The Moscow Tea Party Festival is a city project built around tea, held in seasonal runs in winter and summer. Its main venue has been Tverskaya Square, where visitors can taste tea blends from samovars for free, and the project adds tea carts, tea stations in parks and special tea menus at participating restaurants, cafes and hotels, which are marked with a Moscow Tea Party sticker.
In winter the drink is hot tea from pot-bellied samovars, and in summer the focus moves to iced tea and refreshing blends. The program changes each year, and it is closely linked to the city’s seasonal festivals. Check the official city sources for the current season, venues and any competition.
Quick Facts
| Russian name | Фестиваль «Московское чаепитие» |
|---|---|
| Type | Recurring event |
| When | Every year in seasonal runs, with a winter season and a summer season; the project has also run for long periods with tea stations and tea menus, and the dates and program change each year. |
| Typical duration | A season of several weeks to a few months, in winter and again in summer; some tea points and tea menus run longer. |
| Address | Tverskaya Square, the project's main venue, with tea stations and carts in parks and streets and participating cafes, restaurants and hotels across Moscow OpenStreetMap · Google Maps |
| District | Tverskoy |
| Metro | Tverskaya (Zamoskvoretskaya Line (Line 2, green), A central station beside Tverskaya Square, the project's main venue; the exit and the walking time were not verified) Pushkinskaya (Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya Line (Line 7, purple), Part of the same interchange complex; the exit and the walking time were not verified) Chekhovskaya (Serpukhovsko-Timiryazevskaya Line (Line 9, gray), Part of the same interchange complex; the exit and the walking time were not verified) |
| Admission | Tasting tea blends at the festival tasting areas is free. Tea at cafes, restaurants and hotels in the project is paid at their own prices, and the tea stations in parks may be free or paid depending on the season. |
| Best time to visit | Winter afternoons and weekends suit samovar tea in parks, and summer evenings suit iced tea on boulevards. Tea points have limited hours, often afternoons and evenings, and some run only at weekends. The seasons run in winter and summer, and the dates change each year. Crowd patterns were not verified. |
| Last updated | October 7, 2026 |
Dates, programs and prices change from year to year. Always check the official website for the current edition.
Why Visit Moscow Tea Party Festival?
Tea from a samovar is a simple, genuinely Russian experience, and the festival makes it easy to try it in the middle of the city: a free tasting on Tverskaya Square, a cup at a tea station in a park such as Kolomenskoye, or a full tea set with pastries at a participating restaurant. It also gives a reason to enter parks and estates in winter, when the tea warms you up.
In summer the project turns to iced tea, with tea pavilions, tents and open-air tea buffets in parks and on boulevards. Entry to the tastings is free, but many tea points have limited hours and the program varies from year to year, so confirm what is open before you go.
What to Expect at Moscow Tea Party Festival
The project runs in seasons. In the winter season samovar carts and tea stations offer hot tea at the main venue on Tverskaya Square and in parks and estates, such as a tea station at Kolomenskoye on weekend afternoons, where tea from a samovar has been served from red sledges marked as estate points. In the summer season the project turns to cold and iced tea, with tea carts, tents and pavilions in parks and boulevards and a citywide Moscow Ice Tea festival in cafes and restaurants.
Visitors can taste tea blends at the tasting areas, and in some seasons a competition between blends developed by tea companies is held, with voting by residents and a winner announced later in the season. Restaurants, cafes and hotels in the project serve special tea menus with sweet treats and tea services, and they carry a project sticker. The program changes each year.
Highlights of Moscow Tea Party Festival
Tea tasting on Tverskaya Square
Tverskaya Square, in front of the building of the Mayor of Moscow, has been the main venue of the project, with free tastings of tea blends from samovars at the festival site. It is the easiest place to start and is close to several metro stations. Hours and the program change by season. See the Tverskoy guide on this site.
Tip: Come in the afternoon, when the tasting is running and queues are short on weekdays.
Samovar tea in parks and estates
Tea stations and carts have worked in parks and estates, including Kolomenskoye, where a tea station served free samovar tea on weekend afternoons in winter from red sledges, and tents in Izmailovsky Park, Tsaritsyno and Kuzminki-Lyublino in the summer program. Locations and hours vary by season. See the Kolomenskoye, Tsaritsyno and Izmailovo guides on this site.
Tip: Check which tea points are open on the day before you travel to a park.
Tea menus in restaurants, cafes and hotels
Restaurants, cafes and hotels that join the project serve special tea menus with sweet treats, in their own tea services, and carry a project sticker; the city reports hundreds of participating establishments. A set can include tea in a decorated samovar with pastries, for example. Prices and participants change each year, and none are given here.
Tip: Look for the Moscow Tea Party sticker at the entrance.
The Moscow Ice Tea festival
In summer, cafes and restaurants across the city serve iced tea blends as part of a citywide Moscow Ice Tea festival, which has involved hundreds of venues. It runs through the summer. The list of venues is published by the organizers each year.
Tip: Ask a participating cafe for the house iced tea blend.
Tea pavilions and open-air tea buffets
The summer program has used pavilions on New Arbat and at VDNKh, and open-air tea buffets on boulevards such as Chistoprudny and Pokrovsky. They are a pleasant place to sit for a short time, usually with tea at moderate prices. The sites change by year. See the VDNH and Ostankino and Chistye Prudy guides on this site.
Tip: Choose a boulevard buffet in the evening for a calm, local atmosphere.
Tea competitions and events
In some seasons the project has run a competition of tea blends developed by tea companies, with residents voting at the tasting areas, and in summer the program has included tea events in public squares. The details differ each season. Check the official sources for the current events.
Tip: Taste the competition blends at the tasting area if the contest is on.
What It Means for Your Visit
The festival is not a public holiday, so museums, shops and transport work as usual. The effects are local: the main venue on Tverskaya Square and the park tea stations are busier on weekends, queues form at samovar tastings, and some tea points in parks run only on certain days and hours. The summer program may close a boulevard section for a pavilion or buffet.
In winter the cold makes hot tea popular, and in summer it is the iced tea points that fill. Check the official city sources for the current season, venues and opening hours, since they change every year.
Atmosphere
At a winter tea station the air smells of steam and sugar: a brass samovar hissing on a table, paper cups warming hands, people in thick coats queuing in the dusk. In a park such as Kolomenskoye the setting is calm, with snow, old churches and a bright red sledge as the counter.
In summer the mood is lighter, with cold tea in glasses on a terrace or at an open-air buffet on a boulevard, shaded by trees. Visitors range from families to couples on a walk. The crowd varies by venue and season and no figures were verified.
History of Moscow Tea Party Festival
The Moscow Tea Party began as a one-day event: a tea party with a very large brass samovar called Moscow, made for the festival, holding about 300 liters and able to serve some 500 people at a time, was held on Russia Day, with hundreds of people from different ethnic groups in folk costume and dishes from many cuisines.
The idea later grew into a project of the city’s seasonal festivals. In its winter season the city reported that Moscow residents and visitors drank tens of thousands of liters of hot tea from samovars, and the project came back for a summer season, with Tverskaya Square as its main venue, tea carts in streets and parks, and tea menus in restaurants. The city also ran a competition of tea blends, with voting by residents.
In later seasons the project, known also as Moscow Tea Time, set up tea stations in parks and estates, such as Kolomenskoye, and tea pavilions in places like VDNH and New Arbat, and the summer program added a citywide Moscow Ice Tea festival involving hundreds of cafes and restaurants. More than six hundred establishments were reported as participants in the citywide project in a recent calendar, and it has been presented as a long-running program.
Today the project runs in winter and summer seasons, and its dates, venues and program are announced each year by the city. A visit is easy to combine with a walk through the center or a park.
Tickets and Booking for Moscow Tea Party Festival
There is no ticket for the festival. Tasting tea blends at the tasting areas is free, and the tea stations in parks may be free or paid depending on the season. Tea menus at participating cafes, restaurants and hotels are paid at their own prices, and some establishments advise booking a table or a tea ritual in advance. The project is organized by the city as part of its seasonal festivals, which announce the seasons, the venues and the list of participants a short time before they open. Details change every year, so no program or prices are given here.
- Payment: foreign Visa and Mastercard cards are reported not to work in Russia, so bring rubles in cash for tea and treats, and the sanctions rules of your own country may restrict some Russian payment services, so check this yourself.
Rates for Russian citizens and concessions differ at ticketed events, so check the official city portal, mos.ru, and each venue’s own page for the current season.
Get Tickets for Moscow Tea Party Festival
How to Get to Moscow Tea Party Festival
Tverskaya Square is served by Tverskaya (Line 2), Pushkinskaya (Line 7) and Chekhovskaya (Line 9), which form one interchange complex. The exits and walking times were not verified. For park tea stations, choose one near a metro station; for Kolomenskoye see the Kolomenskoye guide, served by Kolomenskaya and Kashirskaya stations.
- Metro: central stations are crowded in the evening; the metro guides on this site explain the lines.
- Taxi: the taxi apps guide of this site explains the options.
Accessibility
No accessibility information was found for the festival as a whole. Squares are mostly level, as far as is known, but crowds, snow and temporary structures make movement difficult, and park tea stations are on paths that may be icy, so check conditions at each venue before you go.
Food Nearby
Participating cafes, restaurants and hotels serve tea with pastries and sweets, and the festival venues offer tea with treats. No individual venue was verified for this guide, so check opening hours and the project sticker on site.
What to Bring
In winter, warm clothing, gloves and shoes with grip; in summer, light clothing and sun protection; and rubles in cash for tea and treats, since foreign cards are reported not to work.
Best Views and Photo Spots of Moscow Tea Party Festival
A samovar on the tasting counter
A brass samovar with steam and paper cups on a festival table. It is the clearest image of the project.
Best time: Afternoon light.
The red tea sledges in Kolomenskoye
A red sledge used as a tea counter in front of old estate buildings in the snow, when the winter station is open. The colors stand out against the snow.
Best time: Weekend afternoon.
An open-air tea buffet on a boulevard
Tables under summer trees on a boulevard with glasses of iced tea. It shows the relaxed summer side of the project.
Best time: Early evening.
Photography Rules
No general photography rules for the festival were found. Tea stations and visitors may not want to be photographed, so ask first, and security zones near the Kremlin may restrict tripods and drones. Drone rules in Moscow are strict and were not checked.
Family Suitability
The festival suits families well, with free tastings, tea carts and park stations, though tea is a hot drink and the cold in winter is a limit for small children. Many points are in parks with paths, so stroller access depends on snow and the venue.
Moscow Vibes Tips
- Check which tea points are open on the day, since many have limited afternoon and evening hours.
- Look for the Moscow Tea Party sticker on a cafe or hotel door to find participants.
- Visit a park tea station in winter for the setting as well as the tea, for example at Kolomenskoye.
- In summer, try the iced tea at a participating cafe rather than only the carts.
- Combine the festival with the Moscow City Day and Russia Day guides on this site, since tea events have been tied to both.
- If a blend contest is on, taste the entries at the tasting area before voting.
Explore Nearby Moscow Tea Party Festival
Sights near Moscow Tea Party Festival
Chekhov Moscow Art Theatreabout 250 m away (~4 min walk) · typical visit: About 3 hours for a performanceMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
Bolshoi Theatre Moscow – about 600 m away (~10 min walk) · typical visit: 3–4 hours for a performance; about 1 hour for a guided tourMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
Moscow State Conservatoryabout 600 m away (~10 min walk) · typical visit: About 2 to 3 hours for a concertMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
Vernadsky State Geological Museum Moscowabout 700 m away (~12 min walk) · typical visit: About 2 to 3 hoursMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
State Central Museum of Contemporary History of Russia Moscowabout 750 m away (~12 min walk) · typical visit: About 1.5 to 2 hoursMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
Moscow Museum of Archaeologyabout 750 m away (~12 min walk) · typical visit: About 45 minutes to 1 hourMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
Metro stations near Moscow Tea Party Festival
Chekhovskaya Metro Stationabout 350 m away (~6 min walk)Main image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
Tverskaya Metro Stationabout 450 m away (~7 min walk)Main image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
Pushkinskaya Metro Stationabout 500 m away (~8 min walk)Main image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
Restaurants and cafes near Moscow Tea Party Festival
Tehnikumabout 350 m away (~6 min walk)Main image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
Loonaabout 350 m away (~6 min walk)Main image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
Turandotabout 350 m away (~6 min walk)Main image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
Cafe Pushkinabout 400 m away (~7 min walk)Main image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
Nightlife near Moscow Tea Party Festival
Craft Republicabout 250 m away (~4 min walk)Main image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
Let's Rock Barabout 450 m away (~7 min walk)Main image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
Hotels near Moscow Tea Party Festival
Central Hostel Red Squareabout 300 m away (~5 min walk)Main image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
Rus Teatralnaya Hostelabout 400 m away (~7 min walk)Main image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
Standart Hotel Moscowabout 450 m away (~7 min walk)Main image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
Events and traditions near Moscow Tea Party Festival
Easter Gift Festival in Moscowabout 50 m away (~1 min walk)Main image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
Moscow Spring Festivalabout 50 m away (~1 min walk)Main image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
Pushkin Day and Russian Language Day in Moscowabout 550 m away (~9 min walk)Main image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
Related guides
Tverskoy: Tverskaya Street, Bolshoi Theatre and Pushkin SquareMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
Kolomenskoye: UNESCO Ascension Church, Wooden Palace and ParkMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
Tsaritsyno: Catherine’s Unfinished Palace, Park and Fountain GuideMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
Izmailovo: Kremlin, Vernissage Market and the Romanov EstateMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
VDNH and Ostankino: Pavilions, Space Museum, TV Tower and ParkMain image: AI-generated illustration. It may not show the place exactly as it looks.
Browse more: More in Tverskoy · All Entertainment · All Events & Holidays
FAQ: Moscow Tea Party Festival
What is the Moscow Tea Party?
A city project of samovar tea tastings, tea stations and tea menus.
When is it held?
In winter and summer seasons, with dates that change each year.
Is it free?
Tastings at the festival areas are free; cafes and hotels charge for their tea menus.
Where is the main venue?
Tverskaya Square in the center.
Are there tea points in parks?
Yes, in parks and estates such as Kolomenskoye, Tsaritsyno and Izmailovo in some seasons.
What is the Ice Tea festival?
A summer program of iced tea at hundreds of cafes and restaurants.
How do I find participating restaurants?
Look for the project sticker or check the city portal.
Do I need to book?
Not for the tastings; some cafes advise booking a tea ritual.
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Last updated: October 7, 2026. Found an error or something out of date? Report it and we will check and fix it.
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