Russia, Moscow, the panoramic view of the city center

When tourists come to Moscow they find it difficult to view the city from the top because there no viewing points in highrising buildings opened to the public. There is the TV tower situated in the north of the city and rather far from the center, so it does not offer really nice view (moreover, now it is not very easy to get to the tower). There is a 'natural' viewing point at the Sparrow Hills (Vorobievy Gory, Воробьевы Горы ), but it is not high enough and again far from the center. So, where to go?

It is a question that I decided to answer. I found out that there are several expensive 5-star hotels in Moscow that offer great view from the top floors, but it's not easy to get there (if you're not staying at the hotel). Usually these hotels have a bar or a restaurant at the top that is more or less accessible, but rather expensive. The good news is that you can use tripod for shooting there.

I haven't been to all hotels of course, but analyzing their locations I came to a conclusion that the President-Hotel offers perhaps the best view. Here it is. Almost the 5-star view almost from the roof of the 5-star hotel. One can observe the Moscow river with the monument to Russian emperor Peter the Great. Designed by Zurab Tsereteli the 94 meters monument is the seventh tallest statue in the world. The white cathedral on the right is the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, designed in 1832 to commemorate the events of 1812 (victory in the war against Napoleon), consecrated on 23 May 1883, dynamited on 5 December 1931 by Soviet (USSR) government and finally reconstructed in 2000. The group of tall buildings in the center at the background is the City Business Center (currently under construction). There are also several other landmarks but it's rather hard to point them in the text. Unfortunately Moscow Kremlin is not seen from this point. I'll try to find another one

Canon 40D, 17-85, ISO 200, F/11, 3 panoramas of 7 vertical shots (1.6, 4, 10 sec) united into a HDR one (hand-made HDR using masks)

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