Doing business
It’s a socially divided city where new money elite wears wealth on its sleeve. Dress to impress and prepare to entertain and drink to excess as part of negotiations. Having the right contacts along with shiny shoes and an iron constitution are paramount where oil/gas contracts await, but drab, old-fashioned bureaucracy still impedes.

Cool hotel
Golden Apple, a Muscovite vision of boutique cool; a quasi post-industrialist montage of shiny metallic panels offset by wacky furniture and bright, primary colours splashed across seven storeys. There’s a restaurant, gym and business centre. It’s located at 11 Malaya Dmitrovka. See: www.goldenapple.ru

Hip restaurant
Vanil, where movers and shakers dress in their best to dine amid cool décor on fusion French-Japanese cuisine at astronomical prices. Wafts of vanilla keep the air fragrant for a celebrity crowd choosing from eclectic menus and the city’s finest wine cellar while admiring views of Christ the Saviour Cathedral through floor to ceiling windows at 1 Ostozhenka.

Happening bar
Apshu, at Klimentovsky Pereulok, is a bar with authentic bohemian credentials for creative folk. Serious drinks, makeshift rural décor, humorous artefacts and hidden nooks and crannies. No less heaving than elsewhere but with a lax members-only rule and laid-back music and entertainment.

No-go area
None by day within the ‘Golden Circle’ or city centre, but beware pickpockets in the tourist crowded streets of Arbat or being overcharged by the private cars acting as the city’s main taxis.

Must-see sight
The Kremlin, including the historic Armoury Museum, and adjacent Red Square, including the now contemporary GUM department store surrounded by cafés and boutiques. Also, a performance at The Bolshoi.

Getting downtown
From Sheremetyevo-2 Airport (served by most carriers from the UK) a taxi costs around £40 for 30km. It’s a journey that can take up to 90 minutes. A shuttle bus to an end of line Metro station is 50p and takes 30 minutes. From (the more modern) Domodedovo Airport (served by BA), taxis are about £60 for 40km, with a journey time of 60 minutes. A shuttle bus to a Metro station is 60p and takes 35 minutes. The Aeroexpress train to and from central Pavelet-skaya Station costs £2 and takes 40 minutes.

The details
Visas cost around £60 (+VAT) and must be sought in advance – try www.realrussia.co.uk. There are no compulsory vaccinations. Time difference: GMT+4. Currency: £1=50 roubles (Oct 2006). Climate: cold, wet winters; hot, humid summers; temperate spring/autumn. Contact: British Embassy, 10 Smolenskaya, Nabedrezhnaya; see: www.britishembassy.gov.uk

Getting there
bmi launched daily flights from Heathrow to Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport at the end of October as part of its winter timetable. British Airways and Aeroflot operate up to twice daily from Heathrow. Air France, Alitalia, KLM, Lufthansa and Swiss fly from Heathrow via gateways; Malev operates out of Gatwick; and SN Brussels from Birmingham. Swiss, Lufthansa and KLM also have connections from a wider choice of provincial UK airports.

INSIDER’S TIP
“Moscow is short of hotel rooms, rates are high and reservations should be made well in advance. Rent an apart-ment instead, especially for extended stays. Make sure you have a valid visa to enter Russia as they can’t be obtained upon arrival. Two of Moscow’s inter-national airports are under reconstruction – Sheremetyevo-2 and Domodedovo – so expect delays”
Galina Barykina, FCm Travel Solutions Russia

Compiled by Tom Hall on behalf of Lonely Planet. www.lonelyplanet.com

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