Moscow 3 Day Itinerary (No Tourist Traps)
Three days is our 2-day plan , Red Square, the Kremlin, and one day-two museum, plus a third day for the Tretyakov Gallery. Prices are RUB, not euros, and foreign Visa or Mastercard cards do not work anywhere in Russia, so this assumes you’ve arrived with cash. Want Novodevichy and Sparrow Hills worked in too? That’s what our 4-day plan adds.
Book these before you go:
- Kremlin Cathedral Square and Armoury tickets : separate tickets, both closed Thursdays
- St Basil’s Cathedral : MIR cards only online, cash at the box office otherwise
- Tretyakov Gallery : 700 RUB, closed Mondays
- Your hotel on Ostrovok.ru : foreign Mastercard works online, Visa does not
- Apartments on Sutochno.ru : the short-stay alternative, same foreign-card caveat applies
| Day | Focus |
|---|---|
| 1 | Cathedral Square, St Basil’s, GUM, Red Square after dark |
| 2 | Armoury Chamber, Kitay-Gorod, metro palace stations |
| 3 | Tretyakov Gallery, Gorky Park |
Day 1: Red Square and the Kremlin core
Book Cathedral Square for a morning slot (1,100 RUB standard, 600 RUB discounted), arriving 45 minutes early for security. Add St Basil’s Cathedral, a separate ticket from the Kremlin run by the State Historical Museum, then the State Historical Museum itself. Lunch inside GUM, a private mall since the 1990s despite the Soviet-era name, then return to Red Square after dark once the tour groups clear out; the floodlighting on St Basil’s is built for exactly that hour.
Day 2: The Armoury and Kitay-Gorod
Book one of the Armoury Chamber’s four fixed daily entry times if coronation regalia and Fabergé eggs interest you (1,400 RUB standard, 800 RUB discounted, closed Thursdays like Cathedral Square). Otherwise spend the morning in Kitay-Gorod, the pre-revolutionary district immediately east of the square that most short-stay visitors skip entirely. Ride the metro’s Komsomolskaya and Mayakovskaya stations before dinner; a single 75 RUB Troika fare covers marble and mosaics most cities charge admission for.
Day 3: The Tretyakov Gallery and Gorky Park
This is what a third day buys that two don’t: Russia’s most important art collection, not a rushed afternoon add-on. The Tretyakov Gallery (700 RUB, closed Mondays) in Zamoskvorechye, roughly 3km south of Red Square, holds the Rublev Trinity icon and the Peredvizhniki collection; allow half a day. Walk or take a short metro hop to Gorky Park afterward, free to enter, Moscow’s best simple green space for an unhurried afternoon.
Is the Tretyakov worth a half day on a short trip? Yes, more than a second lap of the Kremlin. It’s the definitive collection of Russian art from medieval icons through the 20th-century avant-garde, and 700 RUB against a half day of your itinerary is a better trade than most paid attractions on this list.
Before you go
Read the current US State Department and UK FCDO advisories in full before booking anything. If Lenin’s Mausoleum interests you, confirm its status separately; it’s free but open only Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, 10:00-13:00, with restoration work affecting access in 2026.