My University friend and I went to Gorky Park this August.
Many years ago I went there with my Mum, they celebrated the Park’s anniversary, and I got a badge for reading the poetry on stage. Then 1990s started, and the Park turned into a proverbial razzamatazz complete with all sorts of cheap entertainment and innumerable food stalls.
Then the head of the Moscow Department of Culture decided to turn the Park into what it was originally intended to be – the place of culture and leisure. The reconversion took a few years, but the result is a hip, contemporary park populated with hipster folk on skates and boards, young people playing ping-pong and frisbee, romantic couples sitting or reclining on comfy benches, and a plenty of sports facilities, special kiosks to buy seeds and nuts for birds and squirrels, and above all – an absolutely unusual pristine environment, nice music, and a feeling of cultured leisure, if one may say so. There are young people, especially girls, who skate-board to a co-working area in the Park’s premises, with a Mac hanging on their shoulder. Another girl was writing something on her iPhone while on a skate-board.
In addition to all the above, there are a few “official” coffee shops, i.e. Red.Espresso Bar, serving delicious macaroni biscuits, a colour fountain, and a beautiful recreation area. There are recycling bins for any sort of garbage, and large spaces for master classes. Last but not least, there’s an open air cinema in the Park.
The Gorky Park is easily accessed from Park Kultury metro station, Circle Line. You’ll need to walk along the Krymsky Bridge that also offers spectacular views of the Moskva River.
