Would you like to visit a art fair or a flea market in Moscow?

Doing so presents one with a rare possibility to feel and touch real contemporary art and art history.

There is truly nothing quite like a stroll around the artists’ booths at an art fair. You may want to buy a painting or a sculpture, which could become you best and most prized “souvenir” from Russia. It may even turn out to have a great monetary value after some time.

You may like the idea of going hunting for precious antiquities at the local flea market. There is nothing quite a fascinating as rummaging in the variegated ancient odds and ends for sale in the hopes of finding a real jewel. Even if you won’t discover anything of immense monetary value, you can always buy there a copper candle sconce, a porcelain figurine or a real old samovar for a mere trifle…

These places are filled with objects, which – while mostly useless – carry the spirit of times long gone and so can be a great souvenir for yourself or a present to your family and friends. It will be a far cry from anything you could ever find in regular souvenir shops!

However, to take advantage of everything these places have to offer while avoiding the typical tourist traps, where salesmen are trying to sell kitsch for the price of an antique artwork, one must either be very familiar with Moscow and its art life or have a knowledgeable guide.