Visiting Moscow In 2026: Soviet Nostalgia, City Horse Rides & Rubbing Dog's Noses

Moscow: Aquariums, Space-Age Metros and Suburban Survival

“Europe’s largest aquarium!” That’s how it was advertised.

After a rugby‑scrum style security search, we squeezed into Moscvarium – Moscow’s aquarium inside VDNH, the city’s 318‑hectare Soviet playground that looks like a time capsule someone forgot about.

Maybe we’re aquarium’d out – this being our third on the trip – but within 30 minutes we were done. Aside from the incredibly cute, suspiciously fat Nerpa seal (endemic to Lake Baikal and shaped like a football that’s eaten too much bread and kolbasa), there wasn’t much to keep us entertained. We left several thousand rubles lighter and seriously underwhelmed.

VDNH: Soviet Disneyland

Back outside, we wandered the endless grounds of VDNH. In Soviet times, this place was peak communist grandeur – an enormous park with a dedicated building for each of the 15 Soviet republics. Beautiful gardens, huge fountains, imposing palaces, theme parks, museums, eateries… it was basically the USSR showing off to itself.

After the fall of the union, it became a flea market with dreams of glory long gone. But in 2014, a public vote restored its Soviet name and kicked off a massive renovation. Today it’s back to its former glory – with a few modern touches like the aquarium – and walking past the old republic pavilions (Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan…) you can’t help but feel the nostalgia.

Sadly, the kids couldn’t care less. Given the long journey to get there, time was tight and we were soon heading home – with a promise to return for the Space Museum, which, given the Soviet obsession with the space race, surely has enough rockets and gadgets to keep them awake.

Entertainium: Science, Buttons and Sibling Warfare

Speaking of museums, Moscow has plenty. Entertainium is a huge science centre with six rooms over three floors, each packed with interactive stations.

The kids loved it – mostly because they got to push, pull, press, shove and argue over every button, pulley and rope in sight. They learned about water, magnets, electricity and how to negotiate whose turn it is. We spent over two hours there – probably the best science museum I’ve been to – and of course left with the obligatory overpriced toy.

Horse Therapy for the Horse Addict

No country on this trip escapes Sofia’s horse obsession. Even in a megacity, we somehow sniffed out a horse ride within walking distance.

A bizarre little village sits just 30 minutes away – houses with tiny plots, and one with a horse squeezed into a miniature stable and arena. The ride wasn’t exactly thrilling: a trot around the village roads and a loop of the arena. But for a horse addict, this was pure romance. She fell in love with Beaver (yes, the horse) and didn’t stop talking about him for days.

The Moscow Metro: Palaces, Pain and Public Humiliation

The Moscow Metro is enormous – and expanding faster than my ability to understand it. After nine years away, new stations have popped up everywhere, making the map look like a plate of spaghetti.

But it’s not the size that makes it famous – it’s the architecture. Walking through a Moscow metro station is like wandering through a grand palace. Chandeliers hang from ceilings, statues line the platforms, murals fill the walls, and the sheer scale of some stations is mind‑boggling. Changing lines can take 20 minutes.

Getting in and out adds even more time because the system is buried ridiculously deep. The Soviets feared Western attacks, so they built their metro about twice as deep as most subways.

In London, you can walk up the escalator if you’re feeling energetic. In Moscow, I once tried.

Halfway up, I realised why literally no one walks. My calves were on fire, my thigh was screaming, and I could feel a thousand eyes burning into my back as they watched the “crazy foreigner” attempt the impossible. I made it to the top drenched in sweat, casually slipped through the exit barrier, then collapsed around the corner like a wounded animal.

Apparently the longest escalator is 67 metres. Just 15 of those and you’ve climbed England’s highest mountain.

The metro is incredibly efficient – trains every 90 seconds – and incredibly cheap.

At Ploshchad Revolyutsii, the main station for Red Square, dozens of huge bronze military statues line the platform. Lenin himself stands there in full military gear. It’s good luck to rub the nose of one of the dog statues – clearly millions believe this, because the nose is shiny gold compared to the dull bronze body. The kids gave it a rub. Pretty sure they wished for ice cream… and they got one later.

Big City Fatigue and Suburban Survival

While the metro’s beauty appeals to adults, for kids it’s very much “meh”. Big‑city‑itis has struck again, making long trips into the centre a challenge.

So we’ve kept things local.

Suburban Moscow is surprisingly well catered for families. It feels very “15‑minute city” – everything you need within a short walk. Within ten minutes we have:

15 supermarkets
20 playgrounds
an entertainment centre
mini‑malls
heaps of restaurants and bars

And just 15 minutes away is a massive park – the only real escape from the concrete jungle – with cycle paths, cafés, forests, orchards, playgrounds and outdoor gyms. Absolutely essential to avoid going insane from the endless high‑rises.

Halfway Through Moscow — and the Home Straight Begins

And so our time in Moscow chugs along. We’re halfway through, and with flights home now booked, we’re officially on the home straight of this epic year‑long adventure.

Plenty more experiences to come – here in Russia and back in Asia – so stay tuned. We’ll just make sure aquariums remain firmly ticked off the list.