Compared with the leading hotels in other great towns, those of Moscow leave much to be desired. Hotel Billo on the Great Lubianka is centrally situated and much frequented by the English visitors, who there find adequate accommodation and the greatest courtesy. Hotel Dresden, on the Tverskaya, is upon even higher ground, opposite the residence of the Governor-General; Hotel Continental facing the Grand Theatre, and the Moskovski Traktir, opposite the Vosskresenski Gate, are also well kept and are near the Kremlin; the Slavianski Bazaar is in the Kitai Gorod. The Russian custom, which it is advisable should be followed if a long stay is made, is to take rooms in a hotel or elsewhere; the rent includes heating in winter, and the use of the samovar twice daily. The Kokoref Hotel, on the south side of the river, is one of the largest establishments on this plan and many of its rooms command superb views of the Kremlin (see p. 13) and are in demand by English visitors on this account. The restaurants are good; in summer the visitor should not fail to lunch in the lofty court of the Slavianski Bazaar which, like the Bolshoi Moskovski Traktir, is much used by business men. For native dishes the Praga, on the Arbat, and Tyestov's, on the Vosskresenski Place, are the best; the Ermitage, on the Trubaya is more ostentatious, but the cuisine is good; the Saratov (Srietenka Boulevard) is favoured by university students. At all the service is excellent, and the old-fashioned attire of the waiters unconventional and pleasing. The peculiarly local dishes comprise: ikra (fresh caviare), batvennia and okroshka (iced soups), shchee (cabbage soup with sour cream), ukha (fish soup), beluga, osternia, etc. (different varieties of sturgeon), porosianok (cold boiled sucking pig with horse-radish sauce), rasolnik, yazu and barannybok are made dishes; the appropriate beverage is one of the many varieties of kvas, which will be served iced in fine old silver beakers or tankards of native workmanship. Tea with lemon at the Café Philipov, on the Tverskaya. Many tourists whilst on a yachting cruise in the Baltic avail themselves of the steamer's stay in the Neva to make a hurried visit to Moscow. To them, and others whose stay is necessarily of short duration, the following itinerary may be useful:-- (1) Drive through the Kitai Gorod, the Grand Square, across the Moskvoretski bridge, along the quay to the Kammeny Most; cross the river and enter the Kremlin by the Troitski Gate and alight at Ivan Veliki. Visit the cathedrals and monasteries of the Kremlin (Chs. viii., ix.); the Great Palace and Terem (Ch. vii.); Potieshni Dvorets (Ch. viii.). Later drive out to the Novo Devichi Convent (Ch. xii.); thence to the ferry before sunset, dine at the Restoran Krinkin, return to the Mala Kammeny Most by steamer--or by tram to the Kaluga Place--see the Kremlin by moonlight from the Kokoref.