Assuming you can get a flight, there is still some cheap accommodation in Moscow.

The Voschod Hotel say they have doubles available for 2,400 rubles per night (about £25 each). Be prepared for a very basic facility though. The Hotel Sovietsky (a deliciously kitsch venue just north of the Garden Ring) have rooms for 7,200 rubles - £156. The Warsaw Hotel has singles for 4,300 rubles (about £94) and doubles for 6,250 (about £135 or £68 each). Like Home Apartments have flats available before and after the match.

And if you need a visa try Real Russia: they’re among the cheapest, and you’ll be able to track progress of your application online.

voschod.ru/en/
www.sovietsky.ru
Warsaw Hotel - tel: 495 238 7701
www.likehome.ru
www.realrussia.co.uk

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Fantastic hostel in an unbeatable location within a stone's throw of the Kremlin and Red Square. Experience the decidedly un-Chinese Kitay-Gorod (Chinatown) area of Moscow for only 700рб per night. Can issue visa invitations too.

Maliy Zlatoustinskiy, Moscow 101000
+74956286695
www.napoleonhostel.com

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

I had a very poor experience when I stayed here. First of all, the location - it's in a very dark, secluded area of Moscow and I've heard several visitors have gotten into sticky problems returning home in the evening. Second, the building and the hostel are in a dilapidated condition. Third, expect to wait for a long time to get to the toilet and the shower - if you ever reach it.

www.godzillashostel.com

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Hostel on Tverskaya, really close to Kremlin. I stayed there and loved it! It's really cheap and has great beds, internet so forth. It has to be the best hostel in Moscow!

1st Tverskay Yamskaya, House #7, apartment 38;
tel: 095 200 5741; www.sweetmoscow.com

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

A brilliant self-service restaurant. Amazingly vast portions of food. Perfect for vegetarians. Great cow pattern everywhere. Very, very cheap.

Myasnitskaya St 14; nearest metro: Lubyanka, Kitai Gorod area;
Arbat St, 45/24; nearest metro: Smolenskaya, Arbat area;
Komsomolsky Prospekt, 26-1; nearest metro: Frunzenskaya;
Mira Prospekt, 114; nearest metro: Alexeevskaya - outside;
Korovy Val, 1; nearest metro: Dobryninskaya; Leningradsky Prospekt, 62; nearest metro: Aeroport

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Arbat Ulitsa (Arbat St) is a pedestrian only stretch of road just east of the Kremlin. It is lined with shops and restaurants as well as souvenir kiosks. The sellers are not in your face and haggling is a must. Most of it is pretty camp, but some is quite nice. Make sure you are looking for Arbat St and not Novy Arbat St, which is a bit dull and lifeless.

Get off the metro at Arbatskaya and look for the statue of Gogol. Walk past the statue and you're pretty much there

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Godzilla hostel is the only hostel in Moscow located inside the Garden Ring (the avenue that circles the centre of Moscow). Not many people know about it, but it's quite a nice place with dorm rooms, kitchen, shared bath and toilet. A bed is $25 (£15) per night.

Bolshoy Karetny 6, ap 5; nearest metro: Tsvetnoy Boulevard or Tverskaya; www.godzillashostel.com

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Mu-Mu is a chain of canteen-like restaurants serving traditional Russian food. The quality is not excellent, but some things are very good and the prices are low: you can have a three-course meal for £7 per person, but it's also possible to eat for £2. Besides, it's a good chance to try local specialities.
There are sometimes queues, but then it's a perfect opportunity to mingle with the locals who love this place.

Myasnitskaya St 14; nearest metro: Lubyanka, Kitai Gorod area;
Arbat St, 45/24; nearest metro: Smolenskaya, Arbat area;
Komsomolsky Prospekt, 26-1; nearest metro: Frunzenskaya;
Mira Prospekt, 114; nearest metro: Alexeevskaya - outside;
Korovy Val, 1; nearest metro: Dobryninskaya; Leningradsky Prospekt, 62; nearest metro: Aeroport

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Don't bother with inflated prices and dressing up for a restaurant. Get yourself a kartoshka (baked potato) with a variety of fillings, a blini with smoked salmon and smetana (Russian sour cream), some tost (toasted sarnie) or a hot dog from any of the numerous and popular street stands.

You can just point and say “Da” if you don't speak the lingo, as the ladies in the stand will treat you like an idiot even if your Russian is perfect. Wash it down with a Baltika, Nevskoye or Zolotnaya Bochka beer. Beer is considered a non-alcoholic drink, although drinking vodka on the street may get you in trouble.

Find yourself a bench on ul Tverskaya, Alexandrovsky Sad, one of the beautiful bulvars, or Red Square itself (when the young guards let you). Sit on top of the bench rather than the seat, and watch the pink-clad Russian ladies and wannabe gangsters/movie stars/oligarchs wander past. Drinks and a meal, Moscow style.

Anywhere in this beautiful city. Most street stands are either in or near a metro station

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Generally, beer in Moscow is either crap or very expensive crap pretending to be German at £3 a glass. 317 serves a good pint called Rubinovoe (Ruby) at 70 roubles a go.

The place is relaxing, none of the modern Russian pomp and forced chic. TV with endless reels of fashion walks is, alas, on all the time (muted), but concentrate on beer and you'll be fine.

Find the White House, the seat of government. Turn your back to the river. The very next street to the left of the government compound is the one you need. Nearest metro: Smolenskaya or Krasnopresnenskaya metro

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

A sprawling maze of wooden turrets and walkways housing the largest souvenir market in Moscow. If you make it through the obligatory matrioshka and amber stalls, crowded with American tourists, you are rewarded with a bewildering array of miscellany from antique busts of Lenin and Stalin to old toys and household junk. It's as popular with Russians as it is for tourists so the prices are reasonable, although if you have a foreign accent you'll have to work hard to haggle them down. The entrance fee is a mere 10 roubles.

Nearest metro: Izmailovo

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

It's fast, frequent, well-run, and cheap (about 20 pence for any journey when we were there in August 2005). However, I'd advise travellers to learn the Russian alphabet (at least) as it can be difficult to find your way around the system otherwise. You can't always see the station name from inside the train, and the (Russian) announcements are sometimes not audible. So it's useful to be able to follow the map. You can buy postcards that show the map - handy to carry around if you don't want to bring your guide book. There's a wealth of info on the internet - just type "Moscow Metro" into Google.

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Enormous Stalinesque building where you'll have to immerse yourself in the sense of history to ignore the lack of any extras. Around €70 a night for a double.

2/1 Kutuzovsky Prospekt; Tel: 095 933 5656

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

What do you mean you don't need a new hoover/microwave/home theatre? Okay, but luck will have it that your mobile's battery expires or your MP3 player packs up. Or you will need one of 30,000 titles in music or film or software. All of them can be found here.

Two-thirds are still fakes or pirated copies no matter what fancy banners may say. Still, the place offers the most complete selection of Russian music and films, latest Hollywood releases, should you miss home or peculiar tunes.

Bagrationovskaya metro, then walk. Check out the large food market on the way

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

A huge electronics market, Gorbushka is the place to get CDs, DVDs, and anything electrical, from iPods to TVs, in Moscow. Piracy is not illegal in Russia - the government itself reportedly uses pirated software on their computers.

Pirated CDs go for about 100 roubles, and MP3 CDs are common and cheap here. DVDs are about 100 to 300 roubles depending on the release, and you can find some real bargains if you shop around.

Go to Bagrationovskaya metro (four stops west from Kievskaya metro on the light blue line) and follow the crowds and big red signs

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Apparently an exclusive club-restaurant, but they let anyone in who asks nicely (in Russian). Traditional Russian food, ice cold vodka, and bizarre caricature busts of everyone from Lady Di to Dostoyevski. £15 a head for vodka and food.

24 Myasnitskaya Ulitsa (in a courtyard away from the street); Tel: 095 923 0082; nearest metro: Christiye Prudy

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

A New York-style delicatessen. Exquisite pizzas and omelettes. Rack of the finest lamb in town. Increasingly and annoyingly popular.

Bolshaya Gruzinskaya; www.correas.ru/

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends