A few minutes walk from the Bolshoi and the centre. Doubles start at £125.

2/18 Petrovskaya Liniya; Tel: 095 921 1060; http:// www.hotel-budapest.ru/

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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

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A tourist hang-out, but also the preferred eaterie of the well-heeled. High-end Russian cuisine where smoked meat meets pickled fish. Expect to pay at least £50 a head.

26a Tverskoi Bulvar; tel: 095 229 5590; nearest metro: Tverskaya

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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

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Azerbaijani food (a little like Georgian, but with more herbs and less melted cheese). Kebabs, pickled vegetable stuffed in previously unimaginable ways. Try the kutab with pumpkin (kutab s tykvy). Drink Georgian Saperavi wine. A drunken feast for about £30 a head.

52 Povarskaya Ulitsa; Tel: 291 6376; nearest metro: Barrikadnaya

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Mikhail Bulgakov's masterpiece is the definitive Moscow novel.

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Nikita Mikhalkov’s epic about the 30s purges, which of course culminates in an apartment just off Red Square.

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Take a boat on the river, past the Novodevichy monastery, Gorky Park and the Kremlin. They leave every 20 minutes between 12 pm and 8 pm from the pier at Kiev Station

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The spiritual home of Bulgakov's masterpiece and Moscow's soul. A park in the city centre.

Nearest metro: Mayakovskaya

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Sushi is all the rage, but you should try this. Grilled meat, fresh vegetables and hachipuri, bread stuffed with melted cheese - easily the most addictive substance in the former Soviet Union.

Genatsvali restaurant on Ostozhenka, 12/1 (nearest metro: Park Kultury) is not the cheapest, but perhaps the best.

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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/

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Old tsarist manor of winding paths and shaded corners.

Phone: 095 561 9660; museum.ru/museum/archang/entere.htm

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Little wooden dolls that fit inside each other, often with the faces of leaders in descending order, Lenin last, of course.

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Twentieth-century Russian art. You will need several hours to marvel at the avant-garde and socialist realist masterpieces that bring to life what was happening on the other side of the Iron Curtain.

10 Krymsky Val; Tel: 095 951 1362; nearest metro: Park Kultury; www.tretyakovgallery.ru/english

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Traditional Russian baths from the 18th century. Wrap yourself in nothing but a sheet, sit in the hot, purging steam and then jump into a freezing cold-water pool. A perfect hangover cure that, worryingly, leaves you wanting a cold beer (also on offer). Expect to pay around £20 a head for the whole experience.

14 Neglinniy Pereulok; tel: 095 925 4631

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Outside the Conservatory concert hall on Bolshaya Nikitskaya. A summer terrace and a warm, cavernous interior for the endless winter.

13 Bolshaya Nikitskaya Ulitsa. Tel: 095 229 3901. Nearest metro: Okhotny Ryad

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As long as the Kremlin security lets you that day, otherwise stand near it. It's where it all began, ended, and will go on.

Nearest metro: Okhotny Ryad

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Or Sparrow Hills in English. Located near the State University, it’s a popular hangout because the city sprawls beneath you.

Nearest metro: Vorabyovi Gori

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Moscow's club scene is large and mostly dominated by posh hangouts for the decadent new rich Russians. Want me to drop some names? Dagilev, Opera and Cabaret are the No.1 upscale clubs.

If you look for the creative and famous, you should check Krisha and Gazgolder. But be aware, for both it's very hard to get in. Moscow is known for its tough face control and these two clubs are among the most difficult to enter. Want to see some photos from the parties there? Check my blog: www.moscow-blog.com - I post regular reviews about Moscows clubs and lounges.

Gazgolder
Nizniy Susalny pereulok 5/2
Moscow

Krisha
On the riverside embankment just near the Hotel Ukraina. Follow the street and you'll find the entrance (some stairs) on the left.

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This is another large gay club, a bit further out of town. It has a very large main dance floor where they play (mainly uninspiring) dance music, a smaller room where they play cheesy Russian pop music and a (men-only) bar. This seems to attract a younger crowd than Three Monkeys. Chance also puts on cabaret but this seems to be less drag-oriented - last time I went there were a lot of cute circus boys performing acrobatics in skimpy outfits.

Shans, 19A Kuusinena Ulitsa; Metro: Polezhayeskaya;
Open: 10pm till 6am, Monday to Sunday.

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