CNN and The Daily Telegraph rate Moscow among best tourist destinations for autumn and Christmas

Moscow is now on the CNN list of the best cities to visit in the autumn and The Daily Telegraph has included the Russian capital in its top 10 cities for Christmas festivals and fairs.

The Daily Telegraph: Christmas in Moscow

The Daily Telegraph — a popular U.K. daily newspaper — has included Moscow among the top ten cities boasting the world’s best Christmas fairs and festivals. Moscow comes ninth in the rating.

“Journey to Christmas” is the main winter festival in Moscow. All of the city’s guests, no matter what their age, can experience the magical atmosphere. Take part in master classes, quests and games, watch performances and ice ballets, go sledging down the hills and taste holiday dishes. This year, the festival begins on 21 December and last until 13 January.

During this time, people will be able to see 400 light installations, which are put in place every year for the festival,  at Christmas fairs. Visitors can also taste mulled wine, gingerbread and caviar-filled blini.

Other cities featured in The Daily Telegraph top 10 are: Toronto, Canada; Hong Kong, China; Guernsey, an island in the English Channel; Strasbourg, France; Salzburg, Austria; Baden Baden, Germany; Oslo, Norway; Rhine, a region encompassing some German and French cities; and Krakow, Poland.
In addition, the historical Moscow district, Kitai-gorod, was rated 45^th out of 50 coolest neighbourhoods in the world by travel magazine Time Out .The publication was attracted by the area’s contrasts: “Here Cold War bunkers are situated side-by-side with hip coffee shops,” the magazine wrote.

According to the world’s largest tourist portal, Kayak.com, Moscow tops the list of the most-searched-for destinations by Indian travellers. This year, Moscow comes first with a significant 115% year-on-year increase in searches made by Indians.

Colours of Autumn in Kolomenskoye and Tsaritsyno

The CNN article entitled “Fall travel 2018: 10 fantastic places and what to do there” focused on the fact that autumn leaf fall is especially beautiful in the Russian capital. Specifically, the article mentioned such museum-estates as Tsaritsyno and Kolomenskoye.

 “…consider a trip to Moscow, which has some unexpectedly fine spots for autumn hues. A number of former royal estates have been converted into grand public parks,” the article says. 

Other destinations recommended by CNN for autumn include: the Oktoberfest festival in Munich, Germany; a music festival at a lake in southeast African country Malawi; and one of India’s major spectacles, the Diwali festival of lights. Football events in U.S. cities, the Pirates Week Festival in the Cayman Islands and the famous horse racing at the Flemington racecourse in a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, are also on the list.

Golden Autumn in the city: gourmets’ delight

The gastronomic festival “Golden Autumn” is running in the capital from 28 September to 7 October. Visitors can taste and buy meat and fish products, cheeses and seasonal fruit and vegetables from a variety of Russian regions. 
In addition, the festival offers an entertainment programme — cooking master classes, spectacular food shows, concerts, performances, contests and other events suitable for the whole family. This year, the festival is held in many districts of the city. 

2018 — a year of new records 

The World Cup, held in Moscow this past summer, opened up Moscow to numerous soccer fans, many of them arriving in the city for the first time. It is expected that  the number of visitors to the Russian capital will increase by at least 10 percent, to 22.9 mln people, as a result of the FIFA World Cup 2018.

During the World Cup, the city was visited by almost 4.5 mln tourists and holiday-makers, with 2.3 million of them coming from abroad.