Moscow: how to get there and around
Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.
Moscow is the capital of Russia, 155 m (509 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Sheremetyevo International Airport (SVO), 28 km (17 mi) from the centre. It has a dozen or more railway stations on record, including Kuskovo. Our booking partner lists 1,621+ places to stay.
Key facts
Daylight in Moscow runs from about 7 h 5 min a day in late December to 17 h 39 min in late June (computed for 55.75° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.
Getting there
Moscow is served by 4 airports with scheduled flights within 100 km. The closest large one is Sheremetyevo International Airport (SVO), 28 km (17 mi) from the centre, whose 12,139-ft runway is long enough for long-haul wide-body aircraft. The alternatives are Vnukovo International Airport (VKO, 29 km), Zhukovsky International Airport (ZIA, 40 km), Domodedovo International Airport (DME, 42 km).
Flights to Moscow: every airport, routes and times
By rail: stations on record include Kuskovo, Paveletsky railway station, Kursky railway station, Streshnevo, Likhobory, Novokhokhlovskaya. Trains to Moscow
Buses to Moscow · Driving and car hire
Where to stay
Our booking partner lists 1,621+ places to stay in Moscow (statistics below are from the first 1,000). Of the 1,000 with a star rating, the largest group is 3-star (726), and 26 are five-star. Across 80 properties with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 8.3 out of 10. Guests have left 10,257 reviews in total.
Hotels in Moscow: the full picture, and book
Our booking partner lists 100 hostels in Moscow, out of 1,621 places to stay of every kind — 6.2% of everywhere it lists in the city, an above-average share: hostels here compete with each other rather than filling a gap. Guests have left 193 reviews across them.
Hostels in Moscow: the full picture, and book
What people come for
| Sight | Visitors a year | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Moscow Kremlin Museums | 3,101,550 | 2019 |
| Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow | 2,242,405 | 2021 |
| Tretyakov Gallery | 2,148,538 | 2018 |
| Memorial Museum of Astronautics | 750,000 | 2019 |
| Museum of the Great Patriotic War | 700,000 | — |
| Garage Center for Contemporary Culture | 408,057 | 2021 |
| State Literature Museum | 100,000 | — |
| Museum of Russian Chocolate History | 50,000 | — |
The busiest is Moscow Kremlin Museums at 3,101,550 visitors in 2019. At that volume, anything with a gate is worth a timed ticket or an early start.
UNESCO World Heritage in the city: Church of the Ascension, Kolomenskoye; Kremlin and Red Square.
Tours, tickets and day trips from Moscow
Nearby cities, and how to get between them
- Yaroslavl, 250 km — flights · trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Ryazan’, 182 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Lipetsk, 374 km — flights · trains · buses · car rental
- Tula, 173 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Bryansk, 348 km — trains · buses · car rental
- Tver, 162 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Ivanovo, 249 km — flights · trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Vladimir, 178 km — flights · trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Kaluga, 161 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Smolensk, 369 km — trains · buses · car rental
Twin towns and sister cities: Berlin, Delhi, Madrid, Tel Aviv, Tehran, Beijing, Valenciennes, London, Ljubljana, Manila, Buenos Aires, Astana, Athens, Düsseldorf.
Common questions
Which airport serves Moscow?
Sheremetyevo International Airport (SVO), 28 km (17 mi) from the centre, plus 3 other airports with scheduled flights within 100 km.
How big is Moscow?
About 10.4 million people live in Moscow, across 2,562 km² (GeoNames and Wikidata).
What time zone is Moscow in?
Europe/Moscow, currently UTC+3.
What currency is used in Moscow?
The Ruble (RUB). Traffic drives on the right.
Are there hostels in Moscow?
100 of them, bookable on this site. Hostels in Moscow.
How many hotels are there in Moscow?
Our booking partner lists 1,621 or more places to stay in Moscow, bookable on this site.
Which cities are near Moscow?
Yaroslavl (250 km), Ryazan’ (182 km), Lipetsk (374 km), Tula (173 km), Bryansk (348 km).
Where these facts come from
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
- Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
- OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
- Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines
Data compiled 14 September 2026. Hotel and hostel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.