Eastern and Central Europe (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

132 NORTHERN EASTERN EUROPE

Street-by-Street: Old Arbat

In the 19th century, Old Arbat was the haunt of artists,

musicians, poets, writers and intellectuals. Some of their
homes have been preserved and opened as museums,
and are among the district’s many houses of that era that
have been restored and painted in pastel shades of blue,
green and ochre. At the heart of Old Arbat is the
pedestriani zed ulitsa Arbat. It is lined with antique shops,
boutiques, souvenir stalls, pavement cafés and a variety
of restaur ants – from pizzerias and hamburger joints to
traditional Russian pubs. Today, pavement artists, buskers
and street poets give it a renewed bohemian atmosphere.

Spaso House

is a grand Neo-

Classical mansion.

It has been the

residence of the

US ambassador

since 1933.

This small garden

contains a statue of

Alexander Pushkin.

Novyy

Arbat

Ulitsa Arbat
This 19th-century street was
pedestrianized in 1985. Its lively
shops, restaurants and cafés are now
popular with Muscovites and visitors
to the city alike.

Bely House-

Museum

Andrei Bely, best

known for two works –

a novel, Petersburg,

and his memoirs – lived

in this flat for the first

26 years of his life. It is

now a museum and the exhibits on

display include this photo of Bely

with his wife and his fascinating

Symbolist illustration, Line of Life.

Georgian

Centre

The Foreign Ministry

is one of the seven

Stalinist-Gothic sky-

scrapers in Moscow.

. Pushkin House-Museum
The poet Alexander Pushkin lived
here just after his marriage in
1831. The interior of the house
has been carefully renovated e

PEREULOK KAMENNOY SLOBODY

KARMANITSKIY PEREULOK

DENEZHNYY

PEREULOK

SPASOPESKOVSKIY

PEREULOK

For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp160–61 and pp162–3