Tverskaya Street, Moscow

Tverskaya Street (Russian: Tverskaya Ulitsa) is the Moscow answer to New York's 5th Avenue, London's Oxford Street and Paris's Champs-Élysées. This is the most expensive thoroughfare in the country and the third most expensive street in the world, based on commercial rent. The bustling boulevard is also the beating heart of the capital's social life and entertainment.

Tverskaya emerged in the 12th century, linking Moscow to its superior, and later chief rival, Tver. The nobility considered fashionable to settle here. Among the Palladian mansions dating from the reign of Catherine the Great are the residence of the Mayor of Moscow (1778–82, rebuilt in), and the English Club (1780s). Towards the end of the 19th century, the street was reconstructed, with the stately neoclassical mansions giving way to the grandiose commercial buildings, such as the eclectic Hotel National (1901-1903) boasting a landmark Russian Art Nouveau interior.

Between the Revolution of 1917 and the rise of Stalinist architecture in the mid-1930s, the street acquired three modernist buildings: constructivist Izvestia Building (1925–1927), Central Telegraph Building (1927-29), and a stern "black cube" of the Lenin Institute (1926). In 1932 Tverskaya was renamed Gorky Street, after Maxim Gorky, the famous revolutionary writer admired by Lenin and Stalin. It was also widened and turned into an avenue, so as to bury the reminders of the ‘tsarism’ epoch (sadly, along with some valuable old houses, too). The most precious ones, however, from the Soviet standpoint, were preserved. Among them was the Moscow Town Hall – presently, the Mayor's office – moved back from the road by 13.5 meters in 1938. What's remarkable is that the building was moved and put on a new foundation in just 41 minutes!!!

The main radial street of Moscow, it stretches from the Kremlin northwards, encompassing all of the city, offering a snapshot of all its European history, stunning architecture, and diverse walks of life.
Walking the entire length of Tverskaya may take some time. If you go for it, do it closer to midnight when the traffic is low, air is fresher and the buildings are intricately lit. Some say, it's better to start from the north and progress "down the hill" towards the Kremlin, which is helpful given that the street is really long.