Up until last Saturday Moscow was the last European capital that did not have a double-decker sightseeing tours. Well, now the city has them! The presentation of the new City-tour took place on Bolotnaya square, in the very heart of Moscow. This project was created by a Spanish company City Sightseeing with assistance from the Moscow Committee for Tourism and Hotel Industry and Moscow Transport Department.
Sergey Shpilko (photo), Head of the Moscow Committee for Tourism and Hotel Industry, outlined the main objectives of the project during the presentation. According to him, these tours are a direct upgrade to the tourist infrastructure of the city, which means the capital is becoming a more attractive tourist destination. “Moscow is opening up for visitors, becoming a very important part of our hospitality industry”, - said Mr. Shpilko. He also added that the introduction if the City-tour is a step towards realization of the 2012-2016 Moscow Tourism Industry Development program.
Enrique Umbarra (photo), General Manager of City Sightseeing World Wide, paid a visit to Moscow in light of this important event. He said he was proud about his company finally coming to Russia’s capital city. “The project originated in 2007 and has only now became a reality”, - noted Mr. Umbarra. He also expressed his readiness to continue working.
The first batch of Moscow double-deckers consists of three (five by the end of the year) MAN Wagon Union buses, which were specially tuned in Berlin. They have retractable roofs and windows on the second floor. The engineers decided against the original “open” design due to Moscow’s climate. During wintertime the buses will be heated and will have double windows to keep the frost out.
The launch of the City-tour was arranged like a launch of a ship into its maiden voyage – the red ribbon was cut and the bottle of champagne was smashed against the wheel of the bus (photo).
Our first trip took us along one of the three routes that were approved by Moscow authorities. Three buses slowly moved passed the Bolshoy Kamenny Bridge and the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. After that we turned to the Gogolevsky Boulevard and then – Znamenka. Took Okhotny Ryad street and passed the Theatre Square, then took the Lenivka, Volkhonka and Ilyinka streets, finally ending our route on the Red Square by the St. Basil’s Cathedral (photo).
The movement speed is limited to 25 km/h (about 15.5 mph) all along the way, so heavy traffic is not really an issue. This allows tourists to really take in all the sights, while a gentle voice in the headphones tells about each and every on of them. Note that the voice-tours are available in eight different languages. The tour is full of interesting facts and stories, so even the Muscovites can learn something new. I, for one, found out that the Gogolevsky Boulevard has three layers.
The one-hour tour ended in the starting point, but along the way we saw many heads turn – after all, the red double-deckers are a new sight for Moscow. Here, on Bolotnaya square, just at the foot of the Ilya Repin monument, the buses will be waiting for the tourists. The place is very convenient, cause there’s a pier right beside it, where you can board a boat and travel the Moscow River. So tourists can combine tours on land and on water.
Sergey Lavrentyev, Head of the Moscow Office of City Sightseeing, there will be two more bus routes by next spring. One of them will be along the Garden Ring and the other will take place on the New Arbat Avenue.
Moscow double-deckers will have the Hop on – Hop off system, which is used all over the world. It means that you can board the bus and get off of it as many times as you please. The ticket costs about $20 with as many stops along the way as needed. Children and senior citizens have a discount, their tickets are around $13, and student tickets are $10 each. Children under three travel free of charge.
By the way, when we got back to our starting point and started leaving the buses, there was a foreigner, trying to make his way through crowds of journalists. He wanted to but a ticket for the tour and see the magnificent city of Moscow.
