One Night in ... Moscow

• Share

alexei mitrophanov, State Duma Deputy Start at the cozy Red Bar on the 22nd floor of the Bagration Bridge Tower in Kutuzovsky Prospect to enjoy the full view of the city. Take a cab to the Prado restaurant in Slavyanskaya Square for a delightful European or Asian dinner in old Moscow's downtown. Then take a postdinner walk to Tverskaya, the city's main artery, and drop into the classy and expensive Night-Flight club to mix with the most beautiful women in Moscow.

grigori punanov, Managing Editor, Big City magazine To get a feel for this city of glamour and totalitarianism, start with the Bosko Café facing Lenin's Tomb across Red Square, which may well have the best olives in Europe, and order a cappuccino. Walk out into Nikolskaya Street, and turn into posh Tretyakovsky Proezd Street, where Bentleys sell like hotcakes opposite the FSB (former KGB) headquarters. Walk up Petrovka Street and turn left to Pushkin Square, Moscow's real heart. Go to the Pushkin, the best Russian restaurant in town, pictured. Trust your waiter's taste — and order your vodka straight away.

yuri zarakhovich, TIME Moscow correspondent Charming Prechistenka Street leads you to the Temple of Christ the Savior. Emperor Nicolas I ordered a 14th century convent razed in 1837 to build the original cathedral. The Bolsheviks tore it down in 1931, and the site hosted a swimming pool until the cathedral was re-erected in the 1990s. Mull over Russia's vagaries at the National Hotel's Moskovsky Restaurant on Mokhovaya Street, where the fabulous view of the Kremlin complements the traditional Russian food.