How much does the red bus cost? Double decker bus - the best tourist transport
In September, progress in the tourism sector reached Moscow! As in all European cities, double-decker City Sihgtseeng sightseeing buses have appeared in Moscow. Of course, we did not miss this event and decided to take a tour on a red double-decker bus around the beautiful Moscow.
It is clear that it is difficult to surprise me with a trip around the Kremlin, but my innate curiosity won out. The appearance of City Sihgtseeng sightseeing buses is certainly a breakthrough; in many European cities such buses have existed for a long time. But in Moscow everything cannot be like in Europe, because we have our own secrets.
How did the organizers solve the problem of traffic jams? What do we show tourists in Moscow, besides the Kremlin?
In general, let's go!
Task No. 1. Choose a time for an excursion
Operating hours of the double-decker bus: from 10-00 to 18-00 on weekdays, from 10-00 to 19-00 on weekends.
The ticket is valid for 24 hours and cost me 600 rubles.
I went on an excursion on weekdays from 17-00 to 18-00, and naturally the bus was stuck in traffic jams for some time. To reduce the risk of breathing in exhaust fumes, I advise you to go on excursions on weekends or on weekdays during the daytime.
By the way, there are also night excursions: from 20-00 to 21-30 on weekdays, from 19-30 to 22-00 on weekends.
Task No. 2. How to find the red tour bus
I managed to find a stop at the very beginning of the bus - on Bolotnaya Square. You can see what it looks like in the photo. A small, inconspicuous red pillar next to the monuments, opposite the bridge in front of Tretyakov Street, on which there are numerous trees with castles.
In my opinion, it is more convenient to get on the bus at the Teatralnaya Ploshchad stop, which is located opposite the Bolshoi Theater. Here the metro is nearby, and it’s hard not to notice the stop, or rather the bus itself.
Finding other stops is quite problematic, since there are no identification signs on them.
Task No. 3. Understand prices
Ticket price for one day: adults 800 rubles, children under 13 years old, students and pensioners - 600 rubles.
Ticket prices for two days: adults (14-59): 1000 rubles, children (6-13 years old): 800 rubles, pensioners (60+): 800 rubles, students -800 rubles.
This price includes the following bonuses: free headphones, a lot of free maps and guides around Moscow on the first floor of the bus, 10% discount with a ticket for city tour services in other cities. Also on the ground floor, a nice guy offers to use a blanket during the walk, which won’t hurt on a cool day.
The tour is conducted in two languages - Russian and English.
But this is a surprise! Apparently, the French, Germans, Spaniards, Japanese, etc. do not come to us... But we demand that in any hotel in the world they speak Russian to us!
Task No. 4. Find out the tour bus route
There are currently two bus routes.
Route No. 1- Bolotnaya embankment, Serafimovich St., Prechistenskaya Embankment, Volkhonka St., Gogolevsky Boulevard, Arbat Square, Znamenka St., Mokhovaya St., Okhotny Ryad St., Theater Square, Lubyanskaya Square, Red Square (Vasilievsky Spusk), Balchug Street, Sofiyskaya Embankment
Route No. 2 - Bolotnaya embankment, st. Serafimovicha, Mokhovaya st., st. Vozdvizhenka, New Arbat St., Kutuzovsky Prospekt, Ukrainian Boulevard, Taras Shevchenko Embankment, st. Bolshaya Dorogomilovskaya, st. Smolenskaya, Smolenskaya-Sennaya Square, Smolensky Boulevard, Smolenskaya Square, Novinsky Boulevard, st. New Arbat, Gogolevsky Boulevard, Soymonovsky proezd, st. Znamenka, st. Mokhovaya, Okhotny Ryad st., Teatralnaya square, Teatralny proezd, Lubyanskaya square, New square, st. Ilyinka, Red Square, st. Bolotnaya, Bolotnaya square, Sofiyskaya embankment, st. Balchug, Lubok Lane.
We tried route No. 1.
Bus route No. 1 includes 18 stops, a full circle lasts about 40 minutes. See map below.
View City Tour on a larger map
As you can see from the route, all these attractions can be explored on foot in 40 minutes. I don't understand the need for such a bus on such a route. Usually, excursion buses travel in a large circle, covering a route that a tourist may not be able to complete on his own. Well, for example, he doesn’t know how to get to all the sights by metro. Or you just can’t figure out a route. And so he comes, pays about 20 euros in Europe and is given a tour in his native language, a well-planned route and a complete understanding of the city.
In our country, you need to know English or Russian and think that the sights in Moscow are the Kremlin and Mega.
You feel the Russian spirit again. The main thing is that they did it, reported it, ticked the box. And it is not necessary to think about those who will use this miracle.
I'm going, I'm going, I'm going
I found a bus, bought a ticket, armed myself with guidebooks, and got ready to listen. Another task is to find a working radio point. Strange as it may seem, some did not work. And this is provided that the excursion route was launched about a month ago. It’s good that there weren’t very many people on the bus, and you could choose your seats. During my trip, the bus was 20 percent full, while the first floor was completely empty. Not a season.
To be honest, several things bothered me during the trip.
In my opinion, the route is very short; the circle could have been made longer.
Everything is very standard: Bolshoi Theater - Kremlin - Cathedral of Christ the Savior. The text on the audio guide is also very mediocre. Where is everything else? Where are Moscow Art Nouveau and ancient alleys? Where are the parks and museums?
Organizers, because of people like you, many people think that in Moscow there is only Red Square, traffic jams and everyone is jostling. This beautiful route will further strengthen this idea in people's minds.
Is a sightseeing tour in Moscow different from a city tour in Barcelona or Paris? The double-decker bus itself is exactly the same. The only difference is the presence of a roof and anti-vandal radio points.
There is no registration of stops in Moscow, while in other cities it is clear to tourists where the stop is.
There are also not enough non-stationary information points where one could get some information about the excursion.
Also in Moscow you need to be prepared for traffic jams and the fact that you will have to absorb huge quantities of exhaust gases from cars parked in them.
But there are also positive impressions. I took good photos from the height of the second floor of the bus, I especially liked the street spans and the view of the Kremlin from the Zamoskvoretsky Bridge.
From all of the above, we can conclude that Moscow has really begun to do something to develop tourism. But for now we are at the very beginning of the path.
Well, we are waiting for new routes to appear, because the organizers promise that they will appear soon.
Official website of City sightseeing: www.city-sightseeing.ru or http://hoponhopoff.ru/
At the end of July, a second excursion route on double-decker buses was launched in Moscow, which runs through the western part of the center of Moscow. The line runs along Novy Arbat, Shevchenko embankment, along Borodinsky Bridge, Smolenskaya and Mokhovaya streets, along Ilyinka and past Vasilyevsky Spusk.
We were able to take part in the first voyage of the new route of the red double decker, as well as take a river trip on an excursion boat.
Buses depart from Bolotnaya embankment; The stop is located at the Luzhkov Bridge, next to the Repin monument.
Double deckers and motor ships operate on the Hop On Hop Off principle, when a tourist can get off for sightseeing at any stop along the tour, and then return and continue the tour on the next bus or water bus.
Views of the Red October factory during an excursion on the City Sightseeing water bus The fare is 600 rubles for adults, 500 rubles for children over 5 years old, students and pensioners. A free ticket is provided for children under 5 years old. The pass is valid for 24 hours. The same conditions apply for excursion trips by boat.
I will add that you can also purchase a combined ticket, which gives you the right to ride buses and ships an unlimited number of times within 48 hours and save a little on each service. The cost of such a ticket is one thousand rubles; it is valid for 24 hours from the moment you first board the bus and for 24 hours from the moment you enter the deck of the excursion ship.
When traveling on a double decker, it is better to sit on the second floor not only because of the panoramic views and refreshing summer wind, but also because of the opportunity to avoid the crowd. On the second route, which is 17 kilometers long, 32 stops are planned, at almost every one of which tourists will get off and on.
Thus, for those who want to travel a full circle without getting off the bus, the second floor guarantees freedom from the hustle and bustle. The trip will take about one and a half hours, depending on the traffic situation.
The intervals between buses at each stop range from half an hour to 40 minutes. The summer schedule of double-deckers, from April to November, is from 10:00 to 18:00 (excursion “Golden-domed Moscow”) and from 19:00 to 21:30 (excursion “Evening Moscow”) on weekdays, as well as from 10:00 to 19:00 and from 19:00 to 22:30 on weekends, respectively.
Water buses run a little less frequently - every hour from 11:00 to midnight, but after 22:00 flights operate according to actual weather conditions.
Buses and ships are equipped with an audio system for sounding tours in eight languages: Russian, English, German, Spanish, French, Chinese, Italian and Arabic.
Headphones are provided free of charge, but their quality does not allow you to enjoy the sound. Mine, for example, fell apart after half an hour, so I had to use my own headphones. In addition, while driving, due to the roar of the engines, the guide’s words are sometimes difficult to understand, so you have to listen to the tour at full volume.
There is one more drawback: as it turned out, not all slots work properly. For example, my headphone jack was not working, and I had to use a neighbor's jack.
One of the main advantages of a tour of Moscow on a double-decker bus is the opportunity to see the sights at eye level.
Stucco moldings, bay windows and other decorative elements, which pedestrians can only see by raising their heads high, are visible on the second floor of the bus almost at a distance of a couple of meters.
And the endless Moscow traffic jams are only an assistant in this.
The slower the bus moves, the greater the chance to see architectural details.
However, we must pay tribute to the capital’s roads at noon on a weekday, when we went on an excursion.
We only stood for about five minutes at traffic lights a couple of times. Once, however, we got stuck on Gogolevsky Boulevard, losing about ten minutes in traffic.
And if the loss of time does not seem to be such a significant drawback of a pleasant walk on a double decker, then the music playing in the headphones in between stories about the sights is clearly not for everyone.
Get ready for songs about Moscow performed by Oleg Gazmanov, Alexander Rosembaum, Vladimir Vysotsky and the Bravo group.
Despite some shortcomings of this kind of excursion, this is one of the most pleasant ways to look at Moscow without looking at the roofs of cars.
In one hour, a red excursion boat with the City Sightseeing brand logo makes its way around the Golden Island along the Vodootvodny Canal, stopping at Gorky Park.
There are a total of 33 seats on board.
The view from the open deck is much better, but in cold weather and rain you can hide in the covered part of the deck.
Unlike a bus excursion, during a river trip there are slightly fewer stories about the sights that the ship passes by and there is more music.
It is better to go sailing in clear and sunny weather.
Gray skies and rains, if they add romance, do so before the first goosebumps appear.
During cool weather, tourists are given blankets.
Excursion river buses run only in the warm season, from May to November.
We traveled by bus and boat around Moscow in a total of two and a half hours.
And, in my opinion, this is the best option for exploring the center of the capital in such a short time. You can have time to see all the key attractions, and for those who are not in Moscow for the first time, enjoy the views of the city from the second floor of the double decker and the deck of the ship.
Excursion tours on double deckers, popular around the world, are operated by the operator City Sightseeing. Buses of a corporate red color, with the names of cities on the body, run through more than a hundred cities of the planet.
In Moscow, the first line was launched in August last year, and by the end of 2013 the company will open another route in the Russian capital.
Natalia Staroverova
Sightseeing tours of Moscow by bus take place every day from Red Square. The Lauda excursion bureau invites you to get acquainted with one of the oldest capitals of the world - Moscow.
An overview of churches and mansions, streets and avenues, medieval architecture and modern construction - you can see all this with your own eyes, and also learn interesting details about the history of outstanding and memorable places in the city.
Our qualified guides will make every effort to ensure that you fully enjoy the extraordinary beauty and grandeur of the capital of Russia. We hope that our sightseeing tour will appeal not only to adults and pensioners, but also to children. We wish you a pleasant and educational holiday!
Current schedule:
Sightseeing bus tour of Moscow
- Group gathering: takes place near the tourist “zero kilometer” (15 meters), at the entrance to Red Square. Just as roads begin at kilometer zero, our tour begins in the very heart of the city’s history.
- How to find us: You will be greeted by our employees wearing branded orange jackets or T-shirts with Lauda badges. Our address: Moscow, Voskresenskie Vorota passage or Revolution Square, nearest metro stations “Revolution Square”, “Teatralnaya”, “Okhotny Ryad”. For reference along the streets: Teatralnaya Square, Manezhnaya Square, Revolution Square. The easiest option is to use the Okhotny Ryad metro station and follow the signs “exit to Red Square”. For your convenience, we enclose: Map of the Moscow metro.
Extended sightseeing bus tours around Moscow, lasting 3-4 hours:
Includes a walking visit to Red Square and the Alexander Garden. Duration: 4 hours (Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday).
Includes a guided tour of Red Square and Zaryadye Park. Duration: 4.5 hours (Saturday), 4-5 hours (Sunday).
With a tour of Red Square, Patriarchal Bridge, observation deck of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novodevichy Convent. Duration: 3 hours (Friday, Saturday).
AUDIO GUIDE (English) AND BUS TOURS -
IMPORTANT: the excursion on the bus is led by a live guide in Russian.
For foreigners, we suggest using an audio guide in English, which we send to you by email. We send audio files - numbered tracks recorded in the studio (without interference and with high-quality pronunciation) + the tourist receives a text with instructions, photographs and a map, which we advise you to read in advance. They will help you not to get lost on the route and get maximum impressions and information. All you need to do is place these files on your smartphone or tablet (be sure to take headphones so as not to disturb other tourists). A tour of Moscow by bus with an audio guide is the best option for foreigners to get acquainted with the sights of the capital in just 2 hours.
Don't be confused: our buses
Sightseeing tour of the city of Moscow - stops with access to observation platforms:
- Manezhnaya Square: Trade and exhibition complex "Manege", Shopping and entertainment complex "Okhotny Ryad", Four Seasons Hotel Moscow (Former Hotel "Moscow"), a complex of fountains on Manezh Square, monument to G.K. Zhukov, State Historical Museum.
- Sofiyskaya and Bersenevskaya embankments: panorama of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, panorama of the Kremlin, Bolshoy Kamenny Bridge, Trifonov’s “house on the embankment”, Kharitonenko’s mansion.
- Sparrow Hills: Luzhniki sports complex, panorama of Moscow, main building of Moscow State University, Church of the Life-Giving Trinity on Sparrow Hills, Novodevichy Convent, Panorama of the Moscow City Business Center, ski jumps.
- Mosfilmovskaya street: Mosfilm film studio, alley of Russian cinema stars, monument to E. P. Leonov.
- Poklonnaya Mountain: fountains, central alley “Years of War”, Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, Victory Obelisk, Church of the Great Martyr George the Victorious, Mosque, Arc de Triomphe, monument to soldiers of the First World War, museum of military equipment.
Small note
Please note: the company reserves the right to change the route, order and time of passing the main travel points as part of the sightseeing tour depending on:
- traffic situation on the streets of Moscow;
- weather conditions;
- the presence of closures during traffic restrictions during city events;
- Availability of free parking spaces for vehicles at bus stops.
Excursions around Moscow official website of Lauda LLC.
Powered by gasoline, it dates back to the 19th century. Since then, this type of mechanical transport has undergone significant changes and has gained great popularity in various areas of life. And this is not surprising - the bus is easy to use, roomy, and its modern models offer maximum comfortable conditions.
One of the most interesting models of this transport is the double-decker bus. At one time, it was created to increase passenger capacity on London roads. Nowadays such a bus is rarely used as urban transport, but it has found excellent use in the tourism sector.
The double-decker bus is designed primarily to transport seated passengers, but has capabilities for long distances. During excursions, those who sit on the top floor and have the opportunity to explore the surroundings enjoy a special advantage during excursions. Some transport models have an open top, which is very popular with tourists, but is not suitable for rainy days.
The advantages of a bus with two floors are obvious. It can accommodate twice as many passengers as a regular one; has high maneuverability and dynamics; has a high attractiveness for tourists. There is a misconception that these buses are prone to rollover, but in fact, all of them are equipped with an anti-rollover mechanism.
It is worth considering that a double-decker bus also has a number of inconveniences. In particular, high garages of great height and the development of a route that excludes low bridges and the proximity of trees.
Now double-decker buses are produced by several companies in different countries. The leaders among them are the Swedish concern Volvo, the German company MAN and its subsidiary NEOMAN, as well as the German bus manufacturer Mersedes-Benz.
Travel companies willingly use MAN buses for excursions. The Man Wagon Union model has a large retractable roof, which allows you to view long distances in the warm season. This model is used exclusively as a tourist bus.
For a large group of passengers, the Man Jonckheere is ideal. It has a capacity of 75 seats, is equipped with air conditioning, a microphone, a DVD system and a toilet.
The Man Lion, s City DD model, designed for 85 passengers, has an even greater capacity. This bus is the epitome of transport comfort. It has seats and ramps for the disabled, wide aisles, a spacious storage area with folding backrests, and two staircases. Moreover, the staircase on the rear landing is designed in such a way that you can go straight to the second floor, bypassing the first. The bus has three wide entrances and a low-floor ground floor with no steps. The height of this model is more than 4 meters, so the view from the second floor gives an amazing feeling. Driving a bus is pure pleasure - everything is aimed at reducing fatigue and distracting the driver. The operation of the liner is “monitored” by a special computer program.
The double-decker bus is increasingly being introduced into the tourism sector, as it fully pays for its costs. Tourists always prefer a double decker for travel. In addition, it benefits from its large capacity.
Bus excursions around Moscow are divided by duration and topic. Some walks will appeal to tourists, others will surprise even Muscovites, opening new pages of their hometown.
Sightseeing tours
An excellent option for your first acquaintance with Moscow. A two-hour guided walk on a large, comfortable bus with panoramic windows will allow you to see the main attractions:
- Red Square;
- Manezhnaya Square;
- Sparrow Hills;
- Poklonnaya Mountain;
- Sofiyskaya and Bersenevskaya embankments.
Trips around daytime Moscow are conducted daily - five trips on weekdays, and additional excursions on weekends. Buses can depart from the Square of Three Stations and VDNKh. Ticket price from 600 ₽. For information about the schedule for June-July 2019 and ordering rules, read the tour page.
By suburbs
Historical places and architectural monuments are located very close to the capital. Bus excursions take 6 to 8 hours. Popular: to the village of Arkhangelskoye, Dubrovitsky Church, to the cathedrals of Moscow and the Moscow region. Longer routes - to Pereslavl-Zalessky, Kolomna, the village of Konstantinovo, Vyazma, Suzdal.
