Detsky Mir

Moscow

LoginSave

Dominated by the infamous KGB compound, Lubyanskaya pl made adults shiver in Soviet times, but children dreamed of coming here, because another stately edifice in the square was filled with toys and goods intended entirely for them. Although the 1950s interior was lost in a 2008 reconstruction, it's worth visiting this children's department store to check out Soviet toy fashions at the Museum of Childhood and admire sweeping views of central Moscow from a rooftop observation point above it.

Access to the museum and the roof is from the food court on the top floor of the department store, which is now primarily occupied by Western brands.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Russian orthodox churches in Novodevichy Convent monastery.

    Novodevichy Convent

    3.56 MILES

    The Novodevichy Convent was founded in 1524 to celebrate the taking of Smolensk from Lithuania, an important step in Moscow’s conquest of the old Kyivan…

  • The crown of Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich in the Armoury in the Kremlin, Moscow. 21/06/2003. (Photo by Jeff Overs/BBC News & Current Affairs via Getty Images)

    Armoury

    0.86 MILES

    The Armoury dates to 1511, when it was founded under Vasily III to manufacture and store weapons, imperial arms and regalia for the royal court. Later it…

  • Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts

    Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts

    1.17 MILES

    This is Moscow’s premier foreign-art museum, split over three branches and showing off a broad selection of European works, including masterpieces from…

  • St. Basil's Cathedral in Red Square, Moscow, Russia

    St Basil's Cathedral

    0.53 MILES

    At the southern end of Red Square stands the icon of Russia: St Basil’s Cathedral. This crazy confusion of colours, patterns and shapes is the culmination…

  • Statue of Tsar Alexander II at Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.

    Cathedral of Christ the Saviour

    1.31 MILES

    This opulent and grandiose cathedral was completed in 1997 – just in time to celebrate Moscow's 850th birthday. The cathedral’s sheer size and splendour…

  • Exterior of Water Tower at Kremlin.

    Moscow Kremlin

    0.53 MILES

    The apex of Russian political power and once the centre of the Orthodox Church, the Kremlin is the kernel of not only Moscow, but of the whole country…

  • Mausoleum on Red Square, Moscow, Russia; Shutterstock ID 64158388; Your name (First / Last): Josh Vogel; Project no. or GL code: 56530; Network activity no. or Cost Centre: Online-Design; Product or Project: 65050/7529/Josh Vogel/LP.com Destination Galleries

    Lenin's Mausoleum

    0.49 MILES

    Although Vladimir Ilych requested that he be buried beside his mum in St Petersburg, he still lies in state at the foot of the Kremlin wall, receiving…

  • Bridge Over River Against Sky During Sunset

    Gorky Park

    2.15 MILES

    Moscow's main city escape isn't your conventional expanse of nature preserved inside an urban jungle. It's not a fun fair either, though it used to be one…

View more attractions

Nearby Moscow attractions

1. Tretyakovsky Proezd

0.11 MILES

The gated walkway of Tretyakovsky proezd (originally built in the 1870s) leads from Teatralny proezd into Kitay Gorod. Nearby, you can see where…

3. Lubyanka

0.13 MILES

Easily the most feared edifice in Russia, looming on the northeastern side of Lubyanskaya pl is the brain centre behind Stalin's genocidal purges and the…

4. Museum of Soviet Arcade Machines

0.19 MILES

Growing up in 1980s USSR was a peculiar, but not necessarily entirely bleak experience. Here is an example – a collection containing dozens of mostly…

5. Polytechnical Museum

0.2 MILES

Occupying the entire block of Novaya pl, this giant museum showcases the history of Russian science, technology and industry. Indeed, it has claimed to be…

6. Synod Printing House

0.21 MILES

Now housing the Russian State University for the Humanities, this elaborately decorated edifice is where Ivan Fyodorov reputedly produced Russia’s first…

7. Karl Marx Statue

0.24 MILES

Since 1961, Karl Marx has occupied this prominent position on pl Revolyutsii.

8. Zaikonospassky Monastery

0.29 MILES

This monastery was founded by Boris Godunov in 1600, although the church was built in 1660. The name means ‘Behind the Icon Stall’, a reference to the…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting: 
    {
  "url": "russia/moscow/tverskoy-novoslobodsky/attractions/detsky-mir/a/poi-sig/1578218/1336044",
  "destination": "Moscow",
  "continent": "Europe",
  "country": "Russia",
  "city": "Moscow",
  "position": "superzone"
}