jungle queen riverboat updates

• Frequently Asked Questions

Ticketing and Reservations Groups Parking Food & Beverage Accommodations General Photographs

Important Cruise Information

When you arrive at the marina, if you have your barcode available either via a mobile device or printed, please proceed directly to the boat to check in. 

If you did not print your email confirmation and barcode, please have it available on your phone or written down, and present it to the Box Office Concierge at the ticket counter on arrival to receive your boarding passes. 

Every passenger must have a boarding pass to board the boat.  Infants (under 3 years of age) must be in our passenger count. So, when you are making a reservation online, on the phone, or at our box office, please indicate if you have an infant accompanying you and how many.

We have prepared a set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) which you might already be curious about, and some that you might not have thought of. If you have a specific question that you cannot find addressed in this list or in the website, please do not hesitate to contact us via telephone at (954) 462-5596, or email us at [email protected].

Please note that the Jungle Queen Riverboat Ticketing Box Office is cashless and accepts all major credit and debit cards for ticket purchases.

TICKETING AND RESERVATIONS

• Do you have to make reservations for a specific date or time?   Yes, if you want to guarantee seats on a specific date and time.
• What do I need to print after I purchase my tickets from junglequeen.com?   After you purchase tickets online you will be sent an email with a confirmation number & barcode. If you have the barcode and can show it on a mobile device, upon arrival you may proceed to the boat to check in. If you can not show the barcode on a mobile device, please print the email confirmation with barcode and proceed to the boat to check in upon arrival.
• What if I cannot print my email confirmation?  If you cannot print your email confirmation, please have it available on your phone or written down, and present it to the Box Office Concierge at the ticket counter on arrival to receive your boarding passes. As long as you have your confirmation number, we can look up your reservation.
• What is your refund policy?   Please go to our Cancelation Policy on this site.
• Can I change my reservation to a different time or a different day?   Yes, if the change occurs at least 72 hours prior to the cruise and based on availability. Just call our Box Office at (954) 462-5596.
• Are the seats reserved?  There is no reseved seating on the Jungle Queen Riverboat. Reserved seating is available in the dining room for groups of 15+.
• Do I have a confirmation number?  Yes. Each reservation / ticketed passenger has a unique number.
• Do I need a passport?   No, we stay in coastal Ft. Lauderdale waters.
• Do you charter the boats?  Yes. Please fill out the form on our  Groups and Charters page and we will get back to you quickly, or call us at (954) 771-1221 and ask for our Charter Department
• Is there a group discount?   No, we do not offer discounted rates for groups. You can reach our group department by filling out the form on our   Groups  and  Charters page and we will get back to you quickly, or call us at (954) 771-1221 and Press Extension 2.
• How do I make a reservation for my group?   If your group is 14 or less you can reserve your tickets online. If your group has 15 or more passengers, please fill out the form on our Groups  and  Charters page and we will get back to you quickly; or, call us at (954) 771-1221 Press Extension 2.
• How do I make a reservation for my school or camp?   Call us at (954) 771-1221 and Press Extension 2.
• Is there parking?   Yes, parking is available next to our Box Office at the Bahia Mar Hotel for a discounted rate of $13.00 for up to 6 hours or across the street at Fort Lauderdale Beach Park for a fee/metered parking. Should you park at Bahia Mar for more than 6 hours, the regular hourly parking rate will be additional.

Food & Beverage

• What if I, or someone in my group is allergic to peanut oil or peanut products, are lactose intolertant, or have any type of food allergy?  Please contact our Box Office at (954) 462-5596 for further information.
• Can you arrange a vegetarian meal for the Dinner & Show Cruise?   Yes. Vegetarian meals are available upon request, but must be arranged 24 hours in advance. Vegetarian option includes two vegetable skewers with balsamic glaze and brown rice. All sides served with dinner are available as well.
• Do you provide birthday cakes or can we bring a cake?   No, we do not provide cakes however you may bring your own cake for a $20 service fee. 
• Do you sing for birthdays?   No, but your host will give the birthday guest a shout out.
• Do you serve food & drinks onboard the boat?   Yes, water, soft drinks, beer, wine, liquor, and snacks.
• Do you serve food on your Tropical Isle?   Yes. The all you can eat BBQ dinner is served in the chickee hut on the isle.
• Do you serve alcoholic beverages?   Yes, we have a full service bar on the ship and isle. We serve beer, wine, rum punch, piña colada and other specialty cocktails. Please note that Florida State Law requires all persons consuming alcohol be 21 or over and as such that we reserve the right to check the ID of any and all individuals who are purchasing alcohol.
• Can we bring our own food/beverages on the boat?   Unfortunately, you are not able to bring drinks or food onboard.
• Can we bring coolers?   No, We are sorry, but coolers are not allowed aboard the boat.

Accommodations

• Can you accommodate wheelchairs?   Yes, please let us know when making the reservation.
• Are the boat and Tropical Isle handicap accessible?   Yes, the boat and Tropical Isle are handicap accessible.  Jungle Queen can also accommodate special needs guide(s) if needed, please advise our Box Office at the time of bookings.
• Can we bring a stroller?   Yes, strollers securely folded and closed while the boat is underway are permitted for use at our Tropical Isle.
• Are there seat accommodations on the boat for overweight people?   Yes, an armless chair can be provided upon request.
• Do you have headphones to hear the commentary in another language?   No, we are sorry but we do not.
• What time do you have to be there?   Boarding for the dinner cruise begins at 4:45pm, seating is first come first serve.  All guests should arrive no later than 5:30pm to allow time for parking and boarding. The ships leave on time, so please be sure to allow enough time for traffic, parking, ticketing and boarding. You should arrive at approximately 4:45 for parking and boarding.  
• Can I get off the ship once I have boarded?   No. Due to Coast Guard regulations and for your safety and that of your fellow travelers, once you have boarded you cannot disembark until you either arrive at our Tropical Isle, or upon returning to the dock once the excursion is complete. 
• Are your ships Coast Guard approved?   Yes. We undergo regularly scheduled U.S. Coast Guard inspections and hold current Certificates of Inspection.
• Are there life jackets on the ships?   Yes. The ships are equipped with enough adult and child life jackets in order to accommodate all our guests aboard.
• How many people do the ships hold?   The MV Jungle Queen holds 385 Passengers plus crew, and the MV River Queen holds 120 passengers plus crew.
• Do you go if it rains?   Yes, the ships are protected from inclement weather.
• How long does it take to get to the Tropical Isle?   Just under an hour.
• Are there any seats in the sun?   The ships are covered on the top, but are open on the sides so the sun does come through in some areas.
• Is it rough on the water?   No, the ships cruise only on calm inland waterways.
• Do you go on the ocean?   No.
• Are there bathrooms on the ships?   Yes, there are bathrooms on the lower deck of the ships.
• Why can’t we go on the very top decks?   You can sit on our upper deck, however, access to the top pilothouse deck are authorized for crew only.
• Can we store luggage?   Please call our Box Office prior to your cruise to make arrangements to store luggage. All bags are subject to inspection by our Captain, per Coast Guard regulations. We are not responsible for any loss or damage.
• Are there electrical outlets on the ships to plug in oxygen tanks or for cell phone charging use?   Yes, we have a limited amount of electrical outlets available aboard our ships for customer use. Please see a crew member for availability.
• Is there a lot of walking on the Tropical Isle?   There is limited amount of walking. Seating is available.
• Is there Wi-Fi on the ships or at the Tropical Isle?   There is complimentary Wi-Fi on our Tropical Isle, but not on the ships.
• Do you provide any type of transportation?   No. But, many hotels will provide transportation to nearby attractions for a fee. You may also arrange transportation through Uber, Lyft, Taxi.
• Can I leave from the Tropical Isle?   No, all passengers must return to the dock aboard the boat. Arrangements can be made in the event of an emergency.
• Can we swim at the Tropical Isle?  No, there are no swimming areas at the Tropical Isle.
• Are there high chairs and/or changing tables?   There are Koala baby changing stations in both the men’s and women’s bathrooms on the Jungle Queen and the Tropical Isle’s bathrooms. We have a limited number of high chairs that are available for dinner and can also seat you in an area that can accommodate your stroller. Please let us know at the time of booking.
• What is the attire?   Casual attire on all cruises.
• Where is the Tropical Isle and how far away is it?   Our Tropical Isle is in Fort Lauderdale off the New River, 8 miles west of our Box Office location.
• No smoking on our ships. Smoking on our tropical isle is allowed in these areas only:

* Benches near history wall. * Back of show area, in-between the show bar and waterfall. *There is NO smoking permitted by the alligator pit.

Photographs

• Do you take boarding pictures and how much do they cost?   Yes, on the Jungle Queen our photographer takes your party’s photo upon boarding. The photo package costs $20.00.

Contacting Us Regarding FAQs

If you have any questions about these FAQs, or have a specific question that has not been addressed on this website, you can send an email to  [email protected] .

Effective as of: January 1, 2022

Cruises Rain or Shine

Jungle Queen

The Jungle Queen Riverboat has been enjoyed by many since 1935.

In addition to the famous Island Dinner & Show Cruise, the Riverboat offers a 90-minute Sightseeing Cruise.

Quick Links

• Our Cruises
• Customer Service
• Covid-19 Precautions
• 954-462-5596
• [email protected]
• 10am-5pm (Mon) 10am-6:30pm (Tues - Sun) Subject to change during peak & holiday season.

Embarkation & Box Office

Bahia Mar Yachting Center 801 Seabreeze Blvd. Fort Lauderdale, FL. 33316

Parking available on site

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Jungle Queen Riverboats

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Jungle Queen Riverboat 90-Minute Narrated Sightseeing Cruise in Fort Lauderdale

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

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Jungle Queen Riverboats - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

TheBetterVacation.com

Everything about tourist attractions

Jungle Queen – tickets, prices, timings, what to expect, FAQs

The Jungle Queen Riverboat has been sailing the waterways of Fort Lauderdale for more than 80 years, since 1935.

Jungle Queen Riverboat is famous for the way they treat their guests, navigate the, at times, narrow riverways, and create an entertaining atmosphere for everyone on board.

This cruise takes visitors around the city’s most notable landmarks while providing all entertainment options in one location.

This article covers everything you must know before booking tickets for the Jungle Queen Riverboat. 

Table of contents

What to expect, where to book tickets, how do online tickets work, jungle queen riverboat ticket prices, jungle queen tickets, meeting point, how long does the tour take, best time to visit, route of jungle queen cruise , faqs about jungle queen.

Are you curious about how wealthy people live? Then Jungle Queen Riverboat Cruise is the best way to find out.

Let a guide take you down the ‘Venice of America’ and show you the lavish houses and enormous yachts of the millionaires on a trip that is bound to leave a lasting impression on you!

Witness ostentatious homes worth over $30 million, some of which belong (or have belonged) to famous celebrities such as Shaquille O’Neal, Will Smith, and Oprah Winfrey.

During the cruise, you can satisfy your hunger and thirst as food and drinks are available to purchase on board.

The experienced guides on the cruise will make your trip informative and memorable as they provide details about the surrounding homes, boats, and landmarks, all while adding some humor and answering all your questions.

Back to top

Tickets for the Jungle Queen Riverboat Cruise are available to be purchased at the ticket office or online in advance.

Online ticket prices tend to be cheaper than tickets at the attraction.

When you buy online, you can avoid the long queues at the ticket counters.

When you book early, you also get your preferred time slot.

Because some attractions sell a limited number of tickets, they may sell out during peak days. Booking online also helps avoid last-minute disappointment and delays.

Go to the Jungle Queen Riverboat booking page , select your preferred date, timeslot, and the number of tickets, and buy the tickets right away.

After the purchase, you will receive the tickets via email.

You don’t need to carry printouts.

Show the smartphone tickets at the gate on the day of your visit and begin your adventure.

Adult tickets for the Jungle Queen Cruise cost US$35 for all visitors aged 13 and above.

Children aged two to 12 years can get the tickets for a discounted price of US$24. 

Infants up to two years of age can join for free.

Guests can go on a 90-minute Jungle Queen sightseeing cruise and enjoy the city’s riverfront views.

The cruise offers narrated tours along the shimmering waters of Fort Lauderdale’s historic and shimmering New River.

Get an in-depth understanding of the river’s history and identify each mega-yacht owner with your knowledgeable guide’s help.

Visitors can cancel or reschedule their tickets up to 24 hours before the scheduled departure.

Visitors can upgrade their experience and purchase food and drinks on board the cruise.

Ticket Price

Adult Ticket (13+ years): US$35 Child Ticket (2 to 12 years): US$22 Infant Ticket (up to 2 years): Free

Save time and money! Buy the Miami Go City Pass and discover over 25 top Miami-area activities, attractions, and tours. With this all-inclusive pass, you can explore Zoo Miami, Seaquarium, Big Bus Miami Hop-On Hop-Off, and many more!

The meeting point for the Jungle Queen Riverboat will vary depending on the tour option you choose.

It’s important to keep in mind that the meeting location may change.

Visitors should check the booking page before arriving to confirm the exact location.

Jungle Queen Riverboats operate on all days of the week.

Visitors can choose between cruises starting at noon or at 2.30 pm.

Visitors are advised to reach at least 45 minutes before their scheduled departure.

The Jungle Queen cruise lasts approximately 90 minutes. 

The tour length may vary from time to time due to weather or traffic on the waterways.

It is best to book your cruise on a weekday to have the best experience.

Tours on weekends and public holidays tend to be the busiest.

The weather also plays a key role in determining the best time to go on the Jungle Queen Cruise, so its better to check the weather forecast before booking your cruise.

The Jungle Queen Cruise starts from Bahia Mar Yachting Center, and as you sail ahead, you’ll be exposed to sights of renowned sites. 

Catch glimpses of Colee Hammock Park, RiverWalk  Fort Lauderdale, Abreu Park, NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, Broward County Convention Center, and many more!

Keep an eye out for the Millionaires Row; you never know, you may spot P.Diddy sipping a cup of coffee in his garden!

Here are some questions visitors usually ask before taking the Jungle Queen Riverboat Cruise.

Yes, it is best to buy tickets in advance to ensure availability and have a hassle-free experience.

No, the ticket does not include food and beverages. However, visitors are free to buy the food onboard.

Yes, the cruise is wheelchair accessible.

Yes, visitors will be provided with jackets when getting on the Jungle Queen cruise.

No, outside food and drinks are not allowed on the cruise.

It is recommended that visitors wear casual clothing and comfortable shoes to have the most comfortable experience.

No, pets are not allowed on the cruise.

The upper and lower decks of the riverboat can accommodate up to 385 passengers.

Yes, there are restrooms on the lower decks of the cruise.

Visitors are welcome to sit on the upper deck. However, only crew members can access the top pilothouse deck.

Yes, limited power outlets are accessible for customer use on cruises. Please check with a crew member regarding availability.

Yes. The cruise has full-service bars. There’s beer, wine, rum punch, pia coladas, and other specialty cocktails. Please remember that all persons consuming alcohol in Florida must be over 21 years old. 

Yes, there is parking near the Box Office at the Bahia Mar Hotel. Metered parking is available for a cost. There is limited handicapped parking at the dock.

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This article was researched & written by

Devyani Bhattacharjee

Devyani Bhattacharjee enjoys traveling to new, exotic locations. She is always waiting to step out and explore the amazing historical structures, delectable cuisines, magnificent cultures, and gorgeous people worldwide. She believes in frugal travel - where she can have endless fun without spending too much money. Favourite Cities: Buenos Aires, Auckland, Montreal, Port Louis, St. Petersburg

Edited by Rekha Rajan & fact checked by Jamshed V Rajan

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Your best life awaits, fort lauderdale’s jungle queen riverboat.

June 19, 2022 by asolano Leave a Comment

Jungle Queen History

Fort Lauderdale’s iconic Jungle Queen Riverboat, has been touring guests up and down Fort Lauderdale’s waterways since 1935. In 1958, the Jungle Queen was purchased by Mr. Earl Faber, and it has been a family owned and operated business ever since. Over the years, much has changed, but the experience is one that continues to delight both residents and tourists alike.

The Tropical Isle

Upon arrival, be sure to take a few minutes to tour the beautiful tropical isle with lush foliage, alligators, and tropical birds. Paths meander around the property, affording the opportunity to appreciate the historic trees, plants, and everything nature and this gorgeous part of Fort Lauderdale has to offer. 

Cruise Options

Choose between a 90 minute Sightseeing Cruise, or the Tropical Isle Dinner and Show plus Sightseeing Cruise. The Jungle Queen is the perfect experience for everyone in your family to enjoy, both young and old. The Jungle Queen also books charter cruises and special events. Daytime and evening cruises are available. The Jungle Queen and the River Queen (pictured above) are both in service.

The Sightseeing Tour

You’ll experience a wonderful tour of Fort Lauderdale, complete with a guide who will regale you with history, stories, and a bit of gossip about the homes, yachts and waterways. Enjoy a cocktail on the boat, or on the Tropical Isle. The Jungle Queen is the perfect date night experience!

Dinner and a Show

The Dinner Cruise enjoys a Sightseeing Cruise to the Tropical Isle, where guests are treated to an all you can eat BBQ dinner. Next up is an entertaining Variety Show, with live music, a magician, comedian, and Polynesian Fire Dancers. Something for everyone! Whether you’ve lived in Fort Lauderdale for years,  or you’re just visiting, a trip on the iconic Jungle Queen Riverboat is a must do experience. 

To learn more about the Jungle Queen, or to make reservations for your trip, visit their website.

Best Life Fort Lauderdale

When you’re ready to start living your Best Life in Fort Lauderdale, we’d love to help you find the perfect property to suit your needs.

Contact us for more information.

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Enjoy Unlimited Barbecue & A Live Show On The Jungle Queen Riverboat Cruise In Florida

Marisa Roman

A New Jersey native with over 15 years of writing experience, Marisa has studied at both New York University and Florida International University. She has lived all over the country, including a decade stint in South Florida. Marisa is well-versed in exploration as she travels a good majority of the year in her self-converted Sprinter van. Her articles have been featured in various notable publications over the years, she has a published collection of short stories, and three completed screenplays under her belt.

More by this Author

Jungle Queen Riverboat Cruise has been around since the 1930s, cruising people up and down Florida’s coveted waterways. What once began with a few small boats giving tours in the area, has since expanded to become the perfect Friday or Saturday night adventure. The Tropical Isle Dinner & Show Cruise takes guests on a sightseeing tour of the “Venice of the Americas” and on to a tropical island with an unlimited barbecue meal. Plus, live entertainment throughout the meal! Ready to climb aboard?

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Have you ever climbed aboard the Jungle Queen Riverboat Cruise in Florida before? How about the Tropical Isle Dinner & Show Cruise? Share with us your experience in the comments section! Or if you’re looking for more information about this cruise, including how to purchase tickets, check out the website or Facebook Page .

OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

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Russia-Ukraine War Russia Strikes Danube River Port, Escalating Attacks on Ukrainian Agriculture

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• Moscow Investigators inside a damaged building after a drone attack. Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
• Moscow A damaged building and a closed road after a drone attack. Reuters
• Moscow City workers cleaning up debris after a drone strike. Yuri Kochetkov/EPA-EFE, via Shutterstock
• Donetsk region, Ukraine Members of the 17th Tank Brigade aiming rockets toward the Russian-occupied city of Bakhmut. Finbarr O’Reilly for The New York Times
• Odesa, Ukraine A Mass outside the Transfiguration Cathedral, which was heavily damaged in Russian missile attacks. Libkos/Associated Press
• Odesa, Ukraine Salvaging items inside the Transfiguration Cathedral. Jae C. Hong/Associated Press
• Niu York, Ukraine Members of the 24th Mechanized Brigade firing a mortar at a Russian trench position. Finbarr O’Reilly for The New York Times
• Dusaniv, Ukraine A funeral ceremony for a Ukrainian soldier who was killed in the Donbas region. Evgeniy Maloletka/Associated Press
• Niu York, Ukraine Removing furniture from a house struck by Russian air bombardment. Finbarr O'Reilly for The New York Times
• Donetsk, Ukraine Firefighters extinguishing a destroyed warehouse. Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters

Follow live news updates on Russia’s war in Ukraine .

Russia struck a port across the Danube from Romania, sending wheat prices up.

Russian drones hit a Ukrainian port town on the Danube River, local authorities said on Monday, destroying a grain hangar in an apparent escalation of efforts to cripple Ukraine’s ability to export agricultural products, one of the country’s leading industries.

The explosions in the town of Reni — just across the river from Romania, a NATO member — would be the closest Russia has come to hitting alliance territory and risking a more direct confrontation with the United States and its European allies.

Ukrainian officials and Romania’s president blamed the attack on Russia, which has spent the past week bombarding Ukrainian ports near the city of Odesa after pulling out of a deal that enabled Ukraine to ship its grain across the Black Sea .

The origin of the drones could not be independently verified, and Russia’s defense ministry made no reference to an attack in the Odesa region in its daily update about the war.

But the strike on a river port about 70 miles from the coast appeared to signal that Moscow had expanded its campaign against Ukraine’s agricultural exports by targeting alternate routes for grain to reach world markets.

Global wheat prices, which rose last week after Russia pulled out of the Black Sea deal, rose by around 6.2 percent in Monday afternoon trading.

A local news website in Reni, a town of around 18,000 people, published a photograph of the aftermath. The town is more than 130 miles southwest of the city of Odesa, the focus of recent attacks on shipping infrastructure, and lies on the east bank of the Danube, just a few hundred yards from Romania.

Russia has previously fired on western Ukraine near the border with Poland, also a NATO member, but had not hit Ukrainian facilities so close to territory covered by the military alliance’s commitment to respond jointly to an attack on a member state.

President Klaus Iohannis of Romania said on Twitter that he condemned an attack by Russia on Ukrainian infrastructure close to his country’s borders and said the “recent escalation poses serious risks to the security in the Black Sea,” as well as affecting Ukrainian grain shipments and global food security. He did not specifically mention the drone strike in Reni.

Romania’s ministry of defense said it was maintaining a posture of “enhanced vigilance” with its allies along the alliance’s eastern flank.

“There are no potential direct military threats against our national territory or Romania’s territorial waters,” the ministry said in a statement.

The attack came after a week of increased hostilities in the Black Sea region, with Russia sending a nightly barrage of missiles into the city of Odesa, while first Russia and then Ukraine warned that they might target ships heading to their adversary’s ports.

Pro-war Russians praised the Danube strikes as a further step toward destroying Ukraine’s economy and blocking Western arms deliveries. They said that Ukraine had been taking advantage of the Reni port’s proximity to NATO territory — and the fact that ships can approach it along the Danube without having to sail through Ukrainian territorial waters in the Black Sea — as a way of continuing to export grain and other goods.

“It looks like they’re blocking this way of evading the sea blockade of Kyiv,” a Russian talk show host, Olga Skabeyeva, declared on the Rossiya state television channel on Monday. “And soon they’ll completely deny Ukraine access to the Black Sea.”

A popular pro-war blog, Rybar, claimed the port was being used to supply Ukraine’s military while also serving as a channel for exporting grain. A Russian state television war reporter, Yevgeny Poddubny, wrote on Telegram that the strikes were part of the “critically important” mission of “breaking every thread of Ukraine’s maritime traffic.”

The chances the grain initiative could be revived have grown increasingly slim over the past week. On Monday, Russia’s F.S.B., the successor to the Soviet-era K.G.B., claimed that it had evidence that, in May, Ukraine had imported explosives across the Black Sea to one of its Danube River ports. The claim could not be independently verified.

The drone attack occurred over the course of four hours, Oleh Kiper, the head of the regional military administration, wrote on the Telegram messaging app, adding that three drones were shot down by Ukraine’s air defenses. Seven people were injured, he said.

The Danube River delta, a network of waterways crisscrossing the border region between Ukraine, Romania and Moldova, was rarely used to export Ukrainian grain before Russia started its full-scale invasion in February 2022, but has over the past year become an indispensable freight lifeline.

Ukraine has been exporting around two million metric tons of grain per month through its Danube River ports, according to Benoît Fayaud, deputy executive director of Stratégie Grains, an agricultural economy research firm.

The attack on Reni could deter commercial vessels from using the port in the short term and could raise the cost of insurance, Mr. Fayaud said.

Yurii Shyvala and Anton Troianovski contributed reporting.

— Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Andrew Higgins

Russia destroys drones targeting Moscow, and blames Ukraine.

The Russian authorities said they destroyed two attack drones targeting central Moscow on Monday morning in what they called a strike by Ukrainian forces. No one was injured, they said. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.

At least two nonresidential buildings were targeted about 4 a.m. local time, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin of Moscow said on his Telegram account, adding that there was no “serious damage or casualties.” The Russian Ministry of Defense said earlier that it had used electronic defenses to disable the drones .

The authorities blocked off part of Komsomolsky Prospect, an avenue that runs through one of the most upscale parts of central Moscow, after finding one of the drones there, state news media reported. One of the buildings is about a block away from the Russian National Defense Management Center, an imposing structure that is being used to conduct “centralized combat management of the Russian armed forces,” according to the Defense Ministry website.

Videos verified by The New York Times show damage in at least two locations near the Moskva River in the southern part of the city.

Smoke was rising from the top floors of a high-rise building housing Leroy Merlin, a French home improvement chain. Other footage shows damage to several structures along Komsomolsky Prospect — which is close to the Defense Ministry — including the building of the Military University and the Central Military Band, a performance group of the Russian Armed Forces. It was not possible to determine from the visuals whether drones caused the damage.

Also on Monday, the Russian occupation authorities in Crimea, the peninsula that Russia illegally seized in 2014, said that 11 attack drones were shot down or neutralized by air defenses. An ammunition depot in the Dzhankoy district was hit, according to the top Russian-installed official in Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, although it was not immediately clear whether any damage was caused by a drone or by debris from an air-defense missile.

The Kremlin’s spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, said that officials “are all on the alert” because of the strikes.

“You can see that in recent days, the intensity of attempts to attack our regions with drones has increased,” Mr. Peskov said. “Therefore, measures are being taken, very intense daily around-the-clock work is being carried out.”

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, the fighting has been concentrated on the front lines in eastern Ukraine. Russia has fired missiles and drones at cities across Ukraine nearly every day while Russian cities, including Moscow, have been spared the violence of the war.

But in May , the relative safety of Moscow was shattered when the first full-scale drone attacks were launched against the capital, which is nearly 800 kilometers, or about 500 miles, from the border with Ukraine and even farther from the front lines.

In early May, there were two drone explosions over the Kremlin, piercing the aura of relative safety in the Russian capital. Then on May 31, the Russian Defense Ministry said that at least eight drones had targeted the capital and surrounding region. Russia claimed to have intercepted them all, but three residential buildings were damaged after the drones were stopped. It was the first damage to civilian areas in Moscow since the start of the war.

Ukraine has maintained a policy of not commenting on any attacks inside Russia that appear to be linked to its military or its supporters, arguing that the silence allows it to maintain the element of surprise and military advantage. But on Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelensky promised to retaliate against Russia after a week of deadly strikes on Odesa that targeted civilians, infrastructure and port facilities crucial to exporting grain.

Ukraine has started to publicly take credit for attacks in Crimea, which is far behind the front lines but an important logistical hub for Russian forces, arguing that the strikes are inside Ukrainian territory.

Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, reiterated on Monday the United States’s position that it did not support attacks inside of Russia.

Shawn Paik , Jin Yu Young and Ivan Nechepurenko contributed reporting.

— Andrés R. Martínez ,  Haley Willis and Tiffany May

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The U.N.’s nuclear watchdog says mines have been spotted at the embattled Zaporizhzhia plant.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said on Monday that its inspectors had observed mines inside the perimeter of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the frontline facility occupied by Russian forces that the agency has monitored to help avert a possible catastrophe.

The I.A.E.A., the United Nations’ nuclear agency, reported last month that it was aware of land mines having been placed at “particular places” inside the plant’s perimeter, without offering further details. On Monday, the agency disclosed that its team had identified anti-personnel mines in a restricted area between the plant’s internal and external barriers.

The mines were placed in an area that plant workers cannot access, according to the agency’s statement. It did not specify when the mines had been placed. An email to the I.A.E.A. was not immediately returned on Monday.

Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director general of the I.A.E.A., said in a statement that the agency’s initial assessment was that any detonation of the mines wouldn’t affect the security of the plant. But, he added, “having such explosives on the site is inconsistent with the I.A.E.A. safety standards and nuclear security guidance and creates additional psychological pressure on plant staff.”

Mr. Grossi said in the statement that agency staff members had raised the matter with officials at the plant and been told that it was, in his words, a “military decision.”

No mines were spotted within the inner perimeter of the site, according to the agency.

Zaporizhzhia is the largest nuclear plant in Europe and has been occupied by Russian forces since March 2022, shortly after Moscow began its full-scale invasion. The nuclear agency has long expressed concerns about safety risks posed by shelling and fighting in the plant’s vicinity. Both militaries blame the other for the shelling, which has caused damage around the plant and, at times, cut off its supply of outside power.

Five of the plant’s six reactors are in a cold shutdown, with the other in a so-called hot shutdown, meaning it produces steam for certain plant operations. Even in a cold shutdown, power is still necessary for critical cooling functions.

An additional hazard materialized on June 6, when the nearby Kakhovka dam was destroyed. The resulting flood drained the reservoir from which the plant drew water to cool its reactors and spent fuel rods, but I.A.E.A. officials soon determined there was no immediate danger.

Although the plant is controlled by Russian forces and lies in a region that Moscow illegally annexed last September , it is still being operated by the Ukrainian employees who worked there when the invasion began.

Ukrainian officials, who blamed Russia for the destruction of the Kakhovka dam, have repeatedly suggested that Russia could stage an attack at the plant.

— Gabriela Sá Pessoa

The attack on a Danube port raises the threat to Ukraine’s alternative export routes.

The apparent drone attack on the Ukrainian port town of Reni would be the first known Russian strike on a port in the Danube delta, an increasingly important part of Ukraine’s ability to ship agricultural products that has only become more crucial with the end of the Black Sea grain deal .

The attack on Reni, which followed a week of attacks on ports near the city of Odesa, was a “massive escalation” by Moscow in terms of the effect it could have on Ukraine’s ability to use alternative shipping routes, said Mike Lee, director of Green Square Agro Consultancy, which specializes in the Black Sea and Eastern Europe.

Russia’s termination of the grain deal last week has dramatically escalated tensions in the Black Sea, with Russia warning that it would consider any ship approaching Ukraine’s ports as potentially carrying military cargo, and Ukraine responding in kind.

Russian forces have also launched a series of attacks on Ukrainian ports that have compound challenges to the country’s efforts to move grain to world markets — a logistically and geopolitically complicated matter.

The grain deal that was first reached a year ago allowed Ukraine to ship more than 30 million tons of grain through a trio of major Black Sea ports. But smaller ports on the Danube that were not part of the deal were a vital source of exports that wended their way to the Black Sea and eventually to international destinations. Roughly two million metric tons of grain per month made it to world markets through Ukraine’s Danube River ports.

In theory, Ukraine has the capacity to cover all of its grain exports using routes outside the provisions of the grain deal, but higher costs would make the shipments less competitive.

Increased reliance on overland routes is also politically fraught. Since the start of the war, Ukraine has sent more than 20 million tons of grain to foreign markets through Romania and millions more by train through Poland, a flood that has infuriated East European farmers who say it has driven down local prices.

The Ukrainian grain sent into Eastern and Central Europe by river barge, train and truck was intended for onward shipment to Africa and Asia but some of it has seeped into the European market, creating a political headache for governments that have been among Ukraine’s most stalwart supporters.

Last summer, Brussels took steps to smooth the path for Ukraine’s overland grain exports. But after protests by farmers in some E.U. countries, the bloc allowed Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia to ban domestic sales of Ukrainian wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds, though they continued to allow the transit of those items for export elsewhere.

The ban is expected to end on Sept. 15. Last week, however, ministers from those five countries called for the bloc to allow the bans to be extended — a call that further underlined the importance of the Danube River ports to Ukraine.

But President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said on Monday that blocking exports after that point is “unacceptable in any form.” He added that Ukraine was seeking a solution that “suits everyone.”

Rising global prices for grain, however, reduce the incentive to divert Ukrainian produce for sale in Poland, Romania and Hungary while encouraging its sale in countries far from Europe that most need it. Those market forces make Russia’s apparent effort to disrupt traffic through the Danube delta potentially very threatening to global food security.

The United Nations has said that Russia’s attempts to stop Ukraine’s exports exacerbate a hunger crisis faced by some countries in Africa and the Middle East, including Afghanistan, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen. Ukraine exports grain via road and rail into European Union countries, as well as via the Danube ports.

— Andrew Higgins and Matthew Mpoke Bigg

Putin signs a harsh new law targeting transgender people in Russia.

Transition surgery is now banned in Russia and transgender people are subject to a welter of other restrictions under a harsh new law signed by President Vladimir V. Putin on Monday.

Aside from banning surgery and hormone therapy, the law also prohibits changing gender on official documents like passports, annuls any marriage when a spouse changes gender and bans adoptions by such couples. It was the latest step in an ongoing crackdown on L.G.B.T.Q. freedom in Russia , including a law passed in December against depictions of gay lifestyles — what the government called “gay propaganda.”

Russian officials who supported the new law aimed at transgender people portrayed it as another step by the country to assert its adherence to so-called traditional values — a position increasingly embraced by Moscow as it characterizes the war in Ukraine as a fight against Western powers.

“We have our Russian families, and the liberalization of such phenomena can be the first step on the road to hell,” Badma Bashenkaev, the chairman of the State Duma Committee on Health Protection, said when the ban passed the lower house of parliament unanimously on July 14.

Starting in the 1970s, the Soviet Union maintained a fairly progressive attitude toward such operations, which were guided by government-organized panels of medical experts. But in the face of repeated setbacks since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Kremlin officials have tried to use new laws to bolster support both domestically and internationally from people who oppose basic rights for minority groups, analysts said.

“The transgender ban is exactly that kind of manipulation, it resonates with people in order to amass support for the war and other things,” said Alexander Kondakov, a Russian sociologist who teaches at University College Dublin, Ireland.

Since Russia passed its law last December against depictions of gay lifestyles, the country has experienced a rise in both court cases against gay people and violence targeting them, analysts said. The new law, they added, will likely feed those trends.

— Neil MacFarquhar

Ukraine at NATO and a Russia-Africa summit: What to watch for this week.

A new NATO-Ukraine Council, created earlier this month at the military alliance’s latest summit , will meet on Wednesday to discuss the aftermath of Russia’s withdrawal last week from a deal allowing grain shipments from Ukraine.

“We are preparing it to be meaningful,” President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said on Sunday in his nightly address. Mr. Zelensky said he had asked the NATO secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, to convene the meeting.

The council was formed as part of a NATO effort to deepen the alliance’s support for Ukraine. Its first meeting, at the summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, was attended by top Western leaders.

Moscow withdrew on July 17 from an agreement that had secured the passage of Ukrainian ships and has since bombarded shipment facilities in the region. The decision has affected food prices and raised concerns about food instability across the globe, including African countries like Somalia and South Sudan.

Here is what else to watch for this week:

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia will hold a two-day summit with African leaders starting on Thursday in St. Petersburg, providing a test of the Kremlin’s ties with African countries. Attendance will be closely watched; most African nations have avoided taking sides in the war, frustrating Ukraine and its allies, but South Africa and some other African governments have close ties with Moscow.

In June, a delegation, which included the presidents of South Africa, Senegal, Zambia and the Comoros, visited Ukraine and Russia with a plan to de-escalate the conflict.

Across the front lines, the Ukrainian counteroffensive continues its slow march. Antony Blinken, the U.S. secretary of state, said in a CNN interview on Sunday that the Ukrainian battle to regain the territory illegally seized by Russia would be long and hard.

“It will not play out over the next week or two,” he said. “We’re still looking, I think, at several months.” On the front lines, commanders mostly see a violent stalemate , as neither Russia nor Ukraine have made recent breakthroughs.

— Gabriela Sá Pessoa and Matthew Mpoke Bigg

The crackdown on the opposition in Belarus has worsened since 2020.

The recent high school graduate selected her wardrobe carefully as she headed off to a summer folk festival.

She dressed all in white, as is customary for the event, and wore a large flower wreath in her golden hair. But when it came to choosing a sash for her skirt, she grabbed a brown leather band, avoiding the color red.

In Belarus, red and white are the colors of the protest movement against the country’s authoritarian leader, Aleksandr G. Lukashenko. And even the smallest sign of protest can land a person in jail. “I worry about attracting the wrong kind of attention from the authorities,” said the young woman, who spoke on the condition that her name not be used so she would not draw scrutiny.

After claiming victory in a widely disputed presidential election three years ago, Mr. Lukashenko violently crushed the outraged protests that followed. Since then, activists and opposition figures say, Mr. Lukashenko has ushered in a chilling era of repression in Belarus.

He is moving ever closer to his patron, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, positioning himself as an invaluable military ally to Russia in its war against Ukraine, but also cracking down on dissent in a way that is invisible to much of the world but rivals that of Mr. Putin’s punitive regime.

Belarusian security forces are rounding up opposition figures, journalists, lawyers and even people committing minor offenses like commenting on social media memes or walking a dog without a leash.

In particular, the country’s security forces are intent on finding and punishing the people who participated in the 2020 protests. Belarusians are getting arrested for wearing red and white, sporting a tattoo of a raised fist — also a symbol of the protest movement — or for just being seen in three-year-old photographs of the anti-government demonstrations.

“In the last three years, we went from a soft autocracy to neo-totalitarianism,” said Igor Ilyash, a journalist who opposes Mr. Lukashenko’s rule. “They are criminalizing the past.”

— Valerie Hopkins and Nanna Heitmann Reporting from Minsk, Belarus

Internet trolls propelled Prigozhin’s rise. Now some celebrate his fall.

When President Vladimir V. Putin said recently that the Wagner mercenary group legally “does not exist,” a collection of social media accounts that have historically been associated with Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the group’s founder, quickly endorsed the Russian leader’s statement.

“Prigozhin was respected inside the country,” said a post on a Twitter account under the name Bogdan Goryunov. “But with his single act, he has forfeited all that respect,” he added, referring to the Wagner leader’s aborted mutiny last month. “What remains of Wagner is nothing now, just a memory.”

A group of volunteers who monitor Twitter for trolls identified Mr. Goryunov as a likely one. His account had few followers or original posts, mainly posting replies to more popular accounts, and it sometimes contradicted itself. Days earlier, it had defended the Wagner leader, tweeting in response to reports that he had met with Mr. Putin after the mutiny: “Did Prigozhin finally recognize that it was a big mistake and he wants to be useful to the country again?”

More than a decade ago, Mr. Prigozhin became a pioneer in the dark arts of internet trolling, launching so-called troll farms to shape narratives in Russia and beyond, including by sowing pro-Trump discord during the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

But as his conflict with the Russian Defense Ministry over the conduct of the war in Ukraine deepened in recent months, some social media accounts, labeled trolls by activists, also turned against Mr. Prigozhin himself.

The change suggests that many of the tools that Mr. Prigozhin operated don’t specifically serve him — they serve the Kremlin. It also shows that the Russian state, which moved quickly to take down other parts of Mr. Prigozhin’s news media empire, may seek to take advantage of the troll farms, whose posts have often reflected how the Kremlin wishes to steer the public narrative in Russia.

“Prigozhin is Putin’s instrument,” said Antibot4navalny, a leader of a group of anonymous volunteers who monitor trolls, and identified Mr. Goryunov. “Without Putin, and the finances he provides, Prigozhin is nothing.”

Posts coming from troll accounts are both pro- and anti-Prigozhin, but that also may serve the Kremlin’s interests, according to Antibot4navalny, by allowing an outlet for those who support the Wagner leader’s views, including his harsh criticism of the Russian military leadership . What is clear, the group says, is that the trolls devote outsize attention to news related to Mr. Prigozhin’s interests, sometimes steering the discussion in his favor.

Over the past two decades, Mr. Prigozhin has been willing to undertake some of the most sensitive tasks for the Russian state — including by deploying Wagner mercenaries in Africa and the Middle East — in exchange for lucrative state contracts and increased influence.

His aborted mutiny — born out of his ambition to assume a greater role in the Russian power hierarchy — has sidelined Mr. Prigozhin, but the tools he helped develop could still serve the Russian state’s interests, analysts say. Since the uprising, Russian troll farms have been as active as ever, according to Darren Linvill, who studies trolls and social media disinformation at Clemson University in South Carolina.

“I think it would be a priority for the Russian government, especially right now when there are so many threats to Putin’s power,” Mr. Linvill said. “I would argue that the work of troll factories is as important as ever for Putin.”

By contrast, the Russian authorities moved quickly to take down Mr. Prigozhin’s media company, a collection of crudely designed news websites that never matched the reach of the better financed Russian state-run media.

According to Vladimir Yagudayev, who worked for one of Mr. Prigozhin’s websites, Politics Today, police officers searched the company’s offices in St. Petersburg after the mutiny. Days later, Mr. Yagudayev’s manager told him that the whole operation would shut down.

“It was very sad,” Mr. Yagudayev said in an interview, adding that he supported Mr. Prigozhin’s political views and believed his media companies made a valuable contribution.

“It wasn’t about money,” he said. “I was putting my soul into it.”

Alina Lobzina contributed reporting.

— Ivan Nechepurenko

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• Gorky Central Park of Culture and Recreation, Moscow
• Guide to Russia

What is the history of Gorky Park?

• In the pre-revolutionary period, Gorky Park was a city dump and wasteland, which was cleared in 1923 to host the All-Russian Agricultural and Artisan Industrial Exhibition
• In 1928, a huge park was planned on the former site of the exhibition. It would not just be a place of leisure, but a place to proudly display Soviet culture and daily life
• Gorky Park has remained a cultural hub ever since, and has been renovated and added to over the years to make it one of Moscow’s top attractions today

Gorky Central Park of Culture and Recreation

Gorky Park is the most famous park of Moscow, created during the Soviet period as a hub for relaxation and cultural activities. The park is beloved by Muscovites and tourists alike, who visit in all seasons to stroll, enjoy sports, admire the park’s attractions, and attend cultural events. Gorky Park is the central part of an ensemble of four green spaces – Muzeon Park of Arts, Neskuchny Garden, and Sparrow Hills Nature Reserve – which curve around the southern bank of the Moskva River to the south-west of Moscow city centre. Here you may spend some time and enjoy nature and contemprary art during your vacation in Moscow .

History of Gorky Park

Imperial russia.

In the 17th century, the eastern bank of the Moskva River beyond Moscow’s city limits was home to floodplain meadows, where palace horses grazed. From the mid-1850s, events such as cockfights, fistfights, and races were held here, and by the 20th century this area had become a city dump where the unemployed and homeless people of Moscow lived, which remained this way until the Soviet period. This wasteland lay in stark contrast to the adjoining Neskuchny Sad – ‘merry garden’ – which lay to its south, an area of aristocratic country estates and elaborate gardens.

Soviet Russia

Photo from  https://parkseason.ru/

Following the October Revolution, Vladimir Lenin travelled around Moscow to find a suitable site for the first All-Russian Agricultural and Artisan Industrial Exhibition, which would reveal opportunities for socialist development of agriculture and industry. Lenin decided on the wasteland alongside the Moskva River, which was cleared with a programme of community work. In 1923, the exhibition began. It encompassed 250 pavilions dedicated to different themes of agriculture and industry, and was divided into thematic zones, such as villages, livestock, crops, engineering, railways, republics of the USSR, and foreign countries. The organisation of the exhibition demarcated the future layout and size of Gorky Park, and the paths, ‘zones’, and main square of the exhibition have been preserved until the present day. In March 1928, Moscow City Council decided to establish a park of culture and recreation on the site of the former exhibition, which would also encompass the Neskuchny Garden. Moscow’s residents were instrumental in the construction of the park – they voiced their desires for events spaces, physical education and leisure facilities, and gave up their weekends to build the park. The park’s main architect was Konstantin Melnikov.

Did you know? Konstantin Melnikov also helped to construct Lenin’s Mausoleum and the Rusakov Worker’s Club, one of Moscow’s Constructivist masterpieces .

Over 100,000 Muscovites flocked to the opening of the park on 12th August 1928. The brand-new park was equipped with two theatres, a cinema, nursery, reading room, restaurant and café, music stages, sports arenas, rowing boats, and even a giant helter-skelter slide. Unfortunately, because of the vast size of the crowd and the general excitement, the park was damaged and closed until September.

Did you know? The park was not named after Maxim Gorky, writer and founder of Socialist Realism, until 1933.

In 1929, Betty Glan – at the mere age of 26 – became director of the park. She decided to reconceptualise it, uniting leisure, design, and ideology with the help of Moscow’s most eminent architects, designers and artists. Over the next decade, more cultural venues were established in the park, the Pushkinskaya Embankment along the Moskva River was developed, and the landscaping of the park was carefully cultivated. Architect Alexander Vlasov was particularly influential, and won the Grand Prix at the 1937 World Exhibition in Paris for his design of Gorky Park. This period under Glan’s directorship until 1937 was known as the ‘golden age’ of Gorky Park, which became not just a place for recreation, but a public space where Soviet culture and everyday life could be proudly displayed.

Did you know? During the Second World War topical events were held in Gorky Park, such as the championship in bayonet combat, grenade-throwing competitions, and air defence training. What’s more, an exhibition of captured enemy weapons – tanks, artillery, aeroplanes, and more – was organised in Gorky Park and continually updated throughout the war.

In the post-war decades new attractions were continually added to Gorky Park. These included the majestic 24-metre triumphal arch at the entrance to the park, an astronomical observatory (which remains open today), the famous Ferris wheel (unfortunately dismantled in 2008), and a fountain with lights and music.

Russia today

Photo from  https://countryscanner.ru/

The Gorky Park ensemble continued to flourish as a centre of culture and recreation in post-Soviet Russia. The adjoining Muzeon Park of Arts was founded in 1992, and Garage Museum of Contemporary Art was established in Gorky Park in 2008. The ensemble underwent serious reconstruction in 2011. Many new sports facilities were added, including centres for beach sports and extreme sports, bicycle paths and sports equipment rental hubs, and much effort was devoted to reviving original buildings, sculptures, and landscape compositions. Two years later, the embankment of the Moskva River from the southern tip of Zamoskvorechye Island all the way to Sparrow Hills was redeveloped and pedestrianised, making it possible to peacefully walk or cycle along the Moskva for many kilometres.

What can you do at Gorky Park today?

• Explore the park and see architectural attractions, fountains, and beautiful gardens
• Visit Garage Museum of Contemporary Art and the Gorky Park Museum
• Go boating on the lakes and stroll down the Pushkinskaya Embankment
• Rent bicycles or scooters, skateboard, and visit the sports centres

What can you do at Gorky Park?

Park attractions.

While exploring the treelined paths of Gorky Park, you’ll come across a number of attractions. To the west of the main entrance, near the river, is a beautiful geometric bandstand used for music and literary evenings in the Soviet period. As you head down the central alley of Gorky Park from the main entrance, you’ll see a statue of Maxim Gorky on your right, and discover the light and music fountain with its dancing jets of water – find the schedule of its performances here .

Did you know? Don’t be afraid to feed the red squirrels and birds you encounter on your walk around Gorky Park – there are even vending machines which sell special food for the animals!

The southern section of Gorky Park is occupied by the Golitsynsky Garden. In 1802, the Golitsyn Hospital was founded here as a hospital for the poor; it still adjoins Gorky Park today. Gardens were created as a relaxation place for patients, extending from the hospital building to the riverbank, and included landscaped gardens, a Chinese Bridge, and two ponds. On the riverbank is the Rotunda of the Golitsyn Hospital, which has been preserved since the 19th century. There is also a rose garden and fountain by the Bolshoi Golitsynsky Pond.

Did you know? In the Golitsynsky Garden is also located an unusual architectural monument – a public toilet designed by Alexander Vlasov in the 1930s, which is recognised as an ‘object of cultural heritage’!

Outdoor activities

Gorky Park’s extensive and varied grounds aren’t only good for walks! You can relax on the water by renting boats to sail on the Pionersky and Bolshoi Golitsynsky Ponds, or visiting the Olivkovy Beach on the Pushkinskaya Embankment to sunbathe. As well as this, you can hire bicycles, electric scooters, longboards or even roller skates to explore the park and embankments, play table tennis, visit the sports complex to play football, basketball, handball, badminton or volleyball, or visit the Vans skatepark or Nike sports centre for workouts and classes such as rooftop yoga.

Gorky Park Museum

Photo from  http://themedium.ru/

Visit the Gorky Park Museum, located in the left pier of the entrance arch. The current exhibition is dedicated to Gorky Park in the ‘golden age’ of the 1930s, and shows the development of Moscow’s central park through the eyes of Betty Glan. There is an observation deck on top of the arch, which offers a lovely view over the park and Moscow’s skyline.

Did you know? In the entrance arch there is also a gift shop where you can purchase balls, frisbees, blankets, and other items to enjoy your visit to Gorky Park.

Garage Museum of Contemporary Art

Photo from  https://muzeolog.com/

In Gorky Park you will find Garage Museum, Russia’s first philanthropic institution dedicated to contemporary art, founded in 2008 by Roman Abramovich and Dasha Zhukova. 10 major exhibitions are hosted each year to showcase the work of established and up-and-coming artists. Also organised are a rich programme of events including curator-led excursions, workshops, masterclasses, lectures, concerts, performances, festivals, and film screenings at Garage’s outdoor cinema. Read our article about Garage Museum of Contemporary Art to learn more.

Food and drink

There are plenty of excellent cafes and restaurants dotted around Gorky Park, where you can stop for a quick coffee or enjoy a long meal with a view. They include the stylish lakeside café Ostrovok (Little Island) and upmarket restaurant Vremena Goda (Seasons) which serve European and Russian food, colourful lakeside Thai restaurant Lebedinoe Ozero (Swan Lake), trattoria Merkato with its huge summer terrace, restaurant Syrovarnya (Cheese Factory) with a menu focused on its homemade cheese, food-truck court Restoparking which is stylised as a drive-in café, and ice-cream and tea shop Chaynaya Vysota.

What’s nearby?

Gorky Park is bordered by Muzeon Park of Arts, Neskuchny Garden, and Sparrow Hills Nature Reserve. This huge ensemble curves for eight kilometres along the bank of the Moskva River, providing a beautiful oasis of green in Europe’s biggest city.

Muzeon Park of Arts

Photo from  https://new-magazine.ru/

Muzeon Park of Arts is the largest open-air sculpture museum in Russia, home to 1,000 sculptures by Soviet and Russian sculptors, including those by famous artists. A large part of Muzeon is occupied by the New Tretyakov Gallery , which houses Russia’s most complete exhibition of national art from the 20th century to the present day. The pedestrianised Krymskaya Embankment which extends alongside Muzeon has recently undergone redevelopment, and is one of Moscow’s most popular spots to relax.

Neskuchny Garden

Neskuchny Garden is the oldest park in Moscow, founded in 1728 by Prince Nikita Trubetskoy, who threw fantastic festivities in his manor house and gardens – neskuchny means ‘merry’ in Russian. Many other noble families also built their country estates in this area, which became a public park and garden after being acquired by the royal family. Today, the Neskuchny Garden is home to historical buildings, fountains, and gardens from the 18th and 19th centuries, sports facilities, an open-air theatre, and a huge greenhouse which supplies flowers to Gorky Park.

Sparrow Hills

Sparrow Hills Nature Reserve is a huge forest park lining the steep bank of the Moskva River and the only specially protected nature area near the city centre. It is home to ecological trails, ponds, natural springs, rare species of plants and animals, many spots for picnicking, cafes, and a mini zoo. At the bottom of the park lie the Vorobyovskaya and Andreevskaya Embankments, with promenades along the Moskva River, a beach, and piers offering boat trips. As with Gorky Park, Sparrow Hills is hugely popular for sports and outdoor activities in all seasons. A new winter sports complex with snowboarding, ice skating, and ski tracks and jumps is currently under construction. When the weather is pleasant, you can rent a bicycle to ride the 8 kilometres along the river from Muzeon to Sparrow Hills.

Essential information for visitors Address and contact details Gorky Park, Krymsky Val, 9, Moscow, 119049 Website:  https://park-gorkogo.com/ Email:  [email protected] Telephone: +7 (495) 995-00-20 Nearest metro: Oktyabrskaya (570m), Park Kultury (860m) Opening hours and tickets

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