5 Days in Moscow: The First-Timer Itinerary
Five days is enough to cover Red Square, both Kremlin tickets, Kitay-Gorod, the Tretyakov Gallery and Gorky Park, and still add a full day for Novodevichy Convent and the Sparrow Hills skyline view. As with every plan in this family: bring cash, foreign Visa and Mastercard cards have not worked in Russia since 2022, and check your visa eligibility now if you hold a US, UK, Canadian, or Australian passport, since the e-visa excludes all four. Need less time? Try 4 days ; want a day trip added, jump to 6 days .
Book these before you go:
- A hotel on Ostrovok.ru or an apartment on Sutochno.ru
- Cathedral Square and the Armoury Chamber separately at kreml.ru
- Bolshoi Theatre seats only at bolshoi.ru , which releases tickets roughly three months out
Day 1: Red Square and Cathedral Square
Walk Red Square early, then buy the Cathedral Square ticket at kreml.ru (1,100 RUB standard, 600 discounted, closed Thursdays) for the cathedral cluster inside the Kremlin walls. St Basil’s next door is a separate ticket, roughly 700-2,000 RUB depending on source, verify the current rate at en.shm.ru . Close the day with GUM for lunch and a second, floodlit lap of the square after dark.
Day 2: The Armoury Chamber and Kitay-Gorod
The Armoury Chamber runs four fixed entry times daily (10:00, 12:00, 14:30, 16:30; 1,400 RUB standard, 800 discounted) for Faberge eggs and coronation regalia. Afternoon heads east into Kitay-Gorod for the Romanov Boyars’ Chambers and the Zaikonospassky Monastery on Nikolskaya Street, real pre-revolutionary Moscow that most short trips never see. Evening is a good slot for the Bolshoi, if you booked ahead.
Day 3: The Tretyakov Gallery and Gorky Park
Head south into Zamoskvorechye for the Tretyakov Gallery (700 RUB, closed Mondays) and give the Rublev Trinity icon and the Wanderers collection a proper half day. Continue on foot or by metro to Gorky Park for the afternoon, free to enter, and genuinely restful after two heavy museum days.
Day 4: Novodevichy Convent and Sparrow Hills
Morning at Novodevichy Convent (metro: Sportivnaya), a UNESCO World Heritage 16th-century convent with roughly 1,000 RUB entry for foreign visitors and a separate, free cemetery holding Chekhov, Gogol, and Khrushchev among others. Continue to Sparrow Hills for the classic Moscow State University skyline view, free and open 24 hours, then cross the Luzhniki cable car if you want a different angle on the river.
Day 5: The metro loop and one last look at Red Square
Spend the morning riding the circle line purely for the architecture, Komsomolskaya’s marble mosaics and Mayakovskaya’s Art Deco steel are the two everyone photographs, and it costs a single 75 RUB fare on a Troika card . In the afternoon, decide between VDNKh’s sprawling Soviet-era pavilions (individual sections like the Cosmonautics museum run 700 RUB) or the Moscow City skyscraper observation deck. End the trip with one more evening pass through Red Square, it holds up on repeat viewings.
How does the week break down day by day?
| Day | Focus | Getting there | Rough daily cost (RUB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Red Square, Cathedral Square, St Basil’s | Metro to Okhotny Ryad | 3,000-4,500 |
| 2 | Armoury Chamber, Kitay-Gorod | Walking from the Kremlin | 3,500-5,500 |
| 3 | Tretyakov Gallery, Gorky Park | Metro to Tretyakovskaya | 2,500-4,000 |
| 4 | Novodevichy Convent, Sparrow Hills | Metro to Sportivnaya | 2,500-4,000 |
| 5 | Metro loop, VDNKh or Moscow City | Circle line | 2,000-3,500 |
Is 5 days too long for Moscow?
Not if you actually want the Kremlin’s two tickets, a real museum day, and a look beyond the historic core rather than just the highlight reel. Five days is where the trip starts to feel unhurried instead of a checklist race against opening hours.
Getting around and back to the airport
Between the metro (75 RUB a ride) and the Aeroexpress (700 RUB one-way to Sheremetyevo or Domodedovo, cash or Russian card only), you don’t need a car the entire trip. Flights from the US, UK, or EU connect through Istanbul, Dubai, or a similar hub in both directions, since no direct routes exist as of 2026.
Five days lets Red Square, the Kremlin, and the Tretyakov breathe properly, and the Novodevichy and Sparrow Hills day is the one most visitors say they’d have regretted skipping.