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The beautiful old royal estate of Kolomenskoe is one of the best places in the city to bring kids all year round. As well as the glorious churches and the Museum of Wooden Buildings, the park hosts a number of festivals throughout the year connected with traditional Russian folk celebrations that include heaps of activities for children. After the Orthodox Christmas, there's a week of merry-making including winter sports, masquerades and puppet theatres for the Svyatki festival. The week before lent, known as Maslenitsa, offers more of the same, as well as the building of snow castles and lots of pancake eating. There are also celebrations in June for the day of the dead (more fun than it sounds), for harvest festival, when there's plenty of excellent fresh produce on sale, and various historical reconstructions on different significant dates.
Even when there's nothing specific going on, the park has a permanent wooden funfair, with a variety of traditional Russian games and entertainments, including a form of skittles and giant wooden swings. There's also horse-riding on offer, and Kolomenskoe is an excellent place to catch a boat for a cruise down the Moskva River.
Opening hours: April to August, daily from 09:00 to 22:00. September to March, daily from 09:00 to 19:00.
Read more information about Kolomenskoe and another parks, in the Moscow Parks section of our sightseeing guide.
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