OREANDA-NEWS. The first five observation binoculars by See Coast Manufacturing Company have been installed on the Sparrow Hills observation platform. This is a not-for-profit project by Otkritie Financial Corporation carried out with the support of the Committee for Tourism and Hotel Industry of Moscow. The initiative has also been supported by Moscow’s Committee for Architecture and City Planning.

The binoculars have 10x zoom lenses that allow for a detailed view of the city’s sights. These 1.5 metre high devices have a horizontal viewing angle of 360°, a vertical viewing angle of 80° and autofocus.

Placing stationary binoculars at tourist attractions is very common abroad: they can be found on viewing platforms in 80 European and American cities. Observation platforms fitted with such binoculars, are now available in Moscow as they are a traditional service provided by city authorities to tourists. Both residents and guests of the city will be able to use the binoculars. In Moscow, unlike in many other places, they will be able to use them free of charge.

Sparrow Hills is Moscow’s main viewing site that is visited by most Russian and foreign tourists. Being one of the city’s seven hills, Sparrow Hills provides a magnificent panoramic view of the Moskva River, Luzhniki Stadium, the Novodevichy Convent, the high-rise buildings of the Moscow International Business Centre, Komsomolsky Avenue, and other landmarks of the Russian capital. From now on, these sights can be viewed in much greater detail.

“In almost any big city of the world you can see all the landmarks and attractions in every detail using special binoculars available at viewing sites”, says Otkritie’s Deputy CEO and Board Member Alexey Karakhan. “I am happy that from now on both Muscovites and tourists will be able to have a view of the city that is both distant and close”.