Moscow is easily accessible by plane from the most major cities all over the world. There are three main international airports in Moscow: Sheremetyevo International Airport, Domodedovo International Airport, and Vnukovo International Airport.
From/to airports
All airports are situated 10-20 km away from the city borders. There are several ways how to get Moscow from airports:
- Most of the Hotels, recommended at our site, can provide from/to airport transfer. Please contact the hotel after your booking to ask for your meeting at the airport.
- You can book transfer with the company MESOL — the organizational partner of the RICH 2018 Workshop. The driver holding the plate with your name will meet you at the airport hall after you exit the customs area. The price is 2 500 rubles (~€ 35). For more information please check the Transfer page.
- You can take a taxi (Yandex-Uber company is highly recommended) by calling from a special stand / special desk at the airport or by downloading the application to your smartphone (roaming in Russia in the later case is required). Cars arrive in 5-10 minutes. The trip cost depends on the expected time of the trip and varies in the interval 1 200 – 1 800 rubles (~€ 20-28). The price is fixed before your journey: it is either shown at the screen or told by operator.
- The cheapest, but easy and comfortable way is to take Aeroexpress train. The high-speed trains run to one of railway station in the city center. Travel time is about 35 minutes (47 minutes from Vnukovo airport). The interval between trains departures is 30 minutes (1 hour from Vnukovo airport). Tickets cost 500 rubles (~€ 7) and can be purchased at ticket windows, ticket machines or at turnstiles. If you buy a ticket at the company’s website (printed or saved at smartphone ticket with QR code is required) or with the mobile app, the cost is 420 rubles (~€ 6). The working hours are from 6 AM till midnight.
- Also you can take regular buses or express buses from airport to metro station: from Sheremetyevo airport to Rechnoy Vokzal (Line 2) and Planernaya (Line 7) metro stations; from Domodedovo airport to Domodevoskaya (Line 2) metro station, and from Vnukovo airport to Salaryevo, Troparyovo and Yugo-Zapadnaya metro stations (Line 1).
Tips and tricks:
- You can pay using your credit card both for Aeroexpress and metro tickets, however at least small amount of Russian rubles in cash is desirable.
- Items 3 (taxi) and 5 (bus) will require to pay in cash in Russian rubles.
- Foreign currency exchange offices at the airport have extortionate exchange rates compared to the offices in the city. It is better to get cash from ATMs (however you have to pay a commission, charged by your bank).
- We strongly recommend not to use the services of non-official taxi carriers. There are lots of drivers offering their services, please do realize that taking them you can end paying much more than expected.
Transportation in Moscow
The nearest Metro/MCC station to the conference site is Leninsky Prospekt/Ploschad Gagarina.
The Metro is the easiest and the most reliable way get around Moscow. Its layout is quite simple. Radial lines, which cut across the city in most directions, are joined together by a circular line, which also joins together the city’s largest railway stations. Transport system also includes monorail and Moscow Central Circle (MCC). Each radial line has its own name, number and color on the metro map, and you can get from practically any station to another one with a maximum of three transfers.
To pay for your ride, buy a smart-card (“Ediniy” or “Troika”) from a cashier or ticket vending machines in the metro (MCC) station vestibule.
Recline smart-card to a yellow circle on the automatic gates, when green light is on or displays the number of remaining trips — pass through the gate. No matter how long you ride is or how many transfers you make, you pay no extra fee.
To help you find your way, there are several multicoloured metro maps in every car, and a loud speaker that announces the name of the station at every stop. The doors open and close automatically. There is a first-aid station and police post at every station. For information you can turn to any metro employee — they wear blue uniforms and red hats.
Mobile communication (GSM) works at stations of the Moscow underground. Free Wi-Fi (“MT_Free”) available in trains.
The Metro starts work at 06:00 AM, but stations open at 05:30–05:40 AM. At 01:00 AM the entrances close and passengers must complete their transfers. Last train leaves also at 01:03 AM.
Moscow Central Circle (MCC, Line 14) works from 05:45 AM to 00:30 AM every day. Transfer from metro to MCC (and back) is free for 90 minutes from the first enter.
Fares information (since January 2nd, 2018) could be found at metro site.