slothis · English

The Massive GUM Department Store in Moscow

2016-06-15 · Updated: 2026-08-11 · Original (Korean)

This article was translated from the original Korean post with AI assistance. Read the original Korean post →

Today is the day we finally visit the places I wanted to see most in Moscow: Red Square, the Kremlin, and St. Basil's Cathedral, which always reminds me of Tetris. Before heading out, we grabbed a quick breakfast at a restaurant in front of our hotel. The Izmailovo Kremlin was the worst, but I actually really like the shops near the Izmailovo Hotel, even if most of them are franchises and chain stores. The nearby supermarket is especially cheap, making it super convenient to grab groceries for dinner and eat back at the hotel.

Exterior of a small restaurant on the first floor of a building with an orange sign
Where we had breakfast today.
Various shapes of baked breads and pastries are displayed inside a showcase.
There are elongated breads and a container of fried rice inside a showcase.
Fried rice with carrots and meat is served on a disposable plate.
A flat, golden-brown fried bread is inside a clear plastic bag.
A baked bread sprinkled with sesame seeds is inside a clear plastic bag.
The plov (rice pilaf) was decent, and the breads were pretty good.

We got off at "Ploshchad' Revolyutsii," the subway station with the hardest name to read, and started making our way to Red Square. I'll write more about Ploshchad' Revolyutsii and the subway in another post. As soon as we burst through the station doors, we could instantly feel that we were no longer in Siberia, but in a corner of Europe. I had no idea Moscow had so much European-style architecture. The difference from Western Europe, though, is the uniquely Russian Orthodox churches popping up here and there, along with the Soviet-era traces embedded in the buildings. Just as we were getting lost in the European vibe, these details kept reminding us that we were definitely in Russia.

Statues of two people stand in front of an ornate cathedral building with pink exterior walls and golden dome roofs.
A pink Russian Orthodox church. It's incredibly unique for a religious building.
A large screen painted with window and brick patterns is installed for exterior building construction.
A construction tarp you can see around this neighborhood. Up close it looks a bit silly, but from a distance, you can barely tell it's under construction.

Past the church, the GUM Department Store came into view. Built in the late 19th century, the sheer size of this department store is so massive that words can't really describe it. You can walk and walk, and the end is nowhere in sight. I walked for about three minutes just trying to see where it ended, but the building just kept going. How many stores are inside for it to be this huge? Looking at the scale alone, it makes you wonder what the builders in the 19th century were thinking when they designed it.

When you try to enter, you have to go through a security check that feels like an airport screening. Watching the entrance, I couldn't help but wonder, "Do locals in Moscow actually come here to shop?" In reality, most of the tourists going inside were either wearing hijabs or were Chinese.


Cars parked at an intersection in front of an antique building and a yellow building with columns
A street between antique buildings with red awnings and arched decorations
A street stretching between ornate buildings with red awnings and lighting decorations hanging in the sky
Front exterior of GUM Department Store featuring elaborate sculptures and arched entrances

I figured the prices inside would be astronomical, and going in would just stress me out and waste time, so we only stopped by a souvenir shop that didn't require going through the main entrance. This is why the title says "GUM exterior." The souvenir shop employee explained the Matryoshka dolls in fluent English, opening them up one by one. But the moment she told me the final price, I had no choice but to repeat "I am sorry" three times. If you're curious, just take a look at the prices yourself. You'll immediately find yourself apologizing, thinking, "I'm so sorry my broke self made you waste your breath explaining all that."


Exterior of the long and ornate GUM Department Store building with arched entrances and red awnings
I'm sorry. I won't come back.

Expenses based on 1 person / might be for 2 people

Total Expenses 2,521RUB

Total Trip Expenses 525,936 KRW + 21,012 RUB + $53.16