulbs, the ones in this category almost perfectly mimic the colour of daylight at noon.

These kinds of bulbs are more suitable for offices as they are bright enough to enable people to read documents easily.

Maximum Overall Length (MOL) – It pertains to the length of the LED bulb. This factor is vital if you will still be using the original fixtures that came with the RV.

You need to measure the length of the original bulbs carefully and make sure that the replacement bulbs that you will be getting are roughly the same length, or shorter.

Extra Features – The additional features are not that important, unless, of course, you want some of the lights in your RV to be dimmable. Not all LED bulbs have a dimming capability, so determine if you do want this feature in your RV.

How Many Types of LED Light for RV Are There?

So what are the different types of LED lights that you can use for your RV? Here are just a few of your choices:

Dome Lights – The dome lights are the most common types of RV lights. You can often see these lights in smaller RVs, but you can also find them in larger ones.

You can wire these lights so that you can turn them on or off using a single switch. However, note that their fixtures also come with individual switches so you can turn off some of the lights while still leaving the others lit.

These lights are preferred in smaller RVs with low ceilings as users can easily reach them and turn them on or off.

Dinette Lights – These lights are similar to dome lights, but they are not quite as bright because they are meant to light up just a small area.

You would usually place these lights underneath the kitchen cabinets to aid in food preparation. You can also use these items to light up the dining area, hence the name.

Pinup Lights – These choices are light fixtures mounted on the walls and are usually turned up. More than just providing illumination, the pinup lights also serve as decorative pieces.

There are also times when these items serve as accent lights. Aside from that, you can place these lights outside of the RV, usually at both sides of the doorway.

Recessed Lights – As the name suggests, these LED lighting fixtures are embedded inside the ceiling of the RV to give the interior a sleek and clean look.

You can see these fixtures being often used in larger model RVs with high ceilings. However, you can also expect the lighting to work well in smaller RVs, but with proper design and positioning.

How Do RV LED Lights Work?

Although LED lights come in many different shapes and sizes, the way they work is still pretty much the same. A LED (Light Emitting Diode) is what is called in the industry as solid-state lighting (SSL) technology.

Unlike old-fashioned incandescent lamps that emit light from a vacuum or compact fluorescent bulbs that use noble gases, SSLs emit light from within a piece of solid matter. In this case, it is a semiconductor.

LED lights work pretty much the same as incandescent bulbs. It means that electricity has to pass through it to produce light.

However, in the case of LEDs, instead of a resistor filament, just having electrons move the semiconductor in the LED bulb is enough to create electromagnetic radiation. The human eye can even perceive some of it as visible light.

How Do I Change My RV Lights to LED?

The neat thing about changing your RV lights to LEDs is that you no longer have to change the lighting fixture or anything, like you would ten or so years back.

You can now buy LED bulb replacements that can fit perfectly into your existing 12v lighting fixtures. You just need to search for 921 LED bulbs. These bulbs have the same wedge-shaped base that the incandescent bulbs in your RV use.

It means you just need to swap out the old incandescent or halogen lamps with these new LED light bulbs.

How Do You Change an Interior Light Bulb on an RV?

It is pretty easy to change the interior light bulbs in an RV, especially if you will not be replacing the light fixture. In this example, we will be using a simple dome light.

First, turn off the light and let it cool down for a bit before you do anything. Afterwards, you can remove the plastic dome cover. Sometimes, you can see the cover is screwed down onto the base. There are also instances when you still have to pry it off using a flat screwdriver.

It is necessary to prevent it from shattering in your hands and causing severe injuries. Once you have grabbed hold of the bulb, give it a good tug.

If the bulb is in there tight, give it a bit of wiggle while you are pulling it out. Once you have pulled the old one out, replace it with the new 921 LED light bulb. Your RV might have a T10 base, so check first before buying bulbs. Just insert the new LED bulbs into the same slot where you took the old piece.

Do not replace the dome cover just yet. You need to turn on the light first to see if you inserted the bulb the correct way. If it does not light up, turn the switch off, pull it out to flip over, and try again.

If the bulb still does not light up, it might be busted. After you have tested the light, you can replace the dome cover again.

Care and Maintenance

The great thing about RV LED lights is that they are pretty much low-maintenance. You can mostly just forget about the lights after installation. However, you can do a few things to make sure that the lights will last for as long as possible.

First, turn the lights off when they are not needed. Not only will this simple gesture prolong the service lifespan of the LED bulbs, but you will also save quite a lot of electricity. Even though LED bulbs use so little power, it does add up after some time.

Also, you should take the time every week or so to wipe the dust off the dome covering the lights. You do not need to open up the dome and clean the bulbs themselves.

A clean and clear dome cover will let more light through, thus maximizing the use of the LED bulbs. This one does not technically prolong the lifespan of the bulb, but you will be able to get a lot of use from the LED lamps.

Other RV LED Lights We Reviewed

Kohree 12V LED RV Ceiling Dome Light

If you will be replacing the lights, including the fixtures, get this pack of 5 sets from Kohree. You will be getting excellent products at a reasonable price.

Key Features:

• Each lamp is rated to last up to 60,000 hours of continuous use.
• Each bulb produces anywhere between 4000 and 4500K colour of light.
• Comes with a 3-way switch with both lights on or just one light on

Leisure LED 12V LED RV Dome Light

You will not regret getting these replacement lights. Aside from being brighter than your old lights, they can also last a whole lot longer.

• Each bulb only draws 3 watts of energy.
• Produces 300 lumens of light
• Easy to install

GRB 1156 1141 1003 BA15S 68-SMD LED Light Bulbs

Not only are these light bulbs suitable for the interior of the RV, but you can also use them to replace the tail lights of your vehicle.

• Extremely bright; can produce up to 800 lumens
• Each bulb has 68 SMD LEDs, ensuring even light production.
• Can fit in the tail light sockets perfectly

Aucan T10 921 194 42-SMD 12V Reverse LED Lights

If you are not satisfied with the dim and uneven lighting produced by your incandescent light bulbs, replace them with these products and be amazed.

• Can fit in any standard 921 socket
• Easy to install as it has a plug-and-play setup
• Each bulb has 42 pieces of SMDs, ensuring 360 degrees of illumination.

Miady 12V RV LED Dome Light

Give your old RV a modern touch by replacing your indoor lights with these new LED dome lights.

• Sleek and modern design
• Produces 4000-4500K colour light, ideal for indoor lighting
• Can produce up to 560 lumens, more than enough light for RV interior

Areful 16.4-feet Flat LED Rope Light

Are you looking for easy to install and versatile accent lights for your RV? Look no further than this product.

• You can choose between eight different colour lights.
• Easy to install as it comes with wall clips
• Can be easily interconnected; can also be cut to size using scissors

THALASSA 12V LED Touch Boat Ceiling Light

These dimmable lights are perfect for the sleeping quarters as a reading light

• Equipped with convenient touch controls
• Only 0.38-inch thick, making it sleek and low-profile
• Boasts of natural dimming settings

Heng’s HG-LR-W-WW-AFT LED Vent Trim Kit

Replace your RV’s dull vent trim with this flashy LED trim kit from Heng’s.

• Not just for show as it can add 720 lumens to your interior lighting
• Can run from the 12-volt line from the vent
• Low power consumption

Facon 3-inch LED RV Puck Light

This recessed puck light is effortless to install. You do not even need your screwdriver if you do not want to.

• Can be mounted two ways: by screwing on the base, or using the spring clips
• Has an estimated service lifespan of 50,000+ hours
• Produces 210 lumens each, with a colour temperature of 3400K (warm white)

Dream Lighting RV LED Recessed Down Light

Add a little more mood lighting to your RV interior using these recessed downlights from Dream Lighting.

• Produces 110 lumens of warm white light, perfect for sleeping quarters or accent lighting
• Compact design
• Mounts almost flush to the surface

Kohree 12-volt RV LED Light Bulbs

These lights are the ideal replacement for your bayonet-style incandescent bulbs. You can expect the bulbs to be brighter and do not add to your A/C’s heat load at all.

• Lasts 25 times longer than conventional incandescent bulbs
• Uses just a fraction of the energy that incandescent bulbs do
• Produces little to negligible amounts of radiant heat

Lightronic 10.3-inch 12W 1200 Lumens 6000K LED Light

Just a couple of these light fixtures can light up your entire RV. It is truly a worthwhile investment.

• Can produce 1200 lumens of light
• Has a 6000K colour temperature, almost the same as natural daylight
• Can be installed virtually flush to the ceiling for a low-profile look

MICTUNING RV LED Porch Utility Light

Give your RV porch the much-needed illumination using this bright yet energy-efficient light from Mictuning.

• Easy to mount and install
• Produces 750 lumens of light
• The light is cast at a wide and uniform beam.

Changing the lights of your old RV into modern LED bulbs will be one of the best decisions that you will do for your vehicle. However, make sure that you are only using the best RV LED lights so that you can get your money’s worth.

You will instantly see the positive results of the new LED lights right after you install them. Aside from saving a lot of money on electricity, you will also notice that it is a lot cooler inside the RV. In addition to the effect of lighting, led lights also decorate your RV more brilliantly . Beside, to increasing the picnic experience you can learn more about the our favourist lawn chairs and the top-rated rv steps .

These few benefits alone make the change worthwhile, but wait until you do it then find out the many other positive things that you will get.

Hi, I am Tom Hank, an RV-er since 2014. Back then, I started without much help. As you can imagine, the struggles are endless. But now, you do not have to begin your adventures knowing next to nothing about RV lives.

RV Light Replacement: What Size LED Bulbs?

If you’re looking for replacement RV light bulbs, here’s a guide to help you determine what size LED bulb to buy.

Any 12v LED bulb can replace the most common RV light. A19 RV light bulbs and LED bulbs have the same medium E26 screw base. The average LED light bulb measures 5 x 2.9 x 2.9 inches and fits into a regular socket.

Table of Contents

Selecting RV LED Lights

Know the voltage, filaments, and dimensions needed to replace RV lights with LEDs.

Sizing is easiest when upgrading RV lighting with LED bulbs . The base size and whether it retains a pin or filaments are the most significant aspects of sizing. Unless they’ve been replaced, RV interior bulbs are usually the same.

Finding an exact size match for your RV lighting is easiest by looking at the base size and wattage of the current bulb and using an internet conversion chart for incandescent to LED light bulbs. This is a simple incandescent-to-LED conversion chart.

As seen in the table, Incandescent and LED light bulbs have quite different wattages, but this is what makes LEDs eco-friendly and cost-effective.

A cheat chart for matching RV LED light bases is here.

12 watts is the minimum interior LED bulb replacement. Interior light wattage is typically this. Most RVs have 12-volt housing systems that vary.

Choose RV-specific LED bulbs when replacing RV lighting. Replacing bulbs with LEDs is easier if you know their sizes.

RV LED bulbs exist. This stabilizes voltage. RV LED lamps contain sensors that manage RV voltage. Cool, right? It’s probably convenient.

LED RV Light Replacement

After finding the proper size LED bulb for your RV, it’s useful to know how to change them. This site details changing them.

• Turn off your 12v power supply or unplug.
• Remove old dome light caps.
• Remove outdated dome light bulbs
• Drill out old dome light casing.
• Unplug wires
• Wire new LED light fixture.
• Restore power (if light works move to next step, if not rewire the connection)
• Uncover bulbs
• Install new fixture.
• Replace plastic bulb coverings
• Enjoy your new energy-efficient lighting.

LED Bulbs vs. RV Bulbs

So, back when LED lights were still a relatively new concept, they were quite pricey and not exactly budget-friendly. Stop believing all of those rumors since they are no longer true. In the long term, the LED light is a wise and cost-effective investment.

First and foremost, can we discuss how much it costs per year to run those outdated incandescent RV lights? If you haven’t been looking lately, there are a lot of them in an RV.

The average incandescent lamp costs about $4.80 per year to run, and they only last about 1,000 hours until they burn out. In comparison, the LED light bulb will cost less than $1.00 to operate and will last for at least 25,000 hours, if not more.

Though they are more expensive to purchase initially, they will save you money in the long term.

However, this only applies to budget efficiency. There’s a lot more to it than that.

LED light bulbs are also significantly more energy efficient, as evidenced by that modest cost-efficiency breakdown. The average LED light bulb uses only 10% of the power that incandescent RV lights do. This also implies conserving battery power in your RV. I’m not sure about you, but I’m sold.

Also, have you recently removed those incandescent lights? Do you have those wonderful burn marks from those lights on your ceiling? Talk about untrustworthy. You should not be having that difficulty with the newer lights unless you accidentally grabbed the wrong sort of LED light bulb.

Another consideration is hardiness. Have you ever taken a road journey in your RV that was riddled with potholes, bumps, and hills? I’m sure I have, and those bothersome incandescent RV lights don’t appear to be designed for such tough terrain. (Did someone forget to mention that they’re getting into RVs?)

The incandescent lights may easily rock, flicker, fall, and shatter, but the LED lights are designed to withstand the roughness of the RV’s rocky road. After you’ve replaced your incandescent lights with LED bulbs, try it out on the most rugged road you can locate. The LED lights are designed to withstand these vibrations without being damaged or flickering. Do you understand what that means? They are being replaced less frequently. Isn’t that fantastic?

You’re ready to hit the road and enjoy those long-lasting bulbs now that you’ve located the perfect sizing of the bulb to acquire for your RV, understand how to replace them, and received a refresher course on why they’ll enhance your life!

You might also want to read these RV Camping Tips and Guides:

• RV Repair Kit: Seventeen Items I Always Carry
• What is the height of a Camper Trailer?
• Are There Hot Water Heaters in Travel Trailers?
• 11 Wonderful and Efficient Travel Trailer Upgrades (With Videos!)
• RVing Is America’s Next Vacation Destination

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2018 Primetime Emmy & James Beard Award Winner

In Transit: Notes from the Underground

Jun 06 2018.

Spend some time in one of Moscow’s finest museums.

Subterranean commuting might not be anyone’s idea of a good time, but even in a city packing the war-games treasures and priceless bejeweled eggs of the Kremlin Armoury and the colossal Soviet pavilions of the VDNKh , the Metro holds up as one of Moscow’s finest museums. Just avoid rush hour.

The Metro is stunning and provides an unrivaled insight into the city’s psyche, past and present, but it also happens to be the best way to get around. Moscow has Uber, and the Russian version called Yandex Taxi , but also some nasty traffic. Metro trains come around every 90 seconds or so, at a more than 99 percent on-time rate. It’s also reasonably priced, with a single ride at 55 cents (and cheaper in bulk). From history to tickets to rules — official and not — here’s what you need to know to get started.

A Brief Introduction Buying Tickets Know Before You Go (Down) Rules An Easy Tour

A Brief Introduction

Moscow’s Metro was a long time coming. Plans for rapid transit to relieve the city’s beleaguered tram system date back to the Imperial era, but a couple of wars and a revolution held up its development. Stalin revived it as part of his grand plan to modernize the Soviet Union in the 1920s and 30s. The first lines and tunnels were constructed with help from engineers from the London Underground, although Stalin’s secret police decided that they had learned too much about Moscow’s layout and had them arrested on espionage charges and deported.

The beauty of its stations (if not its trains) is well-documented, and certainly no accident. In its illustrious first phases and particularly after the Second World War, the greatest architects of Soviet era were recruited to create gleaming temples celebrating the Revolution, the USSR, and the war triumph. No two stations are exactly alike, and each of the classic showpieces has a theme. There are world-famous shrines to Futurist architecture, a celebration of electricity, tributes to individuals and regions of the former Soviet Union. Each marble slab, mosaic tile, or light fixture was placed with intent, all in service to a station’s aesthetic; each element, f rom the smallest brass ear of corn to a large blood-spattered sword on a World War II mural, is an essential part of the whole.

The Metro is a monument to the Soviet propaganda project it was intended to be when it opened in 1935 with the slogan “Building a Palace for the People”. It brought the grand interiors of Imperial Russia to ordinary Muscovites, celebrated the Soviet Union’s past achievements while promising its citizens a bright Soviet future, and of course, it was a show-piece for the world to witness the might and sophistication of life in the Soviet Union.

It may be a museum, but it’s no relic. U p to nine million people use it daily, more than the London Underground and New York Subway combined. (Along with, at one time, about 20 stray dogs that learned to commute on the Metro.)

In its 80+ year history, the Metro has expanded in phases and fits and starts, in step with the fortunes of Moscow and Russia. Now, partly in preparation for the World Cup 2018, it’s also modernizing. New trains allow passengers to walk the entire length of the train without having to change carriages. The system is becoming more visitor-friendly. (There are helpful stickers on the floor marking out the best selfie spots .) But there’s a price to modernity: it’s phasing out one of its beloved institutions, the escalator attendants. Often they are middle-aged or elderly women—“ escalator grandmas ” in news accounts—who have held the post for decades, sitting in their tiny kiosks, scolding commuters for bad escalator etiquette or even bad posture, or telling jokes . They are slated to be replaced, when at all, by members of the escalator maintenance staff.

For all its achievements, the Metro lags behind Moscow’s above-ground growth, as Russia’s capital sprawls ever outwards, generating some of the world’s worst traffic jams . But since 2011, the Metro has been in the middle of an ambitious and long-overdue enlargement; 60 new stations are opening by 2020. If all goes to plan, the 2011-2020 period will have brought 125 miles of new tracks and over 100 new stations — a 40 percent increase — the fastest and largest expansion phase in any period in the Metro’s history.

Facts: 14 lines Opening hours: 5 a.m-1 a.m. Rush hour(s): 8-10 a.m, 4-8 p.m. Single ride: 55₽ (about 85 cents) Wi-Fi network-wide

Buying Tickets

• Ticket machines have a button to switch to English.
• You can buy specific numbers of rides: 1, 2, 5, 11, 20, or 60. Hold up fingers to show how many rides you want to buy.
• There is also a 90-minute ticket , which gets you 1 trip on the metro plus an unlimited number of transfers on other transport (bus, tram, etc) within 90 minutes.
• Or, you can buy day tickets with unlimited rides: one day (218₽/ US$4), three days (415₽/US$7) or seven days (830₽/US$15). Check the rates here to stay up-to-date.
• If you’re going to be using the Metro regularly over a few days, it’s worth getting a Troika card , a contactless, refillable card you can use on all public transport. Using the Metro is cheaper with one of these: a single ride is 36₽, not 55₽. Buy them and refill them in the Metro stations, and they’re valid for 5 years, so you can keep it for next time. Or, if you have a lot of cash left on it when you leave, you can get it refunded at the Metro Service Centers at Ulitsa 1905 Goda, 25 or at Staraya Basmannaya 20, Building 1.
• You can also buy silicone bracelets and keychains with built-in transport chips that you can use as a Troika card. (A Moscow Metro Fitbit!) So far, you can only get these at the Pushkinskaya metro station Live Helpdesk and souvenir shops in the Mayakovskaya and Trubnaya metro stations. The fare is the same as for the Troika card.
• You can also use Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.

Rules, spoken and unspoken

No smoking, no drinking, no filming, no littering. Photography is allowed, although it used to be banned.

Stand to the right on the escalator. Break this rule and you risk the wrath of the legendary escalator attendants. (No shenanigans on the escalators in general.)

Get out of the way. Find an empty corner to hide in when you get off a train and need to stare at your phone. Watch out getting out of the train in general; when your train doors open, people tend to appear from nowhere or from behind ornate marble columns, walking full-speed.

Always offer your seat to elderly ladies (what are you, a monster?).

An Easy Tour

This is no Metro Marathon ( 199 stations in 20 hours ). It’s an easy tour, taking in most—though not all—of the notable stations, the bulk of it going clockwise along the Circle line, with a couple of short detours. These stations are within minutes of one another, and the whole tour should take about 1-2 hours.

Start at Mayakovskaya Metro station , at the corner of Tverskaya and Garden Ring,  Triumfalnaya Square, Moskva, Russia, 125047.

1. Mayakovskaya.  Named for Russian Futurist Movement poet Vladimir Mayakovsky and an attempt to bring to life the future he imagined in his poems. (The Futurist Movement, natch, was all about a rejecting the past and celebrating all things speed, industry, modern machines, youth, modernity.) The result: an Art Deco masterpiece that won the National Grand Prix for architecture at the New York World’s Fair in 1939. It’s all smooth, rounded shine and light, and gentle arches supported by columns of dark pink marble and stainless aircraft steel. Each of its 34 ceiling niches has a mosaic. During World War II, the station was used as an air-raid shelter and, at one point, a bunker for Stalin. He gave a subdued but rousing speech here in Nov. 6, 1941 as the Nazis bombed the city above.

Take the 3/Green line one station to:

2. Belorusskaya. Opened in 1952, named after the connected Belarussky Rail Terminal, which runs trains between Moscow and Belarus. This is a light marble affair with a white, cake-like ceiling, lined with Belorussian patterns and 12 Florentine ceiling mosaics depicting life in Belarussia when it was built.

Transfer onto the 1/Brown line. Then, one stop (clockwise) t o:

3. Novoslobodskaya.  This station was designed around the stained-glass panels, which were made in Latvia, because Alexey Dushkin, the Soviet starchitect who dreamed it up (and also designed Mayakovskaya station) couldn’t find the glass and craft locally. The stained glass is the same used for Riga’s Cathedral, and the panels feature plants, flowers, members of the Soviet intelligentsia (musician, artist, architect) and geometric shapes.

Go two stops east on the 1/Circle line to:

4. Komsomolskaya. Named after the Komsomol, or the Young Communist League, this might just be peak Stalin Metro style. Underneath the hub for three regional railways, it was intended to be a grand gateway to Moscow and is today its busiest station. It has chandeliers; a yellow ceiling with Baroque embellishments; and in the main hall, a colossal red star overlaid on golden, shimmering tiles. Designer Alexey Shchusev designed it as an homage to the speech Stalin gave at Red Square on Nov. 7, 1941, in which he invoked Russia’s illustrious military leaders as a pep talk to Soviet soldiers through the first catastrophic year of the war.   The station’s eight large mosaics are of the leaders referenced in the speech, such as Alexander Nevsky, a 13th-century prince and military commander who bested German and Swedish invading armies.

One more stop clockwise to Kurskaya station,  and change onto the 3/Blue  line, and go one stop to:

5. Baumanskaya.   Opened in 1944. Named for the Bolshevik Revolutionary Nikolai Bauman , whose monument and namesake district are aboveground here. Though he seemed like a nasty piece of work (he apparently once publicly mocked a woman he had impregnated, who later hung herself), he became a Revolutionary martyr when he was killed in 1905 in a skirmish with a monarchist, who hit him on the head with part of a steel pipe. The station is in Art Deco style with atmospherically dim lighting, and a series of bronze sculptures of soldiers and homefront heroes during the War. At one end, there is a large mosaic portrait of Lenin.

Stay on that train direction one more east to:

6. Elektrozavodskaya. As you may have guessed from the name, this station is the Metro’s tribute to all thing electrical, built in 1944 and named after a nearby lightbulb factory. It has marble bas-relief sculptures of important figures in electrical engineering, and others illustrating the Soviet Union’s war-time struggles at home. The ceiling’s recurring rows of circular lamps give the station’s main tunnel a comforting glow, and a pleasing visual effect.

Double back two stops to Kurskaya station , and change back to the 1/Circle line. Sit tight for six stations to:

7. Kiyevskaya. This was the last station on the Circle line to be built, in 1954, completed under Nikita Khrushchev’ s guidance, as a tribute to his homeland, Ukraine. Its three large station halls feature images celebrating Ukraine’s contributions to the Soviet Union and Russo-Ukrainian unity, depicting musicians, textile-working, soldiers, farmers. (One hall has frescoes, one mosaics, and the third murals.) Shortly after it was completed, Khrushchev condemned the architectural excesses and unnecessary luxury of the Stalin era, which ushered in an epoch of more austere Metro stations. According to the legend at least, he timed the policy in part to ensure no Metro station built after could outshine Kiyevskaya.

Change to the 3/Blue line and go one stop west.

8. Park Pobedy. This is the deepest station on the Metro, with one of the world’s longest escalators, at 413 feet. If you stand still, the escalator ride to the surface takes about three minutes .) Opened in 2003 at Victory Park, the station celebrates two of Russia’s great military victories. Each end has a mural by Georgian artist Zurab Tsereteli, who also designed the “ Good Defeats Evil ” statue at the UN headquarters in New York. One mural depicts the Russian generals’ victory over the French in 1812 and the other, the German surrender of 1945. The latter is particularly striking; equal parts dramatic, triumphant, and gruesome. To the side, Red Army soldiers trample Nazi flags, and if you look closely there’s some blood spatter among the detail. Still, the biggest impressions here are the marble shine of the chessboard floor pattern and the pleasingly geometric effect if you view from one end to the other.

Keep going one more stop west to:

9. Slavyansky Bulvar.  One of the Metro’s youngest stations, it opened in 2008. With far higher ceilings than many other stations—which tend to have covered central tunnels on the platforms—it has an “open-air” feel (or as close to it as you can get, one hundred feet under). It’s an homage to French architect Hector Guimard, he of the Art Nouveau entrances for the Paris M é tro, and that’s precisely what this looks like: A Moscow homage to the Paris M é tro, with an additional forest theme. A Cyrillic twist on Guimard’s Metro-style lettering over the benches, furnished with t rees and branch motifs, including creeping vines as towering lamp-posts.

Stay on the 3/Blue line and double back four stations to:

10. Arbatskaya. Its first iteration, Arbatskaya-Smolenskaya station, was damaged by German bombs in 1941. It was rebuilt in 1953, and designed to double as a bomb shelter in the event of nuclear war, although unusually for stations built in the post-war phase, this one doesn’t have a war theme. It may also be one of the system’s most elegant: Baroque, but toned down a little, with red marble floors and white ceilings with gilded bronze c handeliers.

Jump back on the 3/Blue line  in the same direction and take it one more stop:

11. Ploshchad Revolyutsii (Revolution Square). Opened in 1938, and serving Red Square and the Kremlin . Its renowned central hall has marble columns flanked by 76 bronze statues of Soviet heroes: soldiers, students, farmers, athletes, writers, parents. Some of these statues’ appendages have a yellow sheen from decades of Moscow’s commuters rubbing them for good luck. Among the most popular for a superstitious walk-by rub: the snout of a frontier guard’s dog, a soldier’s gun (where the touch of millions of human hands have tapered the gun barrel into a fine, pointy blade), a baby’s foot, and a woman’s knee. (A brass rooster also sports the telltale gold sheen, though I am told that rubbing the rooster is thought to bring bad luck. )

Now take the escalator up, and get some fresh air.

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21 Things to Know Before You Go to Moscow

Featured city guides.

Shooter Files by f.d. walker

Street Photography Tips, Interaction, Travel, Guides

Apr 24 2017

City Street Guides by f.d. walker: A Street Photography Guide to Moscow, Russia

*A series of guides on shooting Street Photography in cities around the world. Find the best spots to shoot, things to capture, street walks, street tips, safety concerns, and more for cities around the world. I have personally researched, explored and shot Street Photography in every city that I create a guide for. So you can be ready to capture the streets as soon as you step outside with your camera!

At over 12 million people, Moscow is the largest city in Russia and second largest in Europe by population ( Istanbul is #1). An urban, cosmopolitan metropolis with more than enough glitz and glam to cater to the elite, but without losing its fair share of Soviet era roughness around the edges. It can be fast paced, brash, busy, and trendy like other big cities, but it has its blend of West meets Russia atmosphere and beauty that provides plenty of unique interest. The Red Square is as famous as it gets, but there’s so much more to this city, including the most beautiful subway system you’ve ever seen. It would take years to capture all of Moscow, but that means you have an endless amount of areas to discover.

So here’s a Street Photography guide so you can be ready to capture all that Moscow has to offer before you even arrive!

• Patriarch’s Pond
• Old Arbat Street
• Maroseyka Street
• Tverskoy Boulevard

Top 5 Street Spots:

1. red square.

The Red Square is the most famous square in not just Russia, but all of Eastern Europe. The name actually doesn’t come from the color of the bricks or communism, but from the name in Russian, Krásnaya, once meaning “beautiful” before its meaning changed to “red.” This large plaza is what you see on the cover of guide books and magazines for Moscow, with St. Basil’s Cathedral being the center piece next to Lenin’s Mausoleum surrounded by the Kremlin Wall. Of course, the Red Square attracts hordes of tourist due to the main attractions, but all that activity around an interesting atmosphere does provide street photo opportunities. It’s also the central square connecting to the city’s major streets, providing a good starting point to explore outward.

You’ll also find the popular pedestrian only Nikolskaya Street connecting the Red Square to Lubyanka Square. This line of expensive shops includes plenty of activity, while also leading you to another popular square. Filled with history rivaling any city, the Red Square and surrounding areas are the heart and soul of Russia.

2. Patriarch’s Ponds

Patriarch’s Ponds is one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Moscow. Despite the name being plural, there’s only one large pond, but it’s worth a visit with your camera. It’s a popular spot for locals and expats to come relax or take a stroll around the pond. You get an interesting mix of young and old too, from young love to “babushkas” feeding pigeons. It’s a very peaceful park atmosphere in one of the nicer areas within the city center, while bringing enough activity for street photography. 

The pond is shallow and in the winter becomes a popular spot for ice-skating too. The area is also well-known for the location in the famous Russian novel, The Master and Margarita. 

3. Old Arbat (Stary Arbat)

Old Arbat is the most famous pedestrian street in Moscow, and dating back to the 15th century, also one of its oldest. Originally, it was an area of trade, but soon became the most prestigious residential area in Moscow. During the 18th century, Arbat started attracting the city’s scholars and artists, including Alexander Pushkin. Cafes lined the streets and impressive homes filled the neighborhood. Since then, New Arbat street was created as a highway in the area, while Old Arbat was paved for a 1km pedestrian only walkway.

Due to the historic buildings, famous artists that lived here, and the bohemian atmosphere, Old Arbat has become a big attraction for tourists today. Now, there’s a mix of cafes, restaurants, souvenir shops, street performers, street merchants and other attractions for visitors, and some locals, to come enjoy. It can get really busy here and there’s usually something interesting going on so it’s a good street to come walk with your camera for guaranteed life.

4. Gorky Park

One of the most famous places in Moscow is Gorky Park. The official name is Maxim Gorky’s Central Park of Culture & Leisure, which gives you an idea of what goes on here. When built, it was the first of its kind in the Soviet Union. Divided into two parts, it stretches along Moscow River. One end contains fair rides, foods stands, tennis courts, a sports club, a lake for boat rides, and more. This end brings more active life due to its number of attractions, while the other end is more relaxed, where you’ll find gardens, trees, older buildings, and an outdoor amphitheater.

Gorky Park attracts mostly locals so it’s a good spot to capture the non-tourist side of Moscow life. Muscovites come here to escape the city and unwind in a picturesque setting. The park remains alive outside of the warmer months too, especially when the lake turns into the city’s largest outdoor skating rink. I’d recommend taking the metro out here to spend at least half a day exploring the massive park’s life with your camera.

5. Maroseyka Street

Maroseyka Street is a popular area not too far from the Red Square. The long, winding street turns into Pokrovka and is lined with restaurants, cafes, bars and places to stay. It’s actually where I like to stay when I’m in Moscow due to its location and solid street photography opportunities itself. You have Kitay-gorod station near and if you keep walking southwest, you’ll get to the Red Square. But if you walk northwest, as it changes to Pokrovka, you can find a long street of activity for photography with its own interesting atmosphere.

6. Tverskoy Boulevard

Tverskoy Boulevard is the oldest and longest boulevard in Moscow, beginning at the end of Nikitsky Boulevard, and finishing at Pushkin Square, a spot to come for activity itself. The boulevard is made up of two avenues, with pedestrian walkways in-between. You’ll find grass, shrubbery, trees, benches and more walking it’s almost kilometer length. Many people come here to enjoy some relaxation, walk their dog, or just to use it to walk wherever they’re going. Its center location also provides a nice place to walk with your camera near plenty of other spots you’ll want to check out anyway.

Sample Street Walk:

For a full day of Street Photography, covering some of the best spots, you can follow this sample street walk for Moscow:

• Start your morning walking around the Red Square (1), while exploring the surrounding area, including Nikolskaya Street
• Then walk northwest to Patriarch’s Ponds (2) and slowly walk the pond and surrounding area with your camera
• Next, walk east to the Pushkin Monument and stroll down Tverskoy Boulevard (6)
• Once Tverskoy Boulevard (6) ends, it will turn into Nikitsky Boulevard. Follow this down until you get to the start of Old Arbat Street (3), across from Arbatskaya station
• After you’re done walking down Old Arbat Street (3) for more street photography, spend some time checking out Moscow’s beautiful metro stations
• To finish off the day with more street photography, get off the metro near Red Square (1) again, Maroseyka Street (5) or wherever you’re staying for the night.

3 Things I’ll Remember about Shooting in Moscow:

1. museum metro.

The Moscow metro system was the first underground railway system in the Soviet Union and today includes 203 stations across 340km of routes. The elaborate system has some of the deepest stations in the world too, with escalators that seem to go on forever. None of this is what makes it so special, though. Many of its stations feel like stepping inside a museum, making it without a doubt the most interesting and beautiful metro system I’ve been in.

When built, Stalin wanted to make the metro stations “palaces for the people” with marble, chandeliers, and grand architecture. The best part is the variety of architecture and styles used, making many of the stations a completely different experience visually. You could easily spend a whole day traveling the stations and there are even tours available for people who wish to do just that. My advice, though, would be just to buy a ticket and hop on and off at different stations, while exploring different lines. The museum-like surrounding mixed with the crowds of characters can make for a great photography experience.

Since there are so many stations, here are some of my favorites to check out:

• Novoslobodskaya
• Mayakovskaya
• Elektrozavodskaya
• Komsomolskaya
• Ploschad Revolyutsii
• Dostoyevskaya
• Prospekt Mira

2. Moscow is Big

It’s no secret that Moscow is a big city, but it can feel even bigger with how spread out much of it is. This is especially true if you compare it to cities outside of Asia. If I compared it to cities in Europe, I’d probably say only Istanbul would warrant more time to really discover the depths of this city. Most only explore around the Red Square and surrounding area, but that is such a small part of the city. Although, that central area does give you plenty to see on its own.

Fortunately, I had a good friend living in the city to show me around, but it opened up my eyes even more to how much there is to discover in Moscow. It’s a big city with a variety of atmosphere that can take you from “east” to “west” and trendy to rugged depending on where you go. I’d imagine you’d have to live here a while to really know the city.

3. Cosmopolitan Mix of East meets West

Modern skyscrapers mixed with amazing architecture, a world-class metro system with museum-like beauty, trendy fashion and chic clubs, Moscow is a rich mix of Russian culture and history in a more western cosmopolitan package. There is a push to keep the Russian culture, while also pushing forward with a modern metropolis the whole world will envy. This comes with an impressive skyline, that continues to grow, and endless modernities, but with soviet nostalgia and atmosphere mixed in for good measure.

Mixed in with this grand western cosmopolitan atmosphere, is a strong national pride in Russia. This includes their famous leader, Vladimir Putin. Maybe no other place will you see a country’s leader more often. All over, from the pricey tourist shops to the underground walkway stalls, you’ll find goods with Putin’s likeness covering them. From t-shirts to magnets to Matryoshka dolls. There’s a strong national pride that can be seen around the city, which also extends to their leader. Moscow is many things. It’s East meets West, modernizations meets Soviet era, and a whole lot more.

What To Do For a Street Photography Break?:

Eat at a stolovaya.

Stolovayas are Russian cafeterias that became popular in the Soviet days. You grab a tray and walk down the line of freshly prepared local dishes, and select whatever you want from the chefs. They’re usually inexpensive and a much better value than restaurants, while giving you the opportunity to try from a wide selection of everyday Russian food. They’re also very tasty. I always include some borsch on my tray and go from there. The places themselves are all over Moscow and usually come with Soviet-era aesthetics to complete the experience.

Street Safety Score: 7

*As always, no place is completely safe! So when I talk about safety, I’m speaking in general comparison to other places. Always take precaution, be smart, observe your surroundings and trust your instincts anywhere you go!

Being the 2nd largest city in Europe with over 12 million people, you’re going to have your dangerous areas, but for the most part, it feels safe walking around. Russia is statistically higher in crime compared to most of Europe, but this generally doesn’t apply to tourists and visitors. Around the Red Square and surrounding city center, you should feel completely safe walking around. Pick pocketing can happen, but no more than other touristic places. I always explore Moscow freely without coming across too much to worry about. It’s a spread out city, though, so of course it matters where you are. Just use basic street smarts, know where you are and Moscow shouldn’t give you a problem. 

People’s Reaction Score: 7

Moscow is fast paced, big city life, which usually means people aren’t too concerned with you, or your camera. I don’t find people notice or pay much attention to me when I’m out taking photos in Moscow. For the most part, people just go about their day. You shouldn’t get too many looks or concern. But it can depend on the area you are in. The more you stick out, the more you might get noticed with suspicions. I’ve never had any problems in Moscow, or Russia, but just be careful who you’re taking a photo of if you get out of the city center. Other than that, it’s about average for reactions. 

Street Tips:

Learn the alphabet .

Much of Moscow, including the metro system, doesn’t use english. The Russian alphabet uses letters from the Cyrillic script, which if you aren’t familiar with it and don’t know the sounds, can be hard to decipher the words. This is most important for street names and metro stops when trying to get around. It can save confusion and make it easier getting around if you learn the basic alphabet. At the very least then, you can sound out the words to see which are similar in the english conversion, which can help matching them to maps. When out shooting street photography, getting around is as important as anything. So save yourself some time and frustration by learning the Russian Alphabet.

Use the metro

While Saint-Petersburg feels very walkable for a city its size, Moscow can feel very spread out, even for its bigger size. Outside of the Red Square area, you can have plenty of walking before getting anywhere very interesting, so you’ll need to take the metro a lot if you really want to explore the city. Maps are deceiving here too, it will always be further than it looks.

Another reason it’s less walkable than Saint-Petersburg is its completely different set-up. Moscow’s streets are mostly contstructed in rings with narrow, winding streets in-between. This is common with medieval city cities that used to be confined by walls, but you usually don’t have it in a city this massive. Saint-Petersburg has a more grid-like pattern that also uses the canals to help you know your way around. When it comes to navigating on foot in Moscow, it can be more difficult, so bring a map and take the metro when needed. It’s why Moscow’s metro carries more passengers per day than the London and Paris subways combined.

Explore other areas if you have time

Moscow is really big. While most people stay around the Red Square within the Boulevard Ring, there’s so much more to the city. I covered some other spots outside of this circle, but if you really want to see the city, you’ll need time. If you do have time, some other areas I’d check out first are Zamoskvarechye, along some of the south and western Moscow.

Inspiration:

For some more inspiration, you can look through the Street Photography of Moscow photographer Artem Zhitenev  and check out 33 of my photos taken in Moscow .

Conclusion:

Moscow’s name brings a certain mystique, but once you’re there it might bring a different atmosphere than you expect. It’s big and sprawling, but beautiful in many ways. It can feel like a European capital on a grand scale, but you can definitely find its Russian side in there.

The urban sprawl of Moscow can be intimidating, but give it enough time and you’ll be rewarded with plenty to discover. All with the world’s best metro system to take you around.

I hope this guide can help you start to experience some of what Moscow contains. So grab your camera and capture all that Moscow has to offer for Street Photography!

If you still have any questions about shooting in Moscow, feel free to comment below or email me!

(I want to make these guides as valuable as possible for all of you so add any ideas on improvements, including addition requests, in the comment section!)

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Le Corbusier’s triumphant return to Moscow

The exhibition of French prominent architect Le Corbusier, held in The Pushkin Museum, brings together the different facets of his talent. Source: ITAR-TASS / Stanislav Krasilnikov

The largest Le Corbusier exhibition in a quarter of a century celebrates the modernist architect’s life and his connection with the city.

Given his affinity with Moscow, it is perhaps surprising that the city had never hosted a major examination of Le Corbusier’s work until now. However, the Pushkin Museum and the Le Corbusier Fund have redressed that discrepancy with the comprehensive exhibition “Secrets of Creation: Between Art and Architecture,” which runs until November 18.

Presenting over 400 exhibits, the exhibition charts Le Corbusier’s development from the young man eagerly sketching buildings on a trip around Europe, to his later years as a prolific and influential architect.

The exhibition brings together the different facets of his talent, showing his publications, artwork and furniture design alongside photographs, models and blueprints of his buildings.

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Irina Antonova, director of the Pushkin Museum, said, “It was important for us to also exhibit his art. People know Le Corbusier the architect, but what is less well know is that he was also an artist. Seeing his art and architecture together gives us an insight into his mind and his thought-processes.”

What becomes obvious to visitors of the exhibition is that Le Corbusier was a man driven by a single-minded vision of how form and lines should interact, a vision he was able to express across multiple genres.

The upper wings of the Pushkin Museum are separated by the central stairs and two long balconies. The organizers have exploited this space, allowing comparison of Le Corbusier’s different art forms. On one side there are large paintings in the Purist style he adapted from Cubism, while on the other wall there are panoramic photographs of his famous buildings.

Le Corbusier was a theorist, producing many pamphlets and manifestos which outlined his view that rigorous urban planning could make society more productive and raise the average standard of living.

It was his affinity with constructivism, and its accompanying vision of the way architecture could shape society, which drew him to visit the Soviet Union, where, as he saw it, there existed a “nation that is being organized in accordance with its new spirit.”

The exhibition’s curator Jean-Louis Cohen explains that Le Corbusier saw Moscow as “somewhere he could experiment.” Indeed, when the architect was commissioned to construct the famous Tsentrosoyuz Building, he responded by producing a plan for the entire city, based on his concept of geometric symmetry.

Falling foul of the political climate

He had misread the Soviet appetite for experimentation, and as Cohen relates in his book Le Corbusier, 1887-1965, drew stinging attacks from the likes of El Lissitsky, who called his design “a city on paper, extraneous to living nature, located in a desert through which not even a river must be allowed to pass (since a curve would contradict the style).”

Not to be deterred, Le Corbusier returned to Moscow in 1932 and entered the famous Palace of the Soviets competition, a skyscraper that was planned to be the tallest building in the world.

This time he fell foul of the changing political climate, as Stalin’s growing suspicion of the avant-garde led to the endorsement of neo-classical designs for the construction, which was ultimately never built due to the Second World War.

Situated opposite the proposed site for the Palace of the Soviets, the exhibition offers a tantalizing vision of what might have been, presenting scale models alongside Le Corbusier’s plans, and generating the feeling of an un-built masterpiece.

Despite Le Corbusier’s fluctuating fortunes in Soviet society, there was one architect who never wavered in his support . Constructivist luminary Alexander Vesnin declared that the Tsentrosoyuz building was the "the best building to arise in Moscow for over a century.”

The exhibition sheds light on their professional and personal relationship, showing sketches and letters they exchanged. In a radical break from the abstract nature of most of Le Corbusier’s art, this corner of the exhibition highlights the sometimes volatile architect’s softer side, as shown through nude sketches and classical still-life paintings he sent to Vesnin.

“He was a complex person” says Cohen. “It’s important to show his difficult elements; his connections with the USSR, with Mussolini. Now that relations between Russia and the West have improved, we can examine this. At the moment there is a new season in Le Corbusier interpretation.” To this end, the exhibition includes articles that have never previously been published in Russia, as well as Le Corbusier’s own literature.

Completing Le Corbusier’s triumphant return to Russia is a preview of a forthcoming statue, to be erected outside the Tsentrosoyuz building. Even if she couldn’t quite accept his vision of a planned city, Moscow is certainly welcoming him back.

All rights reserved by Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

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