Moscow has dozens of skating rinks: indoors, outdoors, in courtyards and neighborhood parks. They all have something to recommend them: some are good for kids, some are perfect for courting couples, and a few are made for good amateur skaters working on their spins. Here are the five best rinks of the season.
City of Winter at VDNKh Park
VDNKh Park has reinvented its skating rink, the biggest in Moscow. This year they divided it into two: “Flower Garden” and “Rocket.” The first is between the two magnificent fountains behind the central pavilion and can take up to 1,200 people at a time. It has a family and romantic air about it, while the “Rocket” rink encircles the replica of a Vostok missile and can take about 2,400 visitors who like skate faster and more aggressively. The City of Winter includes not just these rinks but also a skating rink and snowmobiles for children, tubing, curling and yukigassen – team snowball battles from Japan.
The main rinks operate Tuesday to Sunday; closed on Monday for maintenance.The working hours are 11a.m. to 11 p.m. on week days (service break from 3 to 5 p.m.) and 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekends and holidays (with a 1-hour service break every two hours). Tickets are 250-450 rubles depending on the day, with weekends more expensive. A ticket is valid for both skating rinks. Skate rentals are 200 rubles.
119 Prospect Mira. Metro VDNKh. katok.vdnh.ru