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Will you soon be touring Moscow? You are a lucky person — you have a good chance to know more about this historic city, which is as beautiful as ever, despite all crises and misfortunes. Moscow is one of the oldest and one of the most beautiful Russian cities. The city has absorbed many different styles that strike the visitors with their variety. The great number of churches and cathedrals in the Russian capital amuses Moscow visitors.

Magnificent stone churches and cathedrals with multiple golden, blue and white domes towering everywhere over all other buildings and structures. Even in the heart of Moscow, in the Kremlin, old churches compete with the immense Congress Palace for space. Despite its size (about 900 square kilometers) and the scale of many of Moscow buildings and avenues, the general layout is easily grasped — a series of concentric circles and radial lines, emanating from the Kremlin — and the center is compact enough to explore on foot. We display everything required by any traveler who plans a trip to our wonderful city.

St. Basil’s Cathedral

The famous St. Basil’s Cathedral was commissioned by Ivan the Terrible and built on the edge of Red Square between 1555 and 1561. Legend has it that on completion of the church the Tsar ordered the architect, Postnik Yakovlev, to be blinded to prevent him from ever creating anything to rival its beauty again. (He did in fact go on to build another cathedral in Vladimir despite his ocular impediment!) The cathedral was built to commemorate Ivan the Terrible’s successful military campaign against the Tartar Mongols in 1552 in the besieged city of Kazan. Victory came on the feast day of the Intercession of the Virgin, so the Tsar chose to name his new church the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Virgin on the Moat, after the moat that ran beside the Kremlin. The church was given the nickname “St. Basil’s” after the “holy fool” Basil the Blessed (1468-1552), who was hugely popular at that time with the Muscovites masses and even with Ivan the Terrible himself.

St. Basil’s was built on the site of the earlier Trinity Cathedral, which at one point gave its name to the neighboring square.

Statue to Minin and Pozharsky

In the small garden outside St. Basil’s stands an impressive bronze Statue to Minin and Pozharsky, who rallied Russia’s volunteer army during the Time of Troubles and drove out the invading Polish forces. They were an interesting duo — Dmitry Pozharsky was a prince, while Kuzma Minin was a butcher from Nizhny Novgorod.

The statue was designed by the artist I. Martos and erected in 1818 as the city’s first monumental sculpture. It originally stood in the center of Red Square in front of what is now the GUM Department Store, with Minin symbolically indicating to Pozharsky that the Poles were occupying the Kremlin and calling for its liberation.

Arbat

The Arbat is a true symbol of old Moscow, and has recently celebrated its 500th anniversary. Its name is first mentioned in the city chronicles of 1493. In that year the whole city was engulfed in a terrible fire, sparked by a candle in the Church of St. Nicholas in Peski, which is situated on the Arbat. This disaster led to the well-known saying: “A penny candle razed Moscow to the ground.” However, from the second half of 18th century the Arbat became the most aristocratic quarter of the city, just like Prechistenka.

It was often described as the St. Germain of Moscow, and the Muscovite intelligentsia settled in this area. The Arbat and Prechistenka have much in common in their history and character. There have never been any factories here, nor any workers’ huts, and there were no taverns or bazaars.

Muscovites used to say: “For money, go to Zamoskvorechye, for a career, go to St. Petersburg, but for knowledge and memories, go to the Arbat.” The area between the Arbat and Prechistenka takes us back to the unique world of quiet lanes where each house is still steeped in the atmosphere of old Moscow.

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Limosine Renting Advice

Limousines years ago were just a plain car that had been stretched. That’s it. Plain. Simple. Limousines have changed so much over the past years. They now come in all different shapes and sizes. A limousine can be designed from simple to extravagant on the inside and the outside. Luckily we have changed with time as well.

Who can keep up to date with all the cars that are out there? There are all types of limousines such as Lincolns, Cadillacs, Fords, Mercedes, etc. The list goes on to what types of cars are there. What is the difference between a 10 passenger and a 14 passenger? Or what about a Excursion and a Hummer?

When deciding to rent a limo first decide on what is the occasion for you renting a limo. You also want to have a plan of your ideal night. Next decide on what are the cities you will be renting the limo in. Next decide on how many passengers will be going in the limo with you. Lastly you want to estimate about how many hours you will need the limo.

How many passengers do you have and are they all going to fit? How do you know to decide what size of vehicle you want? First think what type of occasion is this. For example if the occasion were to be wedding and you as the bride had a big, poofy, princess dress, would you want anyone to sit on it or step on the dress in the limo. For something like that make sure you think about how much room each person needs. This bride may have ten people total in her party, but needs to count her dress as 2 passengers to protect it.

You do not want to be upset on your wedding day because someone in the limo spilled something on you because you were all tight inside. Some occasions as proms kids do not mind having to sit on each others laps, as long as they can all fit in their limo. When planning a corporate affair, you want to make sure each client inside that limo is going to have space to sit inside that limousine. You do not want your night spoiled because you should have rented one size bigger of a limousine.

You might be thinking to yourself what all these things are inside this limousine. Some limousines such as the basic Lincoln Town Car can just be a typical car. You might want to spice up the small town car and rent a Mercedes-Benz instead or a non-stretch Hummer. These are all your typical cars on the inside and outside for a simple look. Then you have your Lincoln stretch that have the all black interior and come supplied with a full stocked wet bar. There is also the big SUV vehicles when you really want to do it BIG. These types of SUV have come stocked with a complimentary wet bar, plasma TV screens, DVD players, surround sound system, twinkle lights on the ceilings, and the lasers. You might want to take advantage of the Hummer stretch and its zebra print interior, play station two connectors, and fog machine. All cars should come with professional drivers and should arrive on time.

Make sure you get what you are paying for. If you book your limo too cheap, you run a big risk of the limo not showing up. They may tell you their limousine got into an accident or got stuck in Vegas. They may not even call you at all and say you must have booked with someone else and they did not charge you. You want the limousine company’s prices to be very fair and comparable for the types of vehicles and customer service they offer. As a customer you should not have to pay any hidden fees, surcharges, or taxes. You want to book a limousine with a flat rate and tip based on your satisfaction. Remembering these tips should help smooth out what you may be looking for and putting your night together. You deserve the best.