Manege Square and Red Square

In my Russia trip, one of the very first stop in Moscow should of course be the Red Square. If you're going to the Red Square by metro, you can alight at the Okhotny Ryad station. Upon exiting the station, you will see Manege Square, connecting the Red square through the Iberian Gate. Below is the picture of Manege Square.

Manege Square

You can see the Moscow City Hall on the far left, the Iberian Gate and Chapel in the middle, the State Historical Museum on the right of the Iberian Gate, and Alexander Garden on the far right. There are many shops selling souvenirs around the square but personally, I think Arbat street will be a better place to get your souvenirs.

Below is a picture of the State Historical Museum, with the statue of Marshal Zhukov in front of the Museum.

State Historical Museum

Below is the picture of the Moscow City Hall, also used to house the collections of the state historical museum.

Moscow City Hall

Below is the picture of the Iberian Gate and the Chapel that will lead you to the Red Square. There will be look-alikes of famous people in Russia such as Putin around the area. Did not take much notice of them but I believe you need to pay them in order to take pictures of them.

Iberian Gate and Chapel

Below is the picture of the side of the State Historical Museum after crossing the Iberian Gate. There is a souvenir shop located there if you're interested.

Side of State Historical Museum

Below is the picture of the back of the State Historical Museum. Quite magnificent don't you think?

Back of the State Historical Museum

Below is the picture of the Red Square. On the left you can see Saint Basil's Cathedral, the clock tower roughly in the middle, and the Lenin's Mausoleum near the red wall that serves as the current resting place of Vladimir Lenin. His embalmed body has been on public display there since shortly after his death in 1924.

Red Square

Below is the picture of the close-up of the clock tower. Take note of the time (it's evening) and the brightness of the day. Yes, it's white night. Sun doesn't really set and it only grows dark at around 11+pm every night. Sunrise will be around 1+am.

Close-up of the clock tower

Below is the close-up of the popular Saint Basil's Cathedral, one of the uniquely designed cathedrals in Moscow, shaped like the flame of the bonfire rising to the sky.

St Basil's Cathedral

Below is the picture of GUM, the popular shopping mall for branded goods, on the left-hand side of the Red Square.

GUM

Apparently they are holding some kind of exhibition within GUM, where there are balloons with bicycles hanging from the top of GUM. Below is a snapshot of the interior of GUM. As you can see, the roof of the GUM shopping mall is quite unique.

Interior of GUM

There are some eateries beside the Red square with interesting sculptures in the centre, as shown in the picture below.

Beside the Kremlin and Red Square, there is also a fountain known as the Moscow Horse Butt Fountain. No idea why is it called that though. :)

Just imagine. I've spent close to 2 hours in the Red Square and I've yet to step into the Kremlin. You can imagine the size of the place. Stay tuned for the photos of my next attraction...