Travel

Paint the town red

The Ritz Carlton, Moscow is luxurious and ideally located.

The Ritz Carlton, Moscow is luxurious and ideally located. (
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Thanks to news as varied as Snowden’s asylum, the nation’s support for Assad, acid attacks on Bolshoi ballet dancers and even President Putin’s “enormous” pike (it’s worth Googling), Russian shenanigans made a lot of American headlines this year. Most recently, Obama entirely scrapped his impending summit meeting with the Russian leader. So, yeah, there was that.

But if you’re an American who has ever been intrigued by the largest country on the globe, you’d best hop over there quickly, before increasingly chilly national relations threaten to freeze you out. The buzzing streets of capital city Moscow are a fascinating place to start: Besides all the rich history and architecture (who hasn’t dreamt of seeing those colorful onion domes and spires in person?), you’ll find sumptuous cuisine, dynamic nightlife and a disproportionate number of strikingly good-looking, extraordinarily well-dressed people on the streets.

STAY

Perfectly positioned just off Red Square, next to the Kremlin and within walking distance to the designer shops and see-and-be-seen cafes of Stoleshnikov Lane, the cherry wood-, marble-bedecked Ritz-Carlton, Moscow (from $455, ritzcarlton.com/moscow) has the aristocratic feel of 19th-century imperialist Russia, plus plenty of modernity: On-site, there’s a sprawling ESPA with an indoor swimming pool featuring Swarovski crystals that change color, and a brand-new outpost of Russian restaurateur Arkady Novikov’s hip Pan-Asian restaurant from London, Novikov. Views of the Kremlin and Red Square from hot-spot rooftop lounge O2 — where the city’s wealthy expats, chic tourists and business movers and shakers converge — are among the best in the city. Views of the Kremlin and Red Square from hot-spot rooftop lounge O2 — where the city’s wealthy expats, chic tourists and business movers and shakers converge — as well as from many of the hotel’s 334 guestrooms, are among the best in the city.

EAT & DRINK

Restaurateur Andrey Dellos — responsible for Betony in Midtown and the outpost of Moscow’s Manon (manon-club.ru) that opened in the Meatpacking District earlier this summer — owns at least four of the top spots in town. In addition to wildly successful Café Pushkin (cafe-pushkin.ru) and Manon, there’s the newly renovated restaurant Shinok (shinok.ru). It’s fashioned after a Ukrainian country tavern, replete with traditional plates (try the delicious cherry vareniki — Ukrainian dumplings) and even a glass-enclosed barn, where diners can watch a lady dressed as a milkmaid tend to real goats, peacocks, chickens and cows.

But, this being Moscow, you can bling it up a few notches. For Euro-philes, there’s the ritzy, brand-new La Prima (laprimarestoran.ru) Italian restaurant, which features live music and cooking classes. And, as one of my Muscovite friends told me as we walked into Turandot (turandot-palace.ru), past the restaurant’s on-site Buccellati boutique, “Whatever you can’t buy with money in Russia, you can buy with big money.” The over-the-top, gilded, bi-level dining palace is truly a baroque sight to behold (interiors reportedly cost $40 million) — and best enjoyed when someone else is paying. Order from its decadent, Asian-leaning menu, listen to the live chamber music performed by costumed musicians and pretend you’re a tsar from the 1800s.

SEE

Take an afternoon river cruise (radisson-cruise.ru) down the Moscow River to get your bearings: As a waiter serves lunch, you’ll motor past the Kremlin, Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, the 322-foot-high statue of Peter the Great, the “Russian White House” and more.

Work with your hotel concierge to organize a VIP tour of the Kremlin, as lines can be long, and the ticketing process for must-see add-ons such as the Kremlin Armoury Museum and its State Diamond Fund (home to the 190-carat Orlov diamond) can be confusing.

While you won’t want to shop much in Russia (designer goods prices run much higher than in the US), stroll through the decadent Gum mall (gum.ru) after you explore Red Square and see Lenin’s tomb and St. Basil’s Cathedral. People-watch and window shop on Stoleshinkov Lane, but plan an entire afternoon at the 300-acre, ever-improving Gorky Park (park-gorkogo.com), where there are activities aplenty, such as kayaking, paddle ball, riverfront salsa dancing and lunching at the popular outdoor café, Olive Beach (from Ginza Projects, which owns New York’s Mari Vanna).

Be sure to snag tickets for a Bolshoi (bolshoi.ru) ballet performance on the Historic Stage — another request for a concierge, as independent online agencies sometimes dupe tourists with counterfeit tickets: “Swan Lake,” “Don Quixote” and “Onegin” are among what’s playing in coming months, and Oct. 15 is the annual Bolshoi Ballet Gala — oh, to be a fly on the wall there this year.

HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT

Where to sip vodka in style

Strelka Bar (strelka.com), within the Institute of Media, Architecture and Design, is an artsy joint housed in a loft-like former candy factory, offering great views of the Moscow River and Christ the Saviour Cathedral.

Soho Rooms (sohorooms.com) is quintessentially fancy Moscow — a swanky, multi-room lounge, club and restaurant with crystal chandeliers, multiple Ferraris at the valet, and a weekly party billed as “Rich & Beautiful Night,” natch.

Sixty (ginzaproject.ru) is a collaboration between Ginza Project and Quintessentially, located on the 62nd floor of Moscow’s Federation Tower. Every 15 minutes or so, the windows open up, and guests can breathe fresh air (or Instagram without the glare) from “the highest restaurant in Europe.”

Follow Suzy Buckley Woodward on Instagram: @vicarious_videos.