Moscow museums open on Thursday
Not every museum in the city, but those that can open new worlds, point to genuine masterpieces, sharpen the mind and move the soul. Every entry carries our own rating of the collection, what matters most here, a minimum route to the essentials, when to come to avoid the crowds and what it costs. Every entry is dated with its last check.
| Museum | Rating | Address | Today |
|---|---|---|---|
| The New Tretyakov | world-class | Krymsky Val 10 | 10:00–18:00 |
| The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts | world-class | Volkhonka 12 | 10:00–20:00 |
| The State Historical Museum | world-class | Red Square 1 | 10:00–19:00 |
| The State Tretyakov Gallery | world-class | Lavrushinsky Lane 10 | 10:00–18:00 |
| Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center | outstanding | Obraztsova 11, bldg 1a | 12:00–22:00 |
| Museum of Russian Impressionism | outstanding | Leningradsky Prospekt 15, bldg 11 | 11:00–20:00 |
| Shchusev State Museum of Architecture | outstanding | Vozdvizhenka 5/25 | 11:00–20:00 |
| The State Museum of Oriental Art | outstanding | Nikitsky Boulevard 12a | 11:00–20:00 |
| Tretyakov Gallery. Kadashevskaya Embankment wing | outstanding | Kadashevskaya Embankment 12 | 10:00–18:00 |
| All-Russian Museum of Decorative Art | significant | Delegatskaya 3, bldg 1 | 12:00–20:00 |
| Borodino Panorama Museum | significant | Kutuzovsky Prospekt 38, bldg 1 | 10:00–18:00 |
| Dahl State Museum of the History of Russian Literature | significant | Zubovsky Boulevard 15, bldg 1 | 11:00–18:00 |
| Museum of Moscow | significant | Zubovsky Boulevard 2, bldg 7 | 10:00–20:00 |
| State Darwin Museum | significant | Vavilova 57 | 10:00–18:00 |
| The Gogol House | significant | Nikitsky Boulevard 7a | 12:00–19:00 |
| The Leo Tolstoy State Museum. Literary display | significant | Prechistenka 11/8 | 11:00–18:00 |
| The Old English Court | significant | Varvarka 4a (Zaryadye Park) | 12:00–20:00 |
| The Pushkin State Museum | significant | Prechistenka 12/2 | 10:00–18:00 |
| Experimentanium Museum of Entertaining Science | for enthusiasts | Leningradsky Prospekt 80, bldg 11 | 10:00–20:00 |
| Lomakov Museum of Antique Cars and Motorcycles | for enthusiasts | Krasnodarskaya, plot 58 | 10:00–18:00 |
| Museum of Folk Prints | for enthusiasts | Maly Golovin Lane 10, bldg 1 | 12:00–18:00 |
| Museum of Moscow Archaeology | for enthusiasts | Manezhnaya Square 1a | 10:00–20:00 |
| Museum of Soviet Arcade Machines | for enthusiasts | Rozhdestvenka 12 | 11:00–21:00 |
| State Central Museum of Contemporary History of Russia | for enthusiasts | Tverskaya 21 | 10:00–20:00 |
| The Victory Museum | for enthusiasts | Pobedy Square 3 | 10:00–20:30 |
| The Water Museum | for enthusiasts | Sarinsky Proyezd 13 | — |
| Museum of the History of Chocolate and Cocoa | niche | Malaya Krasnoselskaya 7 (entrance from Lobachika 1, bldg 1) | — |
We do not remove them from the catalogue: a museum may reopen, and the history of a collection is knowledge too.
We give the rating ourselves and answer for it: it is about the value of the collection, not the size of the building, the visitor numbers or the fame of the name.
- world-class
- In the same rank as the world's leading museums.
- outstanding
- A strong collection: worth setting aside a day for.
- significant
- There are things here worth seeing.
- for enthusiasts
- Of interest to those already drawn to the subject.
- niche
- Valuable to a narrow circle, without wider recognition.
- underratedThe collection is stronger than its reputation: fewer people know it than it deserves
- The collection is stronger than its reputation: fewer people know it than it deserves
Checked on 15 August 2026 — against museum websites and open sources. Every entry carries its own date of checking and what it was checked against. A price we could not confirm we say so, rather than leaving the old one.
Time needed is for the essentials, along our minimum route, without the café, the shop or the cloakroom queue. Going through the whole museum almost always takes longer.
The photographs come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences; the author and the licence are given under each one.
18 May is International Museum Day (since 1977), and the night of 17–18 May is Museum Night. On those days museums keep different hours and are often free.
We answer for every figure and date on these pages. If a museum has changed its hours or its prices, if a link has died, or if you think a museum is missing from the list — write to us. We will correct it and set a new date of checking.