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Discipline: When Kids Attack

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Illustration: Zohar Lazar for Newsweek By Anna Kuchment Nancy Plant wasn’t sure how to prevent her daughter’s playdates from veering toward disaster. Five-year-old Kate “liked to be in control,” says Plant, an attorney from Bainbridge Island, Wash. Kate...

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Safaris for the Family

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Newsweek

Moscow correspondent Anna Nemtsova grew up in Gorky, a city now called Nizhny Novgorod, and then spent time in St. Petersburg before finally moving to Moscow in 1999. While Moscow has changed a lot in the ensuing decade, with exotic cuisines and rowdy nightlife expanding across once-grim neighborhoods, her list of gems can help any visitor explore the quaint and affordable side of the city.

Sights: As one might expect, the Bulgakov Museum is stuffed with documents and photographs depicting the life of novelist Mikhail Bulgakov. But the museum is also a window into old Moscow, with paintings from the 1930s decorating the walls. It has the look and feel of an old communal apartment, but livens things up with poetry readings, author talks and concert nights. In the museum's small café, try a home-baked cake made from one of the author's favorite recipes. From one to six a.m. on weekend nights, the museum organizes an English-language walking tour of the boulevards and back alleys depicted in Bulgakov’s most famous work, the novel "The Master and Margarita." It's the most romantic way for couples to enjoy downtown Moscow (Bolshaya Sadovaya Street 10, +7 495 970 0619).

Drinks: Russians love to drink, but they no longer limit themselves to just vodka (usually accompanied with a pickle and herring on dark bread). Now Muscovites are quaffing everything from tequila to whiskey to Baltika beer and Chilean wine. All that and more can be enjoyed at the appropriately named bar, A Crisis of Genre (a reference to post-Soviet eclecticism). The club hosts bands playing jazz, rockabilly, rock ‘n’ roll and R&B and is open 24 hours for the modern Muscovite working long hours.

Eats: The recently re-opened Mayak, or Lighthouse, on the second floor of the Mayakovsky theater, is a 24-hour hangout for actors, designers, film directors, musicians and their friends. Try a bowl of their seafood soup, made by the restaurant's French chef and served at a table overlooking Moscow’s only pigeon loft. The service is friendly and fast, a rarity for Moscow (+7 495 291 7449).

Festivities: If you happen to be in town in April, visit Winzavod for the Moscow Biennale, a show of fine art and journalistic photography. The show encompasses exhibits at several other galleries, including the Manezh, the Central House of Artists, and the Moscow Modern Art Museum, but I prefer Winzavod. Founded as a winery in 1889, Winzavod's vintners used grapes hauled from the Caucasus and Crimea and made drinks from northern forest berries, too. Converted into a gallery in 2006, the site draws hip crowds and is sometimes referred to as Moscow’s Soho. The Biennale continues until May 15.

Baths: I've always loved a good Russian steam bath, but usually prefer to take it in a wooden hut at my summer home in the country. Lately, however, I've been attracted to the charms of Moscow's banya, or public baths, which offer day spa treatments for the well-to-do. Visit one for a chance to refresh and recharge. At the Kranopresnenskye baths (Men: +7 495 255 5306; Women: +7 495 255 0115) assistants prepare mint, eucalyptus or citrus treatments in traditional steam rooms, but visitors can also have a massage or pedicure before rushing back into the city.

Tag(s): Correspondent's Picks

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