Moscow feels like a city built for giants. The scale of the place is incredible. The roads are wide. The buildings are monumental and the parks are vast. And then, there is also the great weight of history in this ancient city.

Surely there are few other places (Berlin perhaps?) where so many momentous events have taken place. You can feel it in every brick and stone, red star and golden dome.

But then this can also be a surprisingly accessible city too. Full of historic and artistic wonders, it is actually a wonderful place to visit for a few days. It makes for the perfect getaway for those of us who use a mobility scooter.

With that in mind, here is our pick of the must-see sights for your next trip to Moscow.

Visit the Bolshoi Ballet

The Russian capital is synonymous with ballet, and the Bolshoi is its spiritual home. This wonderful building is wheelchair accessible and is the perfect place to see some of the world’s greatest performers.

Founded in 1776, the Bolshoi is one of Moscow’s most important institutions. Incredibly, the building itself has been burned down numerous times, but this remarkable theatre lives on. It was renovated most recently in 2011.

Today it is home to both a world-class ballet company and an opera company. Both hold daily performances, although tickets sell out fast – as you would expect. To book one of the accessible spaces for a performance, head to their official site, here.

Enjoy some of the world’s greatest art

Moscow is a true cultural centre and a wonderful place to see some of the greatest art ever made. One of the best places to get a taste of this is the magnificent Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts. It is huge, and packed with works from the Impressionists to Botticelli, Rembrandt to Degas.

It’s a fascinating place to explore. And while there is plenty of incredible original art, some of the most interesting rooms are actually the ones full of reproductions. The Greek and Italian courtyards are beautiful. They are one of the few places where you can see marble copies of the statues from the Parthenon alongside Michelangelo’s David!

The Pushkin is not completely accessible, but large parts of it are. You can find out more about how to explore it using your mobility scooter here.

We also recommend that you contact the museum team directly before your visit to discuss your specific arrangements. Call them on 7(985)863-39-84 or email them at [email protected]

Get some retail therapy in GUM

You should visit the huge GUM department store on Red Square, if only for its wonderful position. With views of the Kremlin and St Basil’s Cathedral, the setting couldn’t be better.

But it is also a great place to indulge in a little retail therapy too. GUM is a real Soviet-era relic. Under the Soviets, GUM was known as the State Department Store.

Where GUM now stands has long been an important commercial centre for Muscovites. A building on the site was originally commissioned by Empress Catherine the Great.

Today, this magnificent building is well worth a visit. Its spectacular vaulted roof is an architectural marvel, and the whole place is fully accessible too. So whether you want to buy some traditional amber jewellery, some valenki felted boots or even a fur hat, GUM is the place to go.

Roam through Gorky Park

Moscow’s most famous park is great place to escape the hustle and bustle of the city. Named after the great Russian writer Maxim Gorky, the park has also played a role in plenty of spy dramas too! The park today is somewhere where Muscovites love to go to exercise and relax.

The park has been redeveloped and revamped relatively recently, and is a clean, safe, communal green space to spend time in. Gorky Park is full of things to do – from boat hire to ping pong, it is a place where people like to meet and unwind.

We loved the atmosphere here, and it provides a welcome break from the more touristy parts of the city. And with flat level paths throughout it is also fully accessible to all.

Did you know?

There are more billionaires living in Moscow than in any other city in the world!

Getting to Moscow

Getting to Moscow from the UK is straightforward. There are regular daily flights from the London airports, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow.

As usual, make sure your airline knows of any special requirements you might have when you book. Once you’ve arrived in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport, there is also an excellent special assistance service. You can find out more details here. Or, you can give the team a call on +7 (495) 578-65-65 to make arrangements.

Sheremetyevo’s Aeroexpress train is the quickest and easiest way to get into the city centre. This accessible shuttle runs every half an hour or so. It is also possible to get a personal assistant for the journey. Just head to the Aeroexpress site here to book.

Sadly, Moscow’s beautiful subway system is completely inaccessible to those of us with mobility scooters. Until things change, the newer city buses and trams are a good option for getting around. For more details, take a look at the Moscow Mayor’s official site, here.

There is also an excellent private taxi service, Invaxi, which has plenty of specially adapted vehicles. Get in touch with them directly, here.

Travelling with scooters

The great news for those of you travelling abroad is that Quingo Scooters are all approved for air travel by IATA so you won’t have any problems taking them on the plane. That said, it is always well worth getting in touch directly with any train, bus and airlines you want to use just to double check their rules on scooters before you go. For more handy tips on travelling with your scooter by air, take a look at our page here.

Share your accessible getaways abroad with us

Do you have any accessible getaways abroad recommendations? In Europe or perhaps further afield? If you do, we’d love to hear from you, so drop us a line and we’ll feature them.

About Quingo Scooters

The Quingo Scooter range features six models to suit your needs and budget. New models are now available from just £22/week on our new contract hire scheme which includes all servicing and maintenance, Insurance, Roadside Recovery, Call Outs and Consumables including Batteries and Tyres. For more information on this or the latest Quingo Scooter range, please visit our website. Alternatively, if you have any Service questions you can always contact us or call customer services on 01582 430 900.

Keep up to date with the latest mobility scooter advice, tips and interesting places to visit on the Quingo Scooter Users Blog. Connect with Quingo and keep up to date with all our latest news on Facebook and Twitter.

All Quingo Personal Mobility Vehicles are provided by Forever Active, the UK’s exclusive distributor. Forever Active is a trading name of Advantage Marketing Corporation Limited (AMC).  AMC Limited is an appointed representative of First Senior Insurance Services Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. First Senior Insurance Services FSA Register number is 30847