Gorky Park

Opened in 1928 as the first park of culture and rest, Gorky Park spent decades as a fairground with worn rides, kiosks and beer, and was cleared out in 2011 in a reconstruction that removed the amusements, put in lawns, planting, cycle and running paths, free wifi, pavilions and a large open-air skating rink for the winter. The result is a city park in a European manner and it changed the way the centre of Moscow is used. Inside it are the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in a converted 1968 restaurant pavilion reworked by Rem Koolhaas, an observation terrace on the old Green Theatre, and boat hire on the ponds. It runs into Neskuchny Sad, an older wooded estate park, and connects across the road to Muzeon, the sculpture park where displaced Soviet monuments were gathered after 1991, and to the New Tretyakov. Winter skating covers a large part of the paths.

What you actually see

• The 2011 clearance - a fairground replaced by lawns, paths and planting.
• The Garage museum - a 1968 restaurant pavilion rebuilt as a contemporary art space.
• The winter rink - skating spread across the paths, one of the largest in the city.
• Neskuchny Sad - the older wooded estate park running on from the south end.

When to go

May to September for the river and lawns; December to February for skating. Half a day.

Honest expectations

It is very crowded on warm weekends. The old fairground character is entirely gone, which some people miss. Garage is a separate ticket. Food inside is priced for the location.

Nearby

Muzeon and the New Tretyakov are across the road; the Crimean bridge crosses to the north bank.