City Space Bar, 34th floor, The Swissôtel Krasnye Holmy, Moscow. +7 495 221 5357. On an island on the Moskva River two miles from the Kremlin. has a spectacular rooftop bar and it floats over Moscow like a spaceship, offering astounding views through its sloping glass sides. Magnificent view: Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, old Moscow Bulvarnoe Koltso. Open Mon to Sun 5pm-3am. email
O2 Lounge, Ritz Carlton Hotel, 3 Tverskaya St, Moscow, Russia. +7 495 642 7072. Sushi restaurant and weekend DJs in a rooftop beach club. Dazzling view of the Kremlin lit up. Serves excellent Russian and Georgian cuisine too. Jeroboam offers fine dining created by the famous chef Heinz Winkler. Open daily from 12 noon. Upmarket.
Conservatory Lounge & Bar Terrace, Park Hyatt, 4 Neglinnaya St, Moscow 109012. +7 749 5783 1234. Come here for some of the best views of Moscow - the Kremlin and the Bolshoi are a stone's throw away - and rub shoulders with some of the city's movers and shakers. Arrive early to bag a table on the outdoor terrace for an evening of vodka cocktails under the stars (there's indoor space too, with a glass wall when the weather turns). Bar 8am-12 midnight. Food 12 noon-12 midnight.
Vibe, 10th floor, Moscow Park Hyatt, 4 Ulitsa Neglinnaya, Moscow 109012. +7-495 783-1234 Best in summer when the terrace is open and on weekends for a light meal.
Balchug Restaurant, Kempinski Hotel, 1 Balchug St, Moscow 115035. +7 495 230 6500. The Restaurant Baltschug and Restaurant Shogun enjoy magnificent views of St Basil's Cathedral (from the first floor). Mon to Fri 7am-10am. Sat & Sun 7am-11am. Daily 12.30pm-2.30pm. 6pm-11pm.
Magic 5 Spices, 3/18 Pereulok Sivtsev Vragek, Moscow. +7 495 203 1283. +7 495 290 1913. The staff (all Indian) speak fine English.
Mon to Sun from 12 noon-12 midnight. Starwood.
Vanilla, 1 Ostozhenka St, Moscow, Russia 119034. +7 495 202 3341. Enjoy the view of old Moscow. You can see the best panorama of the city in the summer from the spacious and bright terrace. When it is cold outside you may also dine in front of floor to ceiling windows with views over the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Gogolevsky Boulevard, and the Moskva river. The best tables are by the window on the upper level. Open: 12 noon-12 midnight. Subway station: Kropotkinskaya.
Panorama, 23rd floor, Golden Ring Hotel, 5 Smolenskaya St, Moscow. +7 725 0214. Splendid view on the city. Open: 6pm-12 midnight. Metro: Smolenskaya.
Seventh Heaven Revolving Restaurant, Ostankino Tower, ul. Koroleva, Ostankino, Moscow. Metro: VDNKh.
Kalina Bar, top floor, 8 Novinsky Blvd, Lotte Plaza, Moscow. Lotte Plaza trade centre. Panoramic city view and cocktails. Fashionable.
Conservatory Lounge and Bar, 10th floor, Ararat Park Hyatt Hotel, 4 Neglinnaya ulitsa, Moscow 109012. Hosted by one of the best hotels in Moscow, Conservatory also offers nice views over the city center and is suitable for meeting with a business partner or a good friend. Weekdays Drinks: 10am-2am. Food: 12 noon-1am. Weekends Drinks: 12 noon-2am. Food: 12 noon-1am. email
Dissident Restaurant and Loft Cafe, 25 ul Nikolskaya, Metro Lubyanka, Moscow. +7 495 500 2767. Russia Nautilus Trade Center, Lubyanka square. Cozy terrace, good, although expensive food. The panoramic view is over Lubianka Square and the KGB building, which gives you a strange feeling of two epochs facing each other.
Sky bar, 8a Strastnoi Bulvar, Moscow. +7 495 200 0210 A relatively new place, which, like all new places, has had its share of criticism for service. Nonetheless, people recommend it for its unique views over central Moscow and, besides, criticism is gradually making an impact. Also, if you drop in for a couple of afternoon drinks with a view, hardly anyone can spoil your pleasure.
Simple Pleasures, Sretenka 22/1, Moscow, 107045. +7 495 207 1521 Beautiful view of the old Moscow streets from the windows of the Great Hall.
Red Bar, 27th floor, at 22/24 Kutuzovsky Pr., Moscow. Floor to ceiling windows overlooking the Moscow River. The whole place is draped in swanky red, except the glistening white piano.
Tabu, 21 Petrovka Ul., Kuznetsky Most, Moscow. +7 495 923 4750 Metro: Pushkinskaya. Sun to Thurs 12 noon-2am. Fri & Sat: 12 noon-6am.
Vavary, 8th floor, 8a Strastnoy Blvd, Moscow. +7 495 229 2800 Off the affluent Tverskoy Boulevard and on the top floor of the building. It gives you a nice view and they have a spacious terrace for alfresco dining as it gets warm enough in Moscow.
Sky Lounge, 22nd floor, Russian Academy of Sciences, 32a Leninsky Pr., Moscow. +7 495 781 5775. Breathtaking panoramic view of the city. Summer rooftop terrace.
Bosco Bar, At the top of the upmarket GUM department store in the heart of Red Square.
Mansarda
Mansarda Restaurant, 6th floor, 3-5 Pochtamtskaya Ul., St Petersburg, Russia. +7 812 946 4303. Top floor of the swanky Quattro Corti business center. Mansarda has a good view of St Isaac's cathedral.
Terrassa, 3 Kazanskaya Ulitsa, St Petersburg, Russia. +7 812 337 6837. At the top of the glass building that formerly housed the Vanity boutique this rooftop restaurant offers views out onto Nevsky Prospekt and an astonishing close-up of the golden dome of the Kazan Cathedral. American, French, Italian, Georgian and Asian cuisines. Expensive.
6th Floor Terrace, Marriott Renaissance St. Petersburg Baltic Hotel, 4 Pochtamtskaya St, St Petersburg, 190000 Russian Federation. +7 812 380 4000. Open terrace overlooking St. Isaac's Cathedral with great views of Saint Petersburg. Dinner.
Sevenskybar, 6th floor, Grand Palace Boutique Gallery, 15 Italianskaya ul.,St Petersburg. +7 812 449 94 32. Located in the historic part of the city SEVENSKYBAR offers magnificent, panoramic, floor-to-ceiling views of the Russian Museum, Temple on the Spilt Blood, and Mikhailovsky Palace. Sun to Thurs 12 noon–1am. Fri & Sat 12 noon–3am. email
Sky Bar, Petro Palace Hotel, 14 Malaya Morskaya Ulitsa, St Petersburg, 190000 Russia. +7 812 571 3006. 5pm-11pm. email
Teplitsa (Greenhouse), op floor, Stereo Kino, 88 Nevsky Propekt, St Petersburg. +7 812 318 0105. Open daily 8am till the last customer leaves.
Penthouse Restaurant
Penthouse Restaurant, 15th floor, Palace Hotel, 62 Pervomayskaya St, Syktyvkar, Komi, Russia 167000. From Railway Station bus 5, 15, 17 or 46.