Winter Wonderland in Moscow: A Magical New Year's Adventure

Moscow's winter transformation is truly magical. Every year, the city's festive atmosphere is a treat to behold, and I love strolling through the beautifully decorated streets. I've explored all the main festival grounds, including the Winter in Moscow festival, and I'll walk you through my route so you can see as much as possible.

Winter in Moscow festivalWinter in Moscow 2026: What's New at the FestivalWinter in Moscow is an annual New Year's festival that runs from December 1st to the end of February. Don't get it confused with the Christmas Journey festival, which has different dates, although some venues overlap.

Winter in Moscow 2026The festival turns the city into a winter wonderland, with incredible decorations and pavilions. Take the Factory of Gifts on Bolotnaya Square or the Mandarin Pavilion on Arbat Street, for example. They're truly breathtaking.

Factory of Gifts, Bolotnaya SquareThere are also many all-weather ice rinks scattered throughout the city. Be sure to register in advance, as entry is free.On the festival grounds, you'll find live performances, workshops, gift stalls, souvenirs, and unique treats.

Manezh Square, Winter in Moscow festivalMy festival tour started at Revolution Square, as the festival grounds are right in front of the metro station. If I'm being precise, there are actually three festival grounds here.

Revolution SquareRevolution Square has an ice rink and stationary pavilions with a carousel. Unlike other areas, this one isn't cleared; it's simply redecorated each time. The carousel with horses is free, but you'll need to wait in line.

Transition from Revolution Square to Manezhnaya SquareNext, I headed towards Manezhnaya Square and on the transition between the squares, another location with a beautiful New Year's train. Here, there's a special atmosphere of old times with a merchant-boyarish twist.

Winter in Moscow 2026In literally just a few meters, I find myself in the atmosphere of Soviet childhood on Manezhnaya Square. It's like we dug out a big box of Christmas decorations from the attic and hung up icicles, snowflakes, colorful flags, and stars.

Manezhaya Square Winter in MoscowManezhaya Square Festival PhotoOn Manezhnaya Square, I feel like I've been transported to a children's morning, where the little boys and girls are happily dancing around the Christmas tree. There are kids sledding down the hill, someone's playing in the snow. This is the main festival site, where the largest and most beautiful Christmas tree with a covering of glowing garlands is located.

Winter in Moscow 2026 Manezhnaya SquareWinter in Moscow 2026Manezhaya Square Winter in Moscow 2026This is a very beautiful location, I want to stay here for a bit longer, where you can grab a snack and have a cup of tea from a samovar.I decided to pop by GUM - the fair, this year it's all decorated in a lovely Dymkovsky style.

GUM Fair 2026Along the decorated arches with red balls on Nikolskaya Street, I headed towards TsUM. If you have time, check it out, it's also beautifully decorated. Right behind TsUM on Rождественка Street, I came across the Red Ball pavilion. It's a huge soft knitted ball toy, inside which you can buy gifts for kids made in Moscow.

Red Ball Pavilion Winter in MoscowFrom the ball, I walked along Kuznetsky Most Street towards TsUM. The entire street is beautifully decorated with romantic trees with hearts.

Kuznetsky Most in winter in Moscow 2026

Trip to Christmas 2026Right in front of TSUM, there's a traditional exhibition of designer Christmas trees by famous artists and the Ice Rink pavilion.

Ice Rink pavilion made in MoscowTrees at TSUMI kept going straight on Kuznetsky Most. After TSUM, the Mechanica Mirabilium location starts. It's like a steampunk style, the decorations look really unique. Mechanical owls, quirky mechanisms, and gears. The design is quite unusual, and I really liked it.

Mechanica Mirabilium on Kuznetsky Most

Mechanica Mirabilium winter in Moscow routeFurther on, there's a more festive setup in the Gingerbread style in Kamergersky Pereulok. I really liked the fairy-tale gingerbread houses, charming Christmas trees with mice, and the Gingerbread treats.

Gingerbread house winter in Moscow

Winter in Moscow 2026New Year's Moscow routeThrough the huge glowing gates, I exit onto Tverskaya and head to Tverskaya Square. There's another stationary platform with a carousel and magical New Year's decorations. You can find souvenirs and treats, drink Moscow tea from a samovar, swing on the swings, and watch the performances.

Tverskaya Square festival

Winter in Moscow routeFrom here, it's not far along Tverskaya Street to Tverskoy Boulevard with the traditional light tunnel. And on the other side, Pushkin's Square.

Walking along the boulevard is nice until Arbat. This year, the entire pedestrian street is covered with mandarins. Near the theater, a huge Mandarin gift pavilion has been set up. And at both ends of Arbat, huge scales have been installed. Anyone can find out their weight in mandarins. What a unique idea. There are two scales, but the queue is huge for both.

Mandarins on Arbat festivalMandarin Christmas tree Arbat winter in Moscow

Scales with mandarins Arbat

Second Route to the Gift Factory

This location blew me away even more. I've never seen such a fantastic Gift Factory. It feels like I'm in a movie, not about Willie Wonka or Santa's workshop.

Gift Factory Bolotnaya SquareGift Factory PhotoGift Factory Review You can get your gift in a very unusual way at the Gift Factory. After buying something in the Made in Moscow pavilion, they can pack and send it through a conveyor belt that goes through the entire factory. Gift Factory Winter in Moscow

Gift FactoryI visited the gift factory and was blown away by the sheer scale of it all. The boxes with gifts are sent down a winding conveyor belt and arrive at the pick-up counter. What a brilliant idea - it's so well thought out and fun. I spent ages watching the winding paths of the gifts.

Gift Factory To get a gift from the conveyor belt, you need to buy gifts worth 4000 roubles or pay 500 roubles for packaging. In the pavilion, you can buy cosmetics, souvenirs, accessories, and even a Green chair for 18,000 roubles. And guess what? That's where I found my favourite cream, which is nowhere to be found in any Moscow store or online marketplace. That's just amazing.Gift Factory at the Museum of MoscowAlong the Moscow River, I headed to the Museum of Moscow. Another gift factory is located there. It looks very beautiful from the outside, but it's small. There's no such magic - just a small pavilion with clothes. Winter in Moscow ParkAlso, I visited the Gorky Park. There's a pavilion called Winter in Moscow, which is in the shape of a train. Inside, you can find cosmetics, souvenirs, teas, and sweets. It's located near the entrance to the park, right in front of the ticket booth for the ice rink. Unfortunately, the ice rink is under reconstruction this year, so it's not available. I also recommend visiting:

Winter Wonderland - A Quest with GiftsGUM Market - A New Year's Fairy Tale

The VDNKh Ice Rink