🚶 Old Arbat (Staryi Arbat)

A pedestrian street about a kilometre long, with 19th-century mansions, cafés and street artists.

The name Arbat has been known since the late 15th century; its origin is disputed, either from the Turkic arba (cart) or the Arabic rabad (suburb).
In 1986 the Arbat became Moscow's first pedestrian street.
Andrei Bely was born and raised at no. 55, and Pushkin spent the first months of his marriage in the neighbouring house, no. 53.
The Vakhtangov Theatre (no. 26) grew out of Evgeny Vakhtangov's studio; its building was destroyed in a bombing raid in 1941.
The Tsoi Wall in Krivoarbatsky Lane appeared in 1990, after the musician's death.
Krivoarbatsky Lane is also home to Konstantin Melnikov's house-studio of 1927–1929, made of two merged cylinders.
On the corner with Plotnikov Lane stands a monument to Bulat Okudzhava, who sang about the Arbat in his songs.