Things to Do in Novodevichy Convent

Sunrise walk along the convent walls

Arrive just after dawn and you'll have the ramparts to yourself. The limestone glows pink while mist lifts off the pond and the first tram clatters somewhere below the hill. Peer through the narrow arrow slits and the high-rises of Moscow look like a cut-out skyline pasted against a pale sky.

Listen to the nuns' choir at Sunday liturgy

Inside the Assumption Cathedral, the air is thick with incense. Women's voices layer like honey over the basso profundo of the priest. Even if you don't understand Church Slavonic, the vibration settles in your ribcage.

Picnic in the wooded cemetery behind the bell tower

Locals bring rye bread and pickles to eat under the lindens where Chekhov and Khrushchev lie a stone's throw away. Magpies rustle the leaves. Every so often a tour group's distant murmur drifts over like a faint radio.

Climb the bell-tower balcony for the river bend view

The spiral stairs smell of iron and pigeon feathers. At the top, wind whistles through the belfy louvers and the river glints like beaten copper. From here you can trace the loop that once made this site easy to defend.

Sketch the smoldering colors of the Maltese Chapel

Afternoon light turns the ochre walls blood-orange and the terracotta tiles almost red. Charcoal from your pencil mingles with the faint smokiness from nearby candle stubs.

Khamovniki: timber cottages turned into guesthouses where church bells wake you.

Universitet district: Soviet-era hotels full of professors, 15 minutes' walk south.

Luzhniki embankment: new high-rise aparthotels with river views, handy for stadium events.

Frun: quiet lanes behind the convent. Homestays with shared kitchens run by elderly widows.

Gagarinsky - student quarter, cheap eateries, metro two stops away

Arbat if you want neon and tourist shops; 20 minutes by metro but nightlife till late.