All you need to know before travelling to Moscow

A captivating cocktail of old world charm and a dash of cosmopolitanism, Moscow is a dream travel destination. Onion-domed cathedrals, art galleries, world class theatres, opera and lush parks make it an open air museum with Instagram-worthy photo ops around every corner. Among the city’s 10,000 cultural venues nestle 400 museums, 900 parks, libraries, cinema halls, film studios and concert halls.

Dive right in. Flag off your city tour at the Red Square, the pivot around which Moscow flows. Glamorous street performers, souvenir kiosks, buzzy restaurants and throngs of tourists create a vibe that’s tough to capture on camera, yet radiate enough kinetic energy to power a ship.

The Square’s architectural ensemble is also packed with unusual relics and monuments like Lenin's Mausoleum, St. Basil's Cathedral, State Historical Museum, the Kazan Cathedral and the Kremlin, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and also the Presidential residence.

Step inside the Kremlin’s innards (after braving a serpentine queue, of course) to view historical gems such as the Armory Chamber and the Diamond Fund. Both showcase ancient Russian regalia, the tsars’ ceremonial dresses and eye-popping gold and silverware of Russian, European and Eastern masters.

Moscow's stately museums and art galleries offer an insight into the city’s vibrant art scene and glorious antiquity. The Gorky House Museum is a powerhouse showcase of Russian classical art while the Nikolai Roerich Museum and Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts are a treat for history buffs. The Tretyakov Gallery is also worth exploring.

The Russian Academy of Arts on 21, Prechistenka Street, a beautiful historical building, is home to the eponymous Zurab Tsereteli Art Gallery, a tribute to the genius of one of Russia's most celebrated and controversial artists — Zurab Konstatinovich Tsereteli. Among its mindboggling collection are luminous oils, sculptures, murals and gigantic installations that defy imagination, all crafted by the nonagenarian maestro.

Tsereteli is currently President of the Russian Academy of Arts and is credited with single-handedly transforming Moscow's skyline with his prolific and prodigious output. The mammoth $20 million, 150-foot nautical bronze statue of Peter the Great jetting up from an island in the Moscow river is the most representative work of the Modernism-inspired artist.

The atrium of the 10,000-square feet gallery is peppered with titanic sculptures of historical figures, Presidents, heads of states, kings and queens and mythological Gods and Goddesses. A supersize interactive sculpture called `The Apple' allows visitors to walk through it. “It traces the history of human passions from the Fall," the guide explains as I amble into its cavernous interiors awash with murals.