Moscow in Bloom
.jpg "Moscow in Bloom")
Spring is officially here, and Moscow dwellers are ready to make the most of it. The city’s parks have lots of attractions, events, and blooming flowers for visitors to enjoy. Here are some recommendations:
First Blossom in the Apothecary Garden
Despite its location in the city centre, this garden is calm and peaceful. It was established by Peter the Great in 1706 and designed as a medicinal garden. Legend has it that the emperor took an interest in this place and planted several trees himself, one of which—the larch—still stands to this day. The garden was used by medical students for practical training in the 19th century and contained more than 3,500 plants.
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The park was renovated by the modern landscape architect Artyom Parshin, who skilfully preserved its English-garden-style features—a small pond, benches hidden in the undergrowth, and winding paths. Today, visitors can see rare early-blooming flowers, as well as hyacinths, daffodils, and tulips. The magnolias are now in bloom, and the cherry blossoms and lilacs are waiting their turn. As it is less busy than many other Moscow parks, the Apothecary Garden is a great spot to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city, read a book in one of the alcoves, or go over your revision notes before an exam.
Address: 26/1 Prospect Mira
Nearest metro station: Prospect Mira
Opening hours:
Mon—Sun: 10 am–8 pm
Tickets: Sat–Sun: 400 rubles (standard), 250 rubles (for students),
Mon–Fri: 300 rubles (standard), 200 rubles (for students)
Tulips in Park Pobedy (Victory Park)
This park is a Second World War memorial complex with monuments, exhibitions and a museum. When it gets dark, the park’s fountains turn red in memory of the war's victims. The 135-hectare park is popular with skateboarders, rollerbladers, cyclists and other sport enthusiasts.
From May to October, visitors can rent equipment such as bikes and scooters and then unwind in one of the numerous coffee shops. Park Pobedy is also a venue for many festivals, concerts, and events—including the Victory Day celebrations on May 9th, for which red tulips are planted to mark the occasion. In the middle of May, the park is the perfect place to see chestnut trees in bloom, as there are several paths lined with the trees.
Address: Park Pobedy
Nearest metro station: Park Pobedy
Free entry
Lilacs in Ekaterininskiy Park
This park was home to an Institute for Noble Maidens in the 19th century, and although the park lost some of its territory at the beginning of the 20th century, its layout has not changed much. Small but charming, this park is also famous among amateur dancers—one of the garden-houses holds weekly dancing events.
In the middle of May, the lilacs start to bloom. The park’s location next to Dostoyevskaya metro station in the city centre makes it an easily accessible choice.
Address: 27 Bolshaya Ekaterininskaya Ulitsa
Nearest metro station: Dostoyevskaya
Opening hours:
Mon—Sun: 7 am–11 pm
Free entry
Apple Trees in Kolomenskoye
Kolomenskoye is a large museum complex that is popular among locals and tourists. It has various facilities and holds a lot of festivals, but every May, the main attraction is its apple orchards. They were planted four centuries ago, during the reign of Tsar Alexis of Russia. During its time as an imperial residence, it had six gardens for growing apples, peaches, pears, plums, gooseberries, raspberries, and various vegetables. Later, in the 18th century, a new palace was built and the gardens were used only for pleasure walks.
Today, only three of the gardens remain: the Kazansky, Voznesensky and Dyakovsky gardens (the latter of which is situated next to a 16th-century temple). When the apple trees are in bloom, the 'White Night in Kolomenskoye' festival takes place and visitors can enjoy theatre performances, concerts, exhibitions and various masterclasses.
Address: Kolomenskoye open-air museum
Nearest metro station: Kolomenskaya
Free entry to the gardens
Those hoping to catch other flowers and plants in bloom can check out the lime trees in Vorobyevy Gory, roses in Sokilniki, and explore numerous other parks of various sizes all across Moscow. VDNH holds an annual flower festival before the end of summer where visitors can admire all sorts of colourful flowers. With so many opportunities to enjoy the warm season in Moscow, the only problem is that it doesn’t last forever!
Text by Olga Nozdrina, first-year master’s student of ‘Contemporary History Studies in History Instruction at Secondary Schools’, intern at the HSE University English website tea