Summer in the city. Five ways to feel like on vacation without even leaving Moscow

Life is beautiful if you have your summer vacation ahead. Especially when you are going to enjoy a trip to a new country or a city. However, if you are not going to travel any time soon, try to do all these vacation-specific things in Moscow. Mos.ru will tell you about five ways to feel like a carefree vacationer.

Breakfast

How to start a perfect vacation day? With breakfast, naturally! Rich and delicious breakfast without any haste is all you need. Make yourself a cup of coffee, a jam and butter toast and lounge on the balcony, or leave home to look for a new place. You may drop in the gastro-cluster opened this spring in the renovated Miussky Tram Depot or one of the major Moscow markets that have been long delighting its visitors with gastronomic discoveries. Apart from croissants and omelettes, the cafes offer some rather strange foods. Pretend to be a tourist from Japan and order Poke Bowl or Mochi Ramen, eat a refreshing cold gazpacho soup imagining you are in Madrid or Barcelona, try Israeli shakshuka or start your day with sampling a variety of cheeses with beautiful Italian names.

By the way, at the end of June, the courtyard of the Museum of Moscow on Zubovsky Boulevard will host another gastronomic festival Local Food Market. You will enjoy a real street food market running for two days, 29 and 30 June, where you will try fast foods popular in different countries. But not by bread alone: beyond the extensive gastronomic program, cultural and insightful events such as lectures, dance lessons, yoga sessions, poetry reading and classical music concerts are to be held.

Junk-fest

Flea markets are a true paradise for vintage fans, where you can find antique jewellery, porcelain, glass, books and other treasures (just name it!). Many cities in the world, from Paris, Berlin and Helsinki to Tel Aviv, are famous for their junk-fests rich in stylish rare things. But you don’t have to buy an air ticket to rummage in the heaps of junk, as Moscow flea markets are not inferior to many foreign ones. Although rather specific, as they mostly have Soviet artefacts, but there are also some interesting things once brought from foreign tourist trips. The main thing is to bargain: many sellers just adore it. You don't have to buy anything. Wandering among the rows, looking for traces of time on coffee cups and saucers with fine painting, flipping through yellow pages of books and magazines, overwhelmed with nostalgia, is invaluable.

Those who are not going to leave the centre of Moscow even for the sake of the rarest antiques should consider the Museum of Moscow. This summer, it will have pop-up flea markets held in July and August. Their organisers will recreate the atmosphere of the best European flea markets in the Museum's courtyard.

Sightseeing

Just pretend to be a tourist in the city you live in! Put on comfortable shoes and be off for something you have never noticed before. Perhaps, every day you pass by a house hiding some unusual history inside. Becoming an amateur local historian and a guide to yourself is the best thing you can do to never get bored.

Did you know that Maryina Roshcha is famous not only for its Bakhmetevsky Bus Garage, but also for the building erected according to the drawings of the legendary Giacomo Quarenghi, designer of the Hermitage Theatre, the Alexander Palace,  Konnogvardeysky Arena and other iconic buildings of St. Petersburg? Do you know where to look for the Kalabukhov's House from Mikhail Bulgakov's 'Heart of a Dog' novel in Khamovniki? Are you familiar with constructivist buildings in Danilovsky district? Can you list outright the most significant monuments of Golitsin's Baroque style located in Perovo? Have you ever heard that Margaret Thatcher visited Krylatskoye? What were Gilyarovsky and Stanislavsky doing in Khitrovka? And what about the secrets Izmailovo keeps?

Giacomo Quarenghi’s influence and Avant-Garde architecture: five main Maryina Roshcha buildingsBack to a new way of life: Five main constructivist buildings in ShabolovkaRed Dacha, Green Dacha, Golitsyn baroque: Perovo and Novogireyevo main landmarksWhere Gilyarovsky took Stanislavsky: the five main buildings of the Basmanny District

Park

Parks and recreation areas are an important point included in the program of any tourist visiting some new city in summer. Tired of sightseeing, long walks through the main streets and getting directions from the navigator, we rush to locations to relax in the shade of trees, breathe the scent of greenery and listen to the birds. This summer, Moscow parks offer one more pleasant leisure activity to the list above, and the theatregoers will surely like it. On 11 June, the Open Rehearsal project launched to allow visiting open-air rehearsals of various performances. 10 teams participate in this project, including Leonid Heifetz workshop at the Russian University of Theatre Arts (GITIS) and Roman Viktyuk Theatre.

Admission is free. Just behave yourself not to interfere with the director and actors. Rehearsals will continue in 10 parks until 22 August. Check for the names of performances, rehearsal venues and dates here. Detailed schedule will be available on the Parks' social media accounts shortly before a rehearsal.

Boat trips are another nice idea for a lazy summer day. If you go to a park, choose the one with a pond and a boat station. As for Tsaritsyno, it boasts three of them. You can rent a 3-, 5- or 7-seat rowing boat. Find boat rent prices on the Museum Estate's website. If you plan a boat trip for two, Pionersky and Golitsynsky ponds in Gorky Park are a perfect option. In addition to boats, you may rent a double pedal boat. Check the prices on the Park's website.

Music

It's not real summer without music in the open air. Just ask those who buy tickets to attend summer European music festivals in winter! But do not rush after them, since you can dance on the grass, listening to music, in Moscow. And even for free.

Jazz fans are welcome in Bauman Garden throughout the summer. Every Thursday, Moscow musical bands are to perform here. They will play driving tunes born in New Orleans, Harlem, and Latin America. Concerts usually start at 07:30 pm. Admission is free. Before visiting, check the schedule on the Park's website, as sometimes there can be changes in the program.

Brass Band Festival has recently started at VDNKh. This is the fifth time the exhibition becomes a concert venue for bands from all over the world performing on wind instruments a variety of music ranging from classical to rock. Concerts will be held every Friday through the summer. Follow the announcements on the Festival's page.

If you have long wanted to gain an insight into classical music, not sure what to start with, the series of musical lectures held in the VDNKh's pavilion The Worker and Collective Farmer will be of interest to you. On Saturdays, it hosts the meetings with EstroQuartet band.  Its musicians tell how to distinguish one composer from another, with their story is accompanied by their music. If you find it attractive, please check the schedule and register to attend lectures of your choice.

Do not forget to follow Gorky Park's announcements so as not to miss some interesting musical event.