Moscow University/Vorobievy Hills, Moscow

If you go into the University tower, rather than just gazing at it from the outside, it's worth making your way up to some of the upper floors. The views from high up are wonderful if you can persuade someone to open one of the department museums. Lower down , on the 1st floor is the impressive Great Hall. The foyers here have grand friezes depicting the great names of science and philosophy, portrayed in marble mosaic and there are some fine sculptures of great Russian academics.

Just a few steps aside from the crowded view point and you feel like getting to quite another place or even like leaving the city at all. The big green area inside the Moscow with high trees, springs, small ponds and, sometimes, rather steep paths and roads. Don't forget to put on tracking shoes if you are going to walk there especially after a few rainy days.

A great way to see parts of Moscow, like Moscow State University, and to avoid Moscow traffic.

Looking at the water, it appears quite brackish. I do see some people fishing along the river, but I would not want to fall in or voluntarily go swimming.

This huge building stands above the town on the Lenin-Mountains (whats the name now?) It was built between 1949 and 1953. The part in the middle has 31 floors and is 240 meters high. Our guide Tatjana was very proud when she sayed that ....

But I agree that it is an amazing building and you will better see it when you click on the picture.

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Quite beside the Moscow State University at Vorobjov Hills there is the biggest and the most famouse cinima studio of Russia - "MOSFILM". It occupies huge territory to the right from MSU building (looking from sightseeing point).

Mosfilm provides regular guided tours for adults and schoolchildren. You can see many tricky things of cinema world and walk along the streets of cartoon towns, like those two on photos.

Vorobyoviy Hills is Sparrow Hills, a famous landmark in Moscow. Actually more than a landmark it's a look-out point from a hill 85 metres high. From there you can see the city's southern side, the Moscova river and, for sports fanatics, even the Luzhniki Stadium.

Look closely in the distance. Can you see the big huge skyscraper? it's one of the famous seven sisters built by Stalin. There's another example right by the look-out point (behind, in fact): the university.

Spectacular look-out point, with a view of Moscow from the south side of the river, Have you ever read Bulgakov's novel "The master and Margarita"? Then you will be familiar with Sparrow Hills, as many devil scenes are set in this area.

Metro: Universitet

Moscow State University (MGU) is located on Vorobyovy Gory (Sparrow Hills) and overlooks the Luzhniki district of the city. it's in one of the buildings called the seven sisters - which were built by Stalin. Many people still call it with its former name: Lomonosov University.

The university is 36 floors high - not many and yet, the building is massive due to its large perimeter. With the spire and the red star on top it's 240 metres tall. The facades are richly decorated with clocks, statues, carved wheat sheaves and Soviet crests.

Several famous people have studied in there: former President Mikhail Gorbachev is one of them. Honorary degrees have been given to Goethe, Jawaharlal Nehru and even Minister Margaret Thatcher and Bill Clinton.
Metro: universitet

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Vorobyovy Gory (Sparrow Hills) is a hill located on the south bank of the Moskva River. Because it is one of the highest points in the city, the views here are quite impressive: on one side, there was the towering Moscow State University; on the other, the river and, behind it, Luzhniki (formerly Lenin) Stadium and the whole of Moscow.

We had no detailed maps of the area and got off at the wrong station (Universitet) to boot, but we managed to walk along a series of trails all the way to a steep bank, where there were souvenir and fast-food stands. Even though we had to take a taxi back into town, it was well worth it!

P. S. The correct metro station is Vorobyovy Gory, not Universitet! :)

A colossal building that is a true monument to what you can do with concrete. Feel free to run around inside. Don't let the guards out front scare you. They don't care who is in there. There are some great statues of the fathers of communism that are inside. The whole place is pretty run down and unkempt, but the immensity of the building is pretty awesome. It has a strange appeal for me. It is somewhat of a contradiction to itself. Russians are extremely well educated. You wonder why all of the engineers and independent thinkers that pour out of this place don't do something to improve it...or the rest of the city for that matter.
Just north of the university is a hill with a good view. If you are there in the summer time I guarantee that you will see at least 50 wedding parties there.

Moscow beaches: sure, that sounds like an oxymoron, but Moscow does have its swimming spots. Two of the more popular ones are Serebryanniy Bor (a longish ride from the city center, but worth the trip on a hot day) and the riverbank at the base of Sparrow Hills, down toward Moscow State University. Swimsuits are optional at one of Serebryanniy Bor's beaches, but I'm not sure you'll want to see the sights on offer there.