Moscow news
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30-Jul-2009
Where the beautiful people bathe
Looking to sun yourself on a Moscow beach but afraid that you might encounter drunks sporting prison tattoos, pensioners wearing 1950s boxer shorts and neglected children washing flea-ridden dogs in the river? One solution could be a beach club, several of which have popped up over the last few years.
Birch and Soviet movies
A good thing about the recently opened beach club GlavBeach is that it occupies a rather uncultured plot on a picturesque bank of the Moscow River, with trees and real grass. It's possible to find a quiet place under the trees if you don't want to occupy a hammock or one of the spacious white tents surrounding the restaurant.
GlavBeach's entertainment specialty is screenings of Soviet black-and-white classic movies on weekend nights, but the place is also well equipped for active recreation, with setups for open-air sports such as volleyball, soccer and ping pong.
The restaurant's menu is grill-based, offering pork, chicken, lamb and salmon shashlyks at 350 roubles for a 250-gram helping. The most expensive dish on the menu is rack of lamb at 750 roubles for 210 grams.
Entrance is free but visitors are expected to either rent chaise longues (50 roubles for 30 minutes) or order at the bar (mojito 350 roubles, vodka 100 roubles, Heineken 200 roubles).
GlavBeach: Stroginskoye Shosse, m. Shchukinskaya, tram 10 or 21 to the Detskaya Poliklinika stop. See map at www.glavbeach.ru.
Beware of windsurfers
The Monterosso beach club is next to the Moscow Windsurfing Club, a location with its pluses and minuses. On the positive side, the surfers' colourful sails make the vista of Strogino Bay look even more picturesque. But those who choose to take a swim should beware of hapless surfers, some of whom, losing control of their sail, are dragged by the wind to the area that's supposed to be reserved for swimming.
Another disadvantage of the beach is its small area. Those who would like to play volleyball or badminton should go elsewhere, but for sunbathing or sipping a drink on the restaurant's terrace overlooking the bay, this place works fine.
On weekend nights, Monterosso hosts beach dance parties.
Entrance before 8 pm is free with the rental of a chaise longue (300 roubles a day). After 8 pm, entrance starts from 200 roubles, depending on the programme.
Monterosso: Stroginskaya Poyma, m. Shchukinskaya, tram 10 or 21 to the Tekhnichesky Tsentr Kamerton stop.
See map at www.monterossoclub.ru/beach/
Posh and pricey
Royal Bar, located on the premises of the old Dinamo water sports stadium, advertises itself as "the most respectable and expensive beach in Moscow". The latter is certainly true. The entrance fee is 1,000 roubles, which includes a chaise longue and a beach towel for the day. The cheapest salads at the restaurant are the chicken Caesar and the chicken olivye for 500 roubles each. Still, the beach, with its white sand and big umbrellas, does look like a foreign resort, and those choosing to spend a day here are probably getting value for their money. The beach has an enclosed swimming zone, a volleyball court and a children's playground. At night, there are concerts and parties.
Royal Bar (formerly Beach Club):
39 Leningradskoye Shosse, m. Vodny Stadion
See map at www.beach-club.ru.
Hidden spot in Serebryany Bor
Entering Uletai from the Serebryany Bor-3 public beach, you might not notice much difference at first sight: the same grassy, semi-cultivated territory with volleyball courts, ping-pong tables and chaise longues. The next thing you notice, though, is a tent with a DJ and the fact that there are fewer people sunbathing or swimming here than at the public beach.
The beach's main focus is corporate events, but when there are none, it's a better and classier place than the rest of Serebryany Bor. Entrance is free but the management promises face control to prevent any "undesirable elements" from getting in. The rental of a chaise longue is 350 roubles a day.
Uletai Beach: Serebryany Bor-3, right side, m. Polezhayevskaya, then marshrutka 190 to the last stop. www.uletay.com
Super big
With a total area of about 10,000 square metres, Superplyazh or Superbeach is probably Moscow's largest club-type beach. Located in Krylatskoye, it is open 24 hours and has just about anything that anybody might want while spending time on a beach - from a waterfront bungalow bar to a karaoke zone, boat and catamaran rentals and a volleyball court. On weekends the beach holds fitness sessions and, at night, open-air dance parties. Entrance is 300 roubles on weekdays, 500 roubles on weekends and 800 to 1,000 roubles for parties.
Superplyazh: 8 Ul. Krylatskaya, m. Krylatskoye
then bus 829 to the Stadion stop. www.superbeach.ru
The Moscow News