Secret Places of Moscow: Unusual City Locations That Nobody Knows About

Do you think you’ve already learned Moscow? Strolls along Tverskaya, coffee in Patriarch’s Ponds, and photos from Zaryadye—this is only the showcase. The real city is hidden behind facades, in inconspicuous passageways, in quiet courtyards, and behind heavy doors of old apartment buildings.

“Secret Places of Moscow” is your personal pass to this hidden capital. A guide for those who feel cramped in familiar routes and who are looking not for postcards, but for genuine impressions and living stories.

In this guide, you’ll find answers to questions like:
• Where, right in the very center, is an amazing garden hidden—even residents of neighboring houses don’t know about it?
• In which courtyard can you be, for a moment, in Venice and then in old Paris—without leaving the limits of the Garden Ring?
• Where to look for tangled labyrinths where, in the 1990s, stolen cars were hidden and where “Brother-2” was filmed?
• How, behind an ordinary archway on Tverskaya, to discover a fairy-tale terem that moved to a new location along with its residents?
• At which secret spots in the city do “their own” cafés operate—inside former carriage sheds or where book warehouses once stood?

And this is only the beginning. The guide is a real collection of urban artifacts that the author, Alёna Voroshilova, has gathered over the years for her tours. She runs a blog, “Let’s Go for a Walk,” works as an accredited guide, and knows how to notice what most people pass by without even looking back. Where someone might see just a wall, she can recognize 17th-century masonry. Her walks aren’t a list of addresses, but a carefully crafted atmosphere: when it’s best to look at a facade, where to catch the right light, and where to drop by for tea after the opening of yet another secret courtyard. The routes have been tested over time and by thousands of enthusiastic reviews—now the best finds are compiled in a single book and are available to everyone.

After listening to her, you’ll become the kind of person who, when asked “Where to go in Moscow?”, will suggest something truly unusual.

Want to see Moscow without filters and without the crowd? Grab the book, put on comfortable shoes—and let’s go for a walk!