This massive metropolis captures Russia at her most extreme: her communist austerity and her capitalist indulgence; her devout orthodoxy and her uninhibited displays of wealth and power; her enigmatic ancient history and her dazzling contemporary culture. Moscow is the seat of political power in Russia, but it is also the country’s cultural and commercial center. From the storied streets surrounding Red Square to the modern new Moscow-City, the Russian capital is crammed with artistic, historic, and otherwise sacred sites. Sometimes intellectual and inspiring, sometimes debauched and depraved, it is always eye-opening. Travelling in Moscow can be difficult but the hassle is worth it for the city’s attractions that range from cultural sites to a throbbing nightlife.

After arriving in the Russian capital by overnight train from Kazan, I was first impressed by its deep underground metro stations with its high ceilings and intricate architecture. The metro stations can be an art gallery on its own as each station has a different design, from paintings to statues of famous personalities. The escalators can take 2-3 minutes just to reach the platform, showing how deep the stations are as they were used as bomb shelters in the past. See the most inspiring metro stations of Stalin’s era: Revolution Square, Komsomolskaya, Novoslobodskaya and Mayakovskaya are worth checking out. You can buy one metro ticket and for the whole time, stay underground to travel between these stations without having to exit the station.

From the colourful candy-crush onion domes of St Basil cathedral to the old fortress Kremlin, Moscow has architecture of the olden days to the Soviet era and to the modern skyscrapers. The Moscow kremlin is the most famous as it is the residence of the President, filled with ornate Palaces and golden-domed cathedrals. Another example of an imposing building in Russia is the resurrected Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, with its pristine and gilded domes. It was originally commissioned after the defeat of Napoleon, but work did not begin on its construction until 1839.

For a taste of Soveit-era architecture, look out for the Seven Sisters, (with the 8th one in Warsaw). It i a Collection of skyscrapers built during Stalin’s time. They resemble New York’s Empire State building, and their uses range from being a Residential building to Moscow State University to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. My friend brought me out for a spin at night after work to Moscow State University.I saw how students with their luxurious cars were racing on the street and smoking shisha at the back of their cars. It seems like these students need not study and just pay their way through university.

Moscow is not just about imposing skyscrapers, there are also an abundance of green Spaces spread around the city, from the large Park Gorki located in the centre of the city to others such as Kolomenskoye and Tsaritsino. The former contains architecture from different eras in an open-air museum housed on a former royal estate. The latter used to be a former grand palace for Catherine II and is now an open space for all.

Tip for travelling around Moscow:
It is important to learn the Cryllic alphabet because the signs in Train stations are only written in Russian. Only the whole metro map of Moscow has signs in both Russian and English. Learning Cryllic would also be helpful in Reading street signs and ordering food in restaurants.