TRAVEL & CULTURE
Moscow Nightlife: 3 Things a Foreigner Should Know
As a foreigner, witnessing the nightlife scene in a different country is an experience that tends to define your entire trip — no matter what it is you went there for. The smells, tastes, sights, and sounds of recreational nighttime escapades bind together to form one cohesive, immersive experience that’s unique to each hometown.
Russia is home to a diverse club and nightlife scene that stands as a flamboyantly underground culture among Eastern European scenes, which are countless and seemingly infinite.
Ever since the early nineties, Europe has been the cradle of electronic dance music scenes, and a nearly endless influx of subcultures and subgenres of music have emerged since then.
At the heart of the city’s capital, Moscow’s after dark scene thrives well beyond its post-Soviet roots. When the Iron Curtain fell, the scene was practically non-existent — there was no night scene beyond a handful of old pubs and restaurants.
Today, vivid neon lights and lavish cocktail lounges adorn the city’s most popular evening localities, comprising a variety of craft beer spots, hidden speakeasies, VIP clubs, jazz bars, and much more.
As a foreigner in Moscow, a night on the town is probably something that you’re really looking forward to — as you should be. You’re in for a vibrant ride through the diversities and intricacies of Moscow nightlife — one so unique and peculiar that it draws you in like a moth to the flame.
To have the best experience in Moscow after dark, there’s a few things that you’ll need to know about the town and its nightlife culture so as to extract the most optimal amount of pleasure and thrill from this colorful, high-energy scene.
We’ve put together a handful of useful tips for you to take note of if this is your first time visiting Moscow — particularly if you’re a Westerner. This will help you navigate the scene and find the right places to vibe and enjoy yourself. Who knows, you might even find the love of your life out there if you’re lucky.
With that being said, we’ll start with:
Do some detective work
If you haven’t already done so to begin with, the most logical thing to do before going on a nightlife adventure in a foreign country would be to do some research online beforehand.
We’ve looked it up, and we can tell you that most Moscow nightlife guides for expats online list down the well-known bars and clubs that many people frequent. They also tell you which places have a higher concentration of other foreigners conglomerating there as well.
These are good choices, but to get a better opinion on what’s really good and what matches your taste, check out some forums on Reddit or other message boards for a more in-depth and genuine opinion from actual, local Russians (or expats) that live there.
Read up and ask around about what places are best for your preferences — sometimes, asking the locals is better than relying on the immediate search results that Google offers.
Do some digging and you’ll find what you want.
Hang out with the locals
What’s better than asking Russians on internet forums about where to go past dark? Asking them in person.
Moscow is a highly expat-friendly country, and most of the signages you see in public will have English translations. In fact, most of the younger people in the city can read and understand English to a certain extent, but some might have trouble speaking it.
Everyone’s idea of an adventure is different — some want to plan it all out down to the finest detail, while some want to get lost in town and find their own way. If you prefer the latter, visit a random bar and grab a drink or a bite to eat, and try to talk with some of the locals.
Remember, there are countless other foreigners out there getting around just fine speaking English. If you see any fellow expats, reach out to them. You might just end up making an unexpected new friend.
Here’s a pro-tip: When you arrive at the airport, start looking and asking around. If you bump into a fellow expat, a friendly local, or an attractive Russian woman who knows English well enough, ask them what’s good around town and where the best spots to go are.
Depending on their (and your) budget, taste, and idea of a good time, they’ll either recommend the grungy hipster cafes, speakeasies with craft beer and mixology, or the more exclusive VIP spots with the door policies, dress codes, and of course, the drop-dead gorgeous females.
Tell them what you’re into and what kind of music or scene you’re looking for, whether it be jazz, rock, hip hop, or electronic dance music — most likely they’ll be able to point you in the right direction.
From there, the next chapter of your journey will unfold.
Learn the public transportation routes
Once you know which places to visit, plan out the routes (and rides) to allow for a more efficient trip. That is, unless you want to just explore and get lost. That’s fun in the daytime, but when nightfall comes, you’re probably going to want to know how to get to the spot you’re looking for — and how to get home from there.
There are plenty of highly efficient public transportation options in Moscow, many of which are still available well into the wee hours of the night until dawn. There are trolleybuses, trams, and night buses available from 1 in the morning up until 5:45 AM, with fifteen to thirty-minute intervals between each trip.
Figure out which ones take you to your desired destination and which ones get you back to where you’re staying. Under the influence of alcohol, this might get a bit difficult, so save the notes and screenshots on your phone for future reference after your late-night escapade. Google (and advice from locals) will be your best friend in this regard.
All things considered, it’s not that hard to figure out how to have a good time out in Moscow. Like-minded people attract, and when you find them, they’ll aid you in finding what you’re looking for.
Stay safe, stay wise, and most importantly, have fun.
From Moscow, with love.
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