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      Novodevichy at sunset and the cable car in lights

      ⏱ 4 h🚶 4 km🍽 1📍 6 stops
      🚶 Moderate — 3–7 km

      Sunset by the Novodevichy Pond, the lit-up convent, a cable car over the dark river and dinner with a view of Luzhniki from the Sparrow Hills.

      🌙 Evening🏛 History and architecture🌳 Parks and nature
      🗺 Open in Yandex Maps
      1. 1
        🏛 Novodevichy Convent
        A 16th–17th-century convent with crenellated walls, the Smolensk Cathedral and a tall bell tower, a UNESCO site.
        Start at Sportivnaya metro around 17:00. We look at the convent from outside: walk around the walls on the south side to the pond.
        📖 More about the placeCollapse
        Novodevichy Convent
        © Vyacheslav Bukharov · CC BY-SA 4.0
        Novodevichy Convent
        © Никонико962 · CC BY-SA 4.0
        Novodevichy Convent
        © Anton Zelenov · CC BY-SA 3.0
        • The convent was founded in 1524 by Vasily III in fulfilment of a vow made for the capture of Smolensk in 1514.
        • In 2004 the ensemble was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list.
        • The bell tower of 1690, in the Moscow Baroque style, is one of the tallest in Moscow, at about 72 m.
        • In 1689 Peter I imprisoned Tsarevna Sophia here; she was later tonsured under the name Susanna.
        • In 1812 the retreating French tried to blow up the convent; according to legend, the nuns put out the fuses.
        • The convent was returned to the Church in 2010; large-scale restoration went on for about ten years from 2014.
        • Beyond the wall lies Novodevichy Cemetery, where Chekhov, Gogol and Bulgakov are buried.
      2. 🚶 on foot
      3. 2
        🌳 Novodevichy Pond
        A pond by the convent walls reflecting the bell tower and the Smolensk Cathedral, with a path and benches around it.
        Catch the sunset here: in late October around 17:20. When it gets dark the convent is lit up and the bell tower reflects in the pond — the best shot is from the north bank.
        📖 More about the placeCollapse
        Novodevichy Pond
        © Pierre André Leclercq · CC BY-SA 4.0
        Novodevichy Pond
        © Alexxx1979 · CC0
        • The ponds lie in an oxbow of the Moskva River, and the park around them began to be laid out under a plan of 1957.
        • The sculpture Make Way for Ducklings is a copy of Nancy Schön's Boston composition, based on Robert McCloskey's book.
        • The ducklings were given to Soviet children in 1991 by Barbara Bush, who a year earlier had shown the Boston original to Raisa Gorbacheva.
        • The ducklings have been stolen more than once: one right after installation, and later the mother duck and several others; the figures were recast.
        • Above the pond stands Novodevichy Convent, founded in 1524, which has been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 2004.
      4. 🚶 on foot
      5. 3
        🏛 Luzhniki
        Russia's largest stadium, surrounded by a sports complex and the Moskva River embankment.
        Along Luzhnetsky Proyezd to the lit stadium and then along the embankment to the lower cable car station.
        📖 More about the placeCollapse
        Luzhniki
        © Government of Moscow Press centre · CC BY 4.0
        Luzhniki
        © Alexxx1979 · CC BY-SA 4.0
        • The stadium was built in a record 450 days and opened on 31 July 1956 with a match between the RSFSR and China national teams.
        • At first it held about 101,000 spectators on wooden benches.
        • Until 1992 the arena was called the Lenin Central Stadium; the monument to Lenin by Matvey Manizer has stood at the entrance since 1960.
        • The 1980 Olympic Games opened here on 19 July, and at the closing ceremony the image of the Olympic Bear Misha appeared in the stands.
        • On 21 May 2008 the first Champions League final in Russia was played here, Manchester United against Chelsea.
        • After the 2017 reconstruction the stadium holds 81,000 spectators, more than any other in Russia; it was the main arena of the 2018 World Cup.
      6. 🚶 on foot
      7. 4
        ✨ Luzhniki – Sparrow Hills cable car
        A gondola cable car about 720 m long over the Moskva River, with views of Luzhniki and Moscow State University.
        The cable car runs until 22:00, from 14:00 on Monday; it’s closed in strong wind. In the dark you see the lights of Luzhniki and the river under your feet from the cabin.
        📖 More about the placeCollapse
        Luzhniki – Sparrow Hills cable car
        © Правительство Москвы · CC BY 4.0
        • The cable car was built for the 2018 World Cup but opened only on 26 November 2018.
        • Already on 28 November it was closed because of a hacker attack.
        • The line has three stations and a height difference of 60 m; the equipment was made by Switzerland's Bartholet.
        • It runs 8-seat gondolas, and in winter 4-seat chairs are added on the second section.
        • Part of the route follows the line of a 1953 chairlift that served the Big Ski Jump; it was dismantled in 2016.
      8. 🚶 on foot
      9. 5
        🌅 Sparrow Hills viewpoint (Vorobyovy Gory)
        A platform on the high right bank with a panorama of the bend of the Moskva River, Luzhniki and the city centre.
        A night panorama from the upper station: the stadium, the City and skyscrapers in lights.
        📖 More about the placeCollapse
        Sparrow Hills viewpoint (Vorobyovy Gory)
        © Alexxx1979 · CC BY-SA 4.0
        Sparrow Hills viewpoint (Vorobyovy Gory)
        © Alexxx1979 · CC BY-SA 4.0
        Sparrow Hills viewpoint (Vorobyovy Gory)
        © Niklitov · CC BY-SA 4.0
        • The viewing platform was built in 1948 to a design by the architect Vitaly Dolganov.
        • From 1935 to 1999 the hills were officially called the Lenin Hills.
        • The slope rises up to 80 m above the river, a ledge of the Teplostanskaya Upland.
        • The second-to-last chapter of The Master and Margarita is called "On the Sparrow Hills".
        • Downstream from the platform stands a memorial marking the oath of Herzen and Ogarev.
        • The Moscow State University main building behind the platform is 240 m with its spire, and the central block has 36 floors.
      10. 🚶 on foot
      11. 6
        ☕️ Ambassadori restaurant (formerly Tramplin) · 🧸 play area
        ул. Косыгина, 28
        ▮▮▮▮▯
        Dinner a couple of minutes from the viewpoint, open until midnight: khachapuri and a view of Luzhniki. On Friday and Saturday book a window table ahead.
        🍴 A panoramic Georgian restaurant by the viewing platform, with a kids' menu and a children's room. What to order: khachapuri, borscht, and cake for dessert.

      ↩️ Getting back: ≈20 min on foot downhill to Vorobyovy Gory metro, or a taxi

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