Express trip to Moscow from Sheremetyevo Airport

What to do on a long layover in Moscow?

On my way to Romania I had the pleasure of flying with Aeroflot doing a long layover in Moscow, of 20 hours!

I was surprised by the quality of the airline service and with details like a camera at the cockpit of the plane to see how it lands and takes off! Ah! And the food was very good!

If you do not require VISA and you’re lucky like me, you use your time of that long layover in Moscow and make a quick visit to the center of the city of Moscow… always wanted to visit the Colours Cathedral!

Moscow is not a cheap city, and the easiest way (and what most people will recommend you) to go to the center of the city is to take a taxi, which costs around 1000RUB (29.00).

I managed to have my tourist Visa to enter the country after a long and prayed conversation with an immigration police, who surprisingly wanted to listen to me and accept my prayers from entering the country for a few hours. That,and my adorable smile.

To the question of the police: Why would want to go to the city? My smiling answer was: to see the Cathedral of colors! And I was on my way to the center of Moscow.

With the low-budget with I was on this last leg of my trip, I was ready to find a cheaper way to go to the center of the city and visit the Red Square and the Saint Basil’s Cathedral.There is several options to go to the city centre from the airport Sheremetyevo: apart from the taxi there is a fast train that connects with the normal system of metro and the trip costs 400RUB. Another option at a lower price are the mini-van that are located outside of each terminal and you find them where indicates “public transport”, they costs 70RUB and leave you at the door of the green line of the Metro Station “Rechnoy Vokzal”.

To go from there to the Red Square, must take the Metro green line, get off at the station “Teatralnaya” and exit at the blue line which is that leaves you just few steps from the Red Square. Metro ticket costs 40RUB one way.

In a few hours you can visit one of the most popular areas of the city: the Red Square and St. Basil’s Cathedral. Surrounding small streets and churches accompanied the tour, as well as coffee shops and restaurants. The only thing that I could not find was one with WiFi (even in McDonald’s which normally means free internet in many countries).

When going back to the airport, I realized how late it was when I saw that the last mini-van to the airport was already leave the stop outside the Metro. Between the months of May to August daylight hours are about 16 each day, so just at 22:30 o’clock you start to see twilight. In the absence of mini-van to return to the Sheremetyevo Airport discovered the best option: The Bus 851.

The stop is located on front of the Metro Station “Rechnoy Vokzal” and its located just outside the small Mall, under a series of flags. The trip to the airport takes around an hour.

Sheremetyevo Airport does not have much special, has free WiFi almost everywhere and there are not too many food options, only some restaurants and coffee shops. Duty Free Zone it’s not too funny, few shops that closed very early also.

If you plan to sleep in the airport there is an area in Terminal E, just behind Burger King with a wide, clean carpet, only you need something to cover you because air conditioning especially in that area was strong, at least when I was there. The other area to sleep (on the floor) and quieter is close to the gate number 33. An area carpeted and quiet (and less cold) with good WiFi signal, where you can relax and wait for your flight.

Thus, my journey for a few hours in Moscow was a very good experience. Contrary to what many friends have experienced in that city, I didn’t receive any kind of discrimination or unkind treatment. Could it be the fact of being a woman and not look very different from many Europeans?

I will leave it to doubt and keep the memory of friendly people, willing to help even without speaking a language in common with which to communicate very well.

 

Have you ever been to Moscow? Which are your favorite places in the city?