Where to go for painting in Moscow
The city’s art collections, from the old Russian icon to the turn of the century. For each one we say what exactly to look at — named works, not lists of periods — and how much time to allow.
Art · since 1986
The New Tretyakov
world-class
The Russian avant-garde is the one Russian artistic system to enter the world canon on equal terms, and its largest collection is here. MoMA and the Pompidou show Malevich and Tatlin torn from their setting; here they hang beside what they rebelled against, which changes the reading.
Malevich’s Black Square, Petrov-Vodkin’s Bathing of a Red Horse, work by Kandinsky, Chagall, Goncharova and Larionov, the model of Tatlin’s Tower. Next door: the Muzeon park of dismantled Soviet monuments.
Krymsky Val 10 · today 10:00–18:00 · from 700 ₽ 2–3 hours6+ The avant-garde reaches children more easily than the classics: strong colour, plain shapes. From 6; there are children’s routes and workshops.wheelchair — step-free The museum — step-free. A modern building: ramps, lifts, wide doorways, accessible toilets. Wheelchairs are lent.
Getting there — step-free. Oktyabrskaya and Park Kultury have no lifts. There is convenient parking at the door and low-floor buses along Krymsky Val. Moscow metro stations almost never have lifts to the platform, except on the Big Circle line and the MCC. A wheelchair user is better served by the surface buses, which are low-floor across the centre.
Getting there — step-free. Oktyabrskaya and Park Kultury have no lifts. There is convenient parking at the door and low-floor buses along Krymsky Val. Moscow metro stations almost never have lifts to the platform, except on the Big Circle line and the MCC. A wheelchair user is better served by the surface buses, which are low-floor across the centre.
checked 15 Aug 2026 · сайт музея · No. 5
Art · since 1912
The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts
world-class
The Louvre and the Metropolitan hold more originals; what is unique is Tsvetaev’s cast collection — the only large teaching museum of the history of art in the world still intact and still working as intended. In Europe such collections went into storage in the 20th century. Add the Fayum portraits and objects from Schliemann’s Trojan hoards.
The teaching collection of plaster casts after antique and Renaissance sculpture — Tsvetaev’s idea, unmatched for completeness; the Fayum portraits; objects from Priam’s Treasure found by Schliemann at Troy; the Egyptian collection. The French 19th–20th century is in the Gallery at Volkhonka 14, on a separate ticket.
Volkhonka 12 · today 10:00–20:00 · from 400 ₽ 3 hours7+ Children read the plaster casts as “real giants”, and the Egyptian hall never fails. From 7; the museum has a strong children’s centre.wheelchair — partly The museum — partly. The 1912 building: there is a platform lift at the entrance, but not every hall connects without steps. The Gallery at Volkhonka 14 is fully accessible.
Getting there — partly. Kropotkinskaya has no lift. The nearest drop-off is on Volkhonka. Moscow metro stations almost never have lifts to the platform, except on the Big Circle line and the MCC. A wheelchair user is better served by the surface buses, which are low-floor across the centre.
Getting there — partly. Kropotkinskaya has no lift. The nearest drop-off is on Volkhonka. Moscow metro stations almost never have lifts to the platform, except on the Big Circle line and the MCC. A wheelchair user is better served by the surface buses, which are low-floor across the centre.
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Art · since 1856
The State Tretyakov Gallery
world-class
Russian art of the 11th to early 20th century is nowhere else assembled so fully — only the Russian Museum compares. But the canon was formed here: Tretyakov bought from living artists what he himself thought mattered, and one man’s private judgement became what we now call the Russian school. Seeing the 19th century elsewhere means seeing fragments.
Ivanov’s The Appearance of Christ Before the People in its own hall; Surikov’s Boyarynya Morozova and Morning of the Streltsy Execution; Repin’s Ivan the Terrible and His Son; Serov’s Girl with Peaches; Vasnetsov’s Bogatyrs; the icon halls. Rublev’s Trinity is no longer here: it was handed to the Church in 2023.
Lavrushinsky Lane 10 · today 10:00–18:00 · from 700 ₽ 2–3 hours8+ Children under school age get bored: the painting needs explaining. From 8 there are children’s tours and game guides.wheelchair — partly The museum — step-free. Ramp at the entrance, lifts between floors, wheelchairs lent free at the door, accessible toilets.
Getting there — partly. Tretyakovskaya has no lift. A bus to the “Tretyakov Gallery” stop or a taxi to Lavrushinsky is easier. Moscow metro stations almost never have lifts to the platform, except on the Big Circle line and the MCC. A wheelchair user is better served by the surface buses, which are low-floor across the centre.
Getting there — partly. Tretyakovskaya has no lift. A bus to the “Tretyakov Gallery” stop or a taxi to Lavrushinsky is easier. Moscow metro stations almost never have lifts to the platform, except on the Big Circle line and the MCC. A wheelchair user is better served by the surface buses, which are low-floor across the centre.
checked 15 Aug 2026 · сайт музея · No. 1
Art · since 2006
Mikhail Abramov Museum of the Russian Icon
outstandingunderratedThe collection is stronger than its reputation: fewer people know it than it deserves
For Ethiopian Christian art it is the only collection in Russia; for the Russian icon it competes with state museums. Add a circumstance almost unheard of anywhere in the world for a collection of this level: admission is free.
The Russian icon of the 14th to 20th century, from Novgorod panels to Old Believer painting; Ethiopian Christian art, the only such collection in Russia; a reconstructed iconostasis and post-Byzantine Greek icons.
Goncharnaya 3, bldg 1 · today 11:00–19:00 · free entry 1.5 hoursadults Icons say almost nothing to children; come as an adult.wheelchair — step-free The museum — step-free. A lift to all four floors, level floors, an accessible toilet. Entry is free, and so is the companion’s.
Getting there — step-free. Taganskaya has no lift. There is a parking bay on Goncharnaya. Moscow metro stations almost never have lifts to the platform, except on the Big Circle line and the MCC. A wheelchair user is better served by the surface buses, which are low-floor across the centre.
Getting there — step-free. Taganskaya has no lift. There is a parking bay on Goncharnaya. Moscow metro stations almost never have lifts to the platform, except on the Big Circle line and the MCC. A wheelchair user is better served by the surface buses, which are low-floor across the centre.
checked 15 Aug 2026 · открытые источники · No. 54
Art · since 2016
Museum of Russian Impressionism
outstanding
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The term “Russian impressionism” is contested, and this is the only institution that investigates rather than illustrates it. The value is the exhibition programme: works come here from private collections that would otherwise never be seen.
Konstantin Korovin, Valentin Serov, Igor Grabar, Nikolai Bogdanov-Belsky. The building is a converted cylindrical flour store of the Bolshevik factory — a rare case of industry turned into a museum.
Leningradsky Prospekt 15, bldg 11 · today 11:00–20:00 · from 400 ₽ 1.5 hours8+ A small display and good children’s programmes at weekends.wheelchair — step-free The museum — step-free. Converted for the museum: lift, level floors, accessible toilet.
Getting there — step-free. Belorusskaya has no lift; the former factory has a level approach and parking. Moscow metro stations almost never have lifts to the platform, except on the Big Circle line and the MCC. A wheelchair user is better served by the surface buses, which are low-floor across the centre.
Getting there — step-free. Belorusskaya has no lift; the former factory has a level approach and parking. Moscow metro stations almost never have lifts to the platform, except on the Big Circle line and the MCC. A wheelchair user is better served by the surface buses, which are low-floor across the centre.
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Art · since 1934
Shchusev State Museum of Architecture
outstanding
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The only museum of architecture in Russia and one of the few in the world. It holds fragments of demolished buildings — reliefs from the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, details of the Sukharev Tower: things that exist nowhere else because the buildings do not.
The enfilade of the Talyzin house with its exhibitions; the Apothecary Office, 17th-century chambers where fragments of demolished Moscow buildings are shown; models of unbuilt projects, including material on the Palace of the Soviets.
Vozdvizhenka 5/25 · today 11:00–20:00 · from 450 ₽ 1.5 hours9+ Architectural drawings say little to children; the models do.wheelchair — partly The museum — partly. The main enfilade is level, but the Ruin wing and the Apothecary Office are up steps.
Getting there — partly. Biblioteka imeni Lenina has no lift. Moscow metro stations almost never have lifts to the platform, except on the Big Circle line and the MCC. A wheelchair user is better served by the surface buses, which are low-floor across the centre.
Getting there — partly. Biblioteka imeni Lenina has no lift. Moscow metro stations almost never have lifts to the platform, except on the Big Circle line and the MCC. A wheelchair user is better served by the surface buses, which are low-floor across the centre.
checked 15 Aug 2026 · открытые источники · No. 53
Art · since 1918
The State Museum of Oriental Art
outstanding
Western museums of the East were formed by colonial routes; this collection grew out of nationalised private collections and Soviet expeditions. Hence the Central Asian, Caucasian, Buryat and Chukchi sections that London and Paris lack: there the East begins with India and Egypt, here with what lay inside the country and next to it. That is the reason to come.
Central Asian and Caucasian carpets and metalwork transferred from the State Museum Fund; Iranian Qajar painting and tilework; Chinese bronze and porcelain, Japanese prints; a Korean section rare for Russia; Buddhist sculpture of Buryatia and Mongolia.
Nikitsky Boulevard 12a · today 11:00–20:00 · from 500 ₽ 2 hours10+ Eastern art needs explaining and says little to younger children. From 10, better with a guide.wheelchair — partly The museum — partly. The Gilardi mansion: a ramp at the door, but steps between the enfilades. Ask an attendant to escort you.
Getting there — not checked. Arbatskaya and Pushkinskaya have no lifts. Surface transport along Nikitsky Boulevard. Moscow metro stations almost never have lifts to the platform, except on the Big Circle line and the MCC. A wheelchair user is better served by the surface buses, which are low-floor across the centre.
Getting there — not checked. Arbatskaya and Pushkinskaya have no lifts. Surface transport along Nikitsky Boulevard. Moscow metro stations almost never have lifts to the platform, except on the Big Circle line and the MCC. A wheelchair user is better served by the surface buses, which are low-floor across the centre.
checked 15 Aug 2026 · сайт музея · No. 43
Art · since 2024
Tretyakov Gallery. Kadashevskaya Embankment wing
outstanding
Not yet a collection but an instrument: the first exhibition building in Moscow built to 21st-century museum standards — climate, light, spans. Its value is that things can now be brought here that could not be brought before.
There is no permanent collection — this is an exhibition wing. See the atrium, open without a ticket, and the façades: they carry reproductions of 34 works by Russian artists.
Kadashevskaya Embankment 12 · today 10:00–18:00 · from 900 ₽ 1.5–2 hours7+ A new building with wide halls and an atrium: a child is not hemmed in. What to see depends on the exhibition.wheelchair — step-free The museum — step-free. Built in 2024 and fully accessible: lifts, ramps, accessible toilets, wheelchairs lent.
Getting there — step-free. No lift at Tretyakovskaya, but the approach from the embankment is level and there is a drop-off point. Moscow metro stations almost never have lifts to the platform, except on the Big Circle line and the MCC. A wheelchair user is better served by the surface buses, which are low-floor across the centre.
Getting there — step-free. No lift at Tretyakovskaya, but the approach from the embankment is level and there is a drop-off point. Moscow metro stations almost never have lifts to the platform, except on the Big Circle line and the MCC. A wheelchair user is better served by the surface buses, which are low-floor across the centre.
checked 15 Aug 2026 · сайт музея · No. 55
Art · since 1981
All-Russian Museum of Decorative Art
significant
Lacquer miniature of four schools and propaganda porcelain — the objects by which Russia is recognisable in world decorative art. The material is first-rate; the display is not up to it.
Lacquer miniature — Palekh, Fedoskino, Mstyora, Kholuy; Soviet propaganda porcelain; toys of the peoples of the world; embroidery and samovars.
Delegatskaya 3, bldg 1 · today 12:00–20:00 · from 350 ₽ 1.5 hours6+ Toys of the peoples of the world and lacquer miniature give children something to look at. From 6.wheelchair — partly The museum — partly. There are a ramp and a lift, but not into every hall of the estate.
Getting there — partly. Tsvetnoy Bulvar has no lift. Moscow metro stations almost never have lifts to the platform, except on the Big Circle line and the MCC. A wheelchair user is better served by the surface buses, which are low-floor across the centre.
Getting there — partly. Tsvetnoy Bulvar has no lift. Moscow metro stations almost never have lifts to the platform, except on the Big Circle line and the MCC. A wheelchair user is better served by the surface buses, which are low-floor across the centre.
checked 15 Aug 2026 · открытые источники · No. 32
Art · since 1817
The Manege Central Exhibition Hall
significant
There is no collection; the value is entirely engineering — a column-free span of nearly 45 metres calculated by Betancourt, a monument of engineering thought with few equals in Europe. Everything else here is temporary.
The building itself: a column-free hall spanned by timber trusses of almost 45 metres, calculated by the engineer Agustín de Betancourt — a rare monument of engineering.
Manezhnaya Square 1 · today 12:00–22:00 1–2 hoursadults Depends on the exhibition: there is no permanent display.wheelchair — partly The museum — step-free. The hall is level throughout and there is a ramp at the entrance.
Getting there — partly. Neither Okhotny Ryad nor Biblioteka imeni Lenina has a lift. Moscow metro stations almost never have lifts to the platform, except on the Big Circle line and the MCC. A wheelchair user is better served by the surface buses, which are low-floor across the centre.
Getting there — partly. Neither Okhotny Ryad nor Biblioteka imeni Lenina has a lift. Moscow metro stations almost never have lifts to the platform, except on the Big Circle line and the MCC. A wheelchair user is better served by the surface buses, which are low-floor across the centre.
checked 15 Aug 2026 · открытые источники · No. 19
Art · since 1969
Tropinin Museum
significant
The Moscow portrait of the first half of the 19th century is nowhere else so densely gathered. The value is also in the origin: Vishnevsky’s private collection given to the city, a model of how Russian museums came to be.
Portraits by Vasily Tropinin and his Moscow contemporaries, work by serf artists, Russian Biedermeier. The quiet Zamoskvorechye lane and the house itself are half the pleasure.
Shchetininsky Lane 10, bldg 1 · today 11:00–19:00 · from 400 ₽ 1 houradults A portrait gallery for adults; nothing for children to do.wheelchair — no The museum — no. A mansion with stairs and no platform lift.
Getting there — partly. Polyanka has no lift. Moscow metro stations almost never have lifts to the platform, except on the Big Circle line and the MCC. A wheelchair user is better served by the surface buses, which are low-floor across the centre.
Getting there — partly. Polyanka has no lift. Moscow metro stations almost never have lifts to the platform, except on the Big Circle line and the MCC. A wheelchair user is better served by the surface buses, which are low-floor across the centre.
checked 15 Aug 2026 · открытые источники · No. 31
Ready-made selections