Not every museum in the city — only those worth the trip. Every entry carries our own value rating, what to see, a minimum route, when to come and what it costs.
Over 140 works from twenty collections: The Pool, The Emerald Necklace and studies almost never shown. Russian Symbolism is one of the summits at which art lifts a person beyond himself; a retrospective this full comes once in a generation.
Over seven hundred objects: sculpture and painting of Russian Buddhism, almost none of it shown before. More than a hundred sculptures were conserved for the opening.
The State Historical Museum?Why this museumA collection of material sources on Russian history unmatched for completeness: archaeology, numismatics, arms and manuscripts in one sequence, five million objects. And a rarity of another kind — Sherwood’s fully preserved Russian Revival interior, a monument in itself.
9+With childrenBelow nine, forty halls are exhausting. Older children do well if you come for one theme — arms, hoards, costume.wheelchairStep-free accessThe museum — partly. There is a ramp and a lift, but part of the first floor is reached by the old stairs. Telephone ahead: staff will take you round.
Getting there — partly. Neither Okhotny Ryad nor Teatralnaya has a lift. By wheelchair, surface transport to Red Square or a taxi. 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.3 hours
Russia’s main national museum: about 5 million objects and 15 million sheets of documents, from the Stone Age to the 20th century across forty halls.
The building. Built 1875–1883 by Vladimir Sherwood and the engineer Anatoly Semyonov in the Russian Revival style.
Good to know. St Basil’s Cathedral, the Romanov Chambers and the Museum of the Patriotic War of 1812 belong to the museum; their tickets are separate.
What to see
A dugout boat some 3,500 years old; the Mstislav Gospel of the early 12th century; the helmet of Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich; a Blaeu globe; personal belongings of Peter the Great. Look up: the halls themselves are painted after Old Russian models and count as an exhibit.
Minimum route — 3 hours на самое важное
Go round from hall 1: the dugout boat, then the Mstislav Gospel and the helmet of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, on to the Blaeu globe and Peter the Great.
Money in The Master and Margarita: ancient Judaea and Moscow of the 1920s–30s, set object against object. For Bulgakov’s 135th anniversary.
№ 47
Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center?Why this museumCome for two things at once: the Bakhmetevsky garage by Melnikov and Shukhov, a building of world significance, and the history of Russian Jewry told from inside as nowhere else. The holdings of originals are modest, and that is worth knowing beforehand.
6+With childrenOne of the few museums in Moscow that genuinely holds children: screens, sound, film, interactive tables. From 6.wheelchairStep-free accessThe museum — step-free. Fully accessible: level floors throughout, lifts, accessible toilets, wheelchairs at the door. One of the best in Moscow for this.
Getting there — step-free. Maryina Roshcha has no lift and Dostoyevskaya is a kilometre away. There is car parking and low-floor buses. 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.2.5 hours
Reference
Opened in 2012 in the Bakhmetevsky bus garage. The permanent display tells the history of the Jewish people and of Russian Jewry as a sequence of interactive spaces.
The building. The Bakhmetevsky garage, 1926–1927, architect Konstantin Melnikov, structures by Vladimir Shukhov.
What to see
The building itself — the Bakhmetevsky garage of 1926–1927, one of Konstantin Melnikov’s principal works with steel structures by Vladimir Shukhov; the Café on Basseynaya, a reconstruction of shtetl life.
Minimum route — 2.5 hours на самое важное
The permanent display runs as one route, with the Café on Basseynaya halfway. Look separately at the garage itself.
Сведения сверены 15 августа 2026 года, источник — сайт музея.
№ 51
Museum of Russian Impressionism?Why this museumThe 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.
8+With childrenA small display and good children’s programmes at weekends.wheelchairStep-free accessThe 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.1.5 hours
A private museum on the site of the former Bolshevik confectionery factory, opened in 2016 on the collection of Boris Mints.
The building. The flour store of the Bolshevik factory (early 20th century), converted by John McAslan + Partners.
What to see
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.
Minimum route — 1.5 hours на самое важное
The permanent display is small — Korovin, Serov, Grabar. The point is the temporary exhibitions; the building is worth the walk round on its own.
Free for everyone on the third Wednesday of the month.
Tickets
Admission 400 ₽; 300 ₽ with an ISIC card and similar; students of Russian universities 200 ₽; pensioners and disabled visitors of group III 100 ₽; under 18 free.
билеты онлайн
When to go
Wednesday and Thursday until 21:00. Every third Wednesday is free and therefore busy.
Сведения сверены 15 августа 2026 года, источник — сайт музея.
№ 9
Borodino Panorama Museum?Why this museumRoubaud’s panorama is one of the few survivors of a genre that was the summit of 19th-century visual culture and has almost entirely vanished. The value lies in the machinery of the spectacle, not in the subject: this is how people looked before cinema.
8+With childrenThe panorama impresses children too, but it needs a story. From 8.wheelchairStep-free accessThe museum — partly. A ramp at the entrance and a lift up to the panorama; the Kutuzov hut in the yard is over uneven ground.
Getting there — step-free. Kutuzovskaya has no lift. There is parking along Kutuzovsky Prospekt. 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.1.5 hours
Florstein (Telegram:WikiPhoto.Space), CC BY-SA 4.0 · Викисклад
Reference
Opened in 1962 for the 150th anniversary of the battle of Borodino, on the site of the former village of Fili.
The building. The round panorama building was put up in 1962 by the architect A. Korabelnikov.
Good to know. Free for everyone on the third Sunday of the month.
What to see
Franz Roubaud’s Borodino panorama of 1912: 115 metres of canvas in the round, 15 metres high. Next door, the Kutuzov hut where on 1 September 1812 the council of war decided to abandon Moscow.
Minimum route — 1.5 hours на самое важное
First the panorama — give it twenty minutes. Then the 1812 hall and the Kutuzov hut in the yard.
Сведения сверены 15 августа 2026 года, источник — открытые источники.
№ 49
Experimentanium Museum of Entertaining Science?Why this museumA Western-style science centre, not a museum: no originals, only apparatus. Excellent for a first acquaintance with physics; it gives nothing at all for the history of science.
5+With childrenThe museum exists to be touched. From 5 to about fourteen is the best age.wheelchairStep-free accessThe museum — step-free. All three floors are connected by lift and the exhibits are at reachable height.
Getting there — step-free. Sokol has no lift; the building has parking and a level approach. 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.3 hours
Сведения сверены 15 августа 2026 года, источник — открытые источники.
№ 12
Lomakov Museum of Antique Cars and Motorcycles?Why this museumThe first private car collection in the country, begun in 1959 when there was almost nothing to collect and no reason to. The value is historical: a monument to private collecting under Soviet rule.
6+With childrenOld cars are a safe bet with children, but only on a booked tour.wheelchairStep-free accessThe museum — not checked. Access not checked; a hangar with thresholds.
Getting there — partly. Lyublino has no lift; the museum is 350 m away. 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.1 hour
The first private car museum in Russia. The Lomakov family has been collecting since 1959; the collection now holds over 120 cars and motorcycles.
Good to know. Do not touch the exhibits. Groups are 20 to 55 people; a single visitor must also telephone in advance.
What to see
A Mercedes-Benz 540K the museum links to Joseph Goebbels; government ZIS limousines; vehicles from the collection have appeared in more than 120 films.
Minimum route — 1 hour на самое важное
A guided walk through the hangar: the Mercedes-Benz 540K, the ZIS limousines, motorcycles of the 1920s–30s. You cannot wander alone.
Сведения сверены 15 августа 2026 года, источник — открытые источники.
№ 48
Museum of Soviet Arcade Machines?Why this museumThe only museum where the exhibit works: the machine starts on a coin, and that changes the whole way of meeting the object. As a monument of late Soviet daily life it is precise and honest.
7+With childrenThe machines start on a coin and actually work — from seven that beats any display case.wheelchairStep-free accessThe museum — partly. The hall is in a basement reached by stairs; there is no platform lift. Telephone ahead and staff will help.
Getting there — partly. Kuznetsky Most and Lubyanka have no lifts. 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.1.5 hours
Сведения сверены 15 августа 2026 года, источник — открытые источники.
№ 39
The Water Museum?Why this museumA departmental museum with working models of city infrastructure — an almost extinct genre. Worth seeing for anyone curious about how the city works underground; there is nowhere else in Moscow for that.
8+With childrenThe working models of the waterworks interest children, but only with a booked tour.wheelchairStep-free accessThe museum — not checked. Access not checked.
Getting there — partly. Proletarskaya 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.1 hour
Architect: Max Hoeppener. Photo: NVO, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Викисклад
Reference
The museum of Mosvodokanal in the former Main Pumping Station, opened in 1993.
The building. A monument of industrial architecture of the late 19th and early 20th century, by Maximilian Hoeppener.
What to see
Working models of waterworks, from the Rostokino aqueduct to the present treatment plants; the history of the Moscow sewer in drawings and photographs.
Minimum route — 1 hour на самое важное
The working models of the waterworks and the history of the city sewer.
Сведения сверены 15 августа 2026 года, источник — открытые источники.
№ 41
Museum of the History of Chocolate and Cocoa?Why this museumAn industrial tour rather than a museum: the value is the walk into the working shop and the history of Einem. As a collection it is next to nothing, and we do not hide that.
8+With childrenThe age limit is the museum’s own: from 8, this is a working factory.wheelchairStep-free accessThe museum — no. Production areas with thresholds and stairs.
Getting there — partly. Krasnoselskaya 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.2 hours
Reference
A joint museum of the Krasny Oktyabr and Babayevsky factories, opened in 2009. The Russian nickname MISHKa comes from the Clumsy Bear sweet invented by the Einem partnership.
Good to know. Groups of private visitors are put together by the administrator, usually for the 17:15 weekday session; minimum ten people.
What to see
A walk into the working shop where sweets are wrapped in front of you; the history of Einem and Krasny Oktyabr in original wrappers and advertising.
Minimum route — 2 hours на самое важное
A two-hour tour: the history of the factories, then the working shop.
Getting in
Address
Malaya Krasnoselskaya 7 (entrance from Lobachika 1, bldg 1) (on the map)
How to get there
Metro Krasnoselskaya
Opening times
на сегодня закрыт
Пн–Сб
10:00–17:00
Вс
выходной
By appointment and prepayment only: the museum stands inside a working factory with a pass system. Minimum age 8. The tour lasts two hours.
Tickets
Guided tour: full 1800 ₽, concessions 900 ₽.
билеты онлайнтолько по предварительной записи
When to go
By appointment with prepayment, usually the 17:15 weekday session. Age 8 and over.
Volkhonka 10 · The permanent display has been closed since 2015: the building is part of the Pushkin Museum’s “museum town” works. Individual exhibitions of the department are shown in other buildings. Checked 14 August 2026.
Novaya Ploshchad 3/4 · The historic building has been under reconstruction since 2013; opening is promised for 2026. The museum park around it is open. Part of the collection is shown at the Technopolis Moscow, Volgogradsky Prospekt 42. Checked 15 August 2026.
1st Samotyochny Lane 9, bldg 1 · The museum has been closed to visitors since 2024 and no opening date has been announced. Checked 15 August 2026.
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