A Spontaneous Day Trip to Moscow-City and the Highest Observation Deck in Europe

Hello everyone!

For OM: all photos in the highest quality

I spent almost the entire week on the go and decided to take a spontaneous day trip to Moscow-City to check out the highest observation deck in Europe.

For those who live in Moscow or the region, Moscow-City is a developing business district on Presnenskaya Embankment.

Getting to Moscow-City

There are a few ways to get to Moscow-City. You can take the Filovskaya and Sokolnicheskaya metro lines to the 'Business Center' station, but be aware that the branch from Khorochevskaya to Business Center is currently closed.

Alternatively, you can take the Moscow Central Circle 'Moscow-City' from Ramenki station, with a transfer at Andronovka. Another option is to take the MCD-1 and MCD-4 'Moscow-City' lines.

On the way back, I took the MCD-4 to 'Three Vokzals Square', got on a train at Golutvin, and headed home. I wouldn't recommend driving there and parking in one of the underground lots, though.

I visited the 'Higher Only Love' observation deck, which is an open observation deck located in the OCO tower at a height of 354 meters. It's considered the highest in Europe.

'Higher Only Love' (High Port 354) is an observation deck located in the 'Eye' tower of the Moscow City complex. The deck is situated at a height of 354 meters. The main feature of this attraction is that tourists have a full panoramic view, which is why many tourists choose this spot to take in the views of Moscow.

The observation deck in the 'Eye' tower opened in 2017 and has already become a favorite among both tourists and locals. There's another observation deck called 'Panorama 360' on the Moscow City business center territory, located in a different tower and at a lower height.

Getting to the observation deck costs 1800 rubles with prepayment, which I found to be a bit pricey but totally worth it. I went to the observation deck with an excursion group and we got held up for 15 minutes. My phone and I both struggled with topographic ignorance – it's due to incorrect geolocation, and it's super annoying and throws me off in important moments.

The observation deck is on the 92nd floor. While I was going up and down in the elevator, my ears popped a few times. If you have any pressure issues, think twice before going there.

There are coat-check machines at the entrance to the observation deck. Everything you can't carry with you – bags, drinks, keys... – leave it there. And, yeah, bring your passport just in case! The observation deck 'Higher Only Love' is completely open, no canopies, but with a mesh fence. If the fence didn't bother me, the blistering sun did – slightly, but it did. Firstly, my tattoo is still healing, and prolonged sun exposure might cause some damage. Secondly, I brought a mirrorless camera for two simple reasons: to save phone battery (spoiler: didn't quite work out, it just died, and I barely managed to charge it on the train), and the photos would turn out way better. Even with a polarizing filter, I still got some glare!

What did I manage to spot? Which attractions offer a great view?

Let's start with the Ostankino TV Tower. I think the VDNH should be somewhere to the left of it, but I couldn't find it.

Ostankino TV TowerYou get a great view of the Foreign Ministry building and St. Basil's Cathedral. I think the Red Square should be somewhere nearby, but it's not visible from here.

The Foreign Ministry building and Christ the Saviour CathedralIt's great that you can see Moscow State University from here.

Moscow State UniversityLooking at the photos below, you can see that the river tram has recently returned to Moscow.

River tramAnd here are some photos of the MCD-4 tracks.

MCD-4. EP2DM electric trainThe observation deck 'Higher only love' is a great spot for photo shoots, including weddings. I actually saw a couple getting married right in front of me. Would I do a photoshoot there? Maybe, I'm not exactly a fan of being photographed.

What to do after visiting the observation deck? Well, that's up to you. After visiting the observation deck, I headed to 'Tana' (to the right of the Federation Tower entrance), as I craved some Japanese food. If I had known the prices, I probably wouldn't have gone there, but instead, I would have looked for matcha in Afimoll (they have it on one of the floors). I paid 610 rubles for two items, plus 21 rubles for the waiter's work. I ordered online and took the MCD-4 to the 'Three Stations Square' station, transferred to the Golovin train, which was already packed at the station, and got off at the Fabrichnaya stop, which is not too far from my place.

To sum it up, the 'Higher only love' observation deck offers great views of Moscow, good transportation accessibility, a great spot for photoshoots, and plenty of places to visit afterwards. The only downside is that there's no canopy.

The customer support team really came through when I needed them. I had a question about the return policy and they responded quickly, answering all my questions. The process was smooth and hassle-free, which is exactly what you want when you're trying to return something. I was a bit worried about the return shipping cost, but it ended up being pretty reasonable. All in all, I'm really happy with how this experience turned out.