Katie Warren/Business Insider
- GUM is the most iconic department store in Russia.
- It opened in the heart of Red Square in Moscow in 1893 and today includes luxury shops such as Louis Vuitton and Prada, as well as a beloved 1950s-style shop selling gourmet food items, wine, chocolate, and classic Soviet products.
- On a recent trip to Moscow, I visited the 126-year-old shopping center, and it had a different vibe from US department stores.
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GUM’s distinctive architecture and design, touches like an ice-cream bike and a throwback Soviet-era grocery store, and the abundance of live plants set the space apart from most US shopping centers.
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New York City has Barneys and Bergdorf Goodman, Paris has Le Bon Marché, and London has Harrods.
In Moscow, the most iconic department store is GUM, a massive 126-year-old structure in the heart of Red Square.
On a recent trip to Moscow, I visited the department store, which opened in 1893 and includes luxury shops like Prada and Louis Vuitton as well as a beloved 1950s-style shop selling gourmet food items, wine, chocolate, and classic Soviet products.
Here’s what it looks like.
GUM opened in 1893. Until the 1920s, it was known as the Upper Trading Rows.
Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images
On a recent trip to Russia, I went to check out the 126-year-old department store.
Katie Warren/Business Insider
I was surprised by the level of security I had to pass through to get in — most department stores I’ve been to in the US don’t have full-body scanners at the entrance.
Katie Warren/Business Insider
There was even a second security checkpoint at the revolving doors.
Katie Warren/Business Insider
From the moment I stepped into GUM, I was pleasantly surprised.
Katie Warren/Business Insider
I’m not usually a fan of department stores because in the US, at least, they all look the same and they seem isolated from the city they’re in, so you can easily forget where you even are. But this one had a different vibe from what I’ve typically found in its American equivalents.
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The domed glass ceiling let in plenty of natural sunlight …
Katie Warren/Business Insider
… and live plants and flowers gave the space a fresh, cheerful vibe.
Katie Warren/Business Insider
… and the unique architecture creates a sense of blended interiors and exteriors.
Katie Warren/Business Insider
An employee riding an ice-cream bicycle added to the whimsical feel of the department store.
Katie Warren/Business Insider
Actually, there was no shortage of places where people could get ice cream.
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GUM’s luxury boutiques include places like Fendi …
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But there were also shops like Gastronome, a delightful 1950s-style store that sells gourmet food items, wine, chocolate, and classic Soviet products like candies, seafood, and caviar.
Katie Warren/Business Insider
I spent the majority of my time at GUM browsing through the selection at Gastronome, which sells freshly baked pastries and Russian chocolate as well as candles, cheese, tea, wine, and, of course, vodka.
Katie Warren/Business Insider
GUM’s dining and drinks options include a smoothie bar, a Champagne bar, a caviar bar, and Bosco Café, which has an internal terrace as well as an outdoor area right on Red Square.
Katie Warren/Business Insider
One potential downside of GUM for some people is that there’s no air conditioning in the main space, only in the individual stores.
Katie Warren/Business Insider
You also have to pay 50 rubles — or about $0.80 — to use the bathroom in GUM, which could bother some Americans who aren’t used to paying to enter a restroom.
Katie Warren/Business Insider
GUM has several major differences that set it apart from US department stores — and that’s exactly why it’s so charming.
Katie Warren/Business Insider
From the two security checkpoints I had to pass through before even entering the store to the distinctive architecture, GUM is nothing like the American shopping centers I’ve visited.
In contrast to the typical modern, sleek department stores in the US, GUM’s beautiful glass ceiling lets in plenty of natural sunlight. Real flowers and greenery and whimsical details like an ice-cream bike made the space feel lively and fun.
These details were a stark contrast from shopping centers like the Shops at Hudson Yards in New York, where the interior is all shiny blacks and silvers and artificial fluorescent lights.
While the lack of air conditioning and the fee for the bathroom could be seen as negatives, I found GUM to be a far cry from generic American shopping centers — in a good way.
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