The Kremlin → Bolshoi Theatre

Moscow's centre is built at a scale that misleads the eye. Red Square looks crossable in a moment and takes six minutes; the Bolshoi looks close and is a quarter of a mile beyond the far corner. The distances are larger than they appear because the buildings are larger than they appear.

The route

From the Kremlin's Spasskaya Tower gate, cross Red Square northward past St Basil's Cathedral and the GUM department store frontage, exit at the Resurrection Gate at the north-west corner, and continue north across Manezhnaya Square and Okhotny Ryad to Theatre Square. The Bolshoi's colonnade faces you across the square.

About 1.1 kilometres, or 0.7 miles. The straight line is roughly 0.6 miles, and the extra comes from having to leave Red Square at a specific corner — the square is enclosed on three sides and you cannot cut through the Kremlin wall.

What the number is made of

Zero point seven miles converts to about 1,500 steps. Red Square itself is paved in cobblestone, which shortens stride slightly, so a realistic count for the whole walk is closer to 1,530. The route is essentially flat, rising perhaps eight metres from the river side of the Kremlin up to Theatre Square.

What you are walking past

Red Square's name is older than any political association with the colour. The Russian word krasnaya meant beautiful in older usage before it settled into meaning red, and the square was named in that earlier sense. The paving is a nineteenth-century addition; for most of its history the space was a market and a place of public announcement, not a parade ground.

St Basil's Cathedral, at the southern end, was completed in 1561 under Ivan IV. Its form — nine separate chapels on a single foundation, each with a distinct tower — has no clear precedent in Russian church architecture, and the riot of colour on the domes is not original. The exterior was largely white with gold domes for its first century and was painted in stages from the 1680s onward.

The Bolshoi is on its third building. The first two burned, in 1805 and again in 1853, and the current structure is Alberto Cavos's reconstruction of 1856. The company is far older than any of them, tracing to a theatre troupe established in 1776. The auditorium's acoustics were an explicit design objective for Cavos, who used a wooden resonating structure behind the decorative surfaces — an approach that a controversial six-year renovation completed in 2011 was intended to restore.

Between the two, on Manezhnaya Square, you pass the Alexander Garden and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, where the guard changes hourly on the hour — the most reliable piece of scheduled ceremony in the city centre.

Walking it well

Red Square closes without much notice for rehearsals, state events and preparation for the May and November parades. If it is shut, the alternative runs west through the Alexander Garden along the Kremlin's outer wall and north to Manezhnaya Square, which is about the same distance and considerably quieter.

In winter, the cobblestones ice unevenly and the square is fully exposed to wind. The Alexander Garden route is sheltered by the wall and is the better cold-weather option.

Your step count, by height

Step length varies with height by more than 25 per cent across the adult range, so the single figure at the top of this page will not be right for everyone. Here is the same distance for a range of heights, using the standard estimate of 0.414 × height.

Your height	Est. step length	Steps for this route
1.55 m	0.64 m	1,755
1.65 m	0.68 m	1,649
1.75 m	0.72 m	1,554
1.85 m	0.77 m	1,471
1.95 m	0.81 m	1,396

These are estimates. If you want a figure that matches your own gait, our guide to measuring your stride length takes about five minutes.

Common questions

How long does the walk take?

About 13 to 15 minutes at a comfortable pace, plus whatever time Red Square takes from you, which is usually more than planned.

Is Red Square always open to walk across?

No. It closes periodically for events and rehearsals. The Alexander Garden along the Kremlin's western wall is the standard alternative and roughly the same length.

Is the route accessible?

Largely, though Red Square's cobblestones are rough going for wheeled mobility. The Alexander Garden paths are smoother and step-free.

Try your own route

Enter any two places into the step calculator to get a figure for a walk of your own, or browse all twenty routes and eight articles.