American Express Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya ul. 21a (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm; tel 095/755 9024).

Bookshop Shakespeare & Company, 1-y Novokuznetskiy per. 5/7 (Mon-Sat 11am-7pm, Sun noon-6pm; tel 095/951 9360); Novokuznetskaya metro. English language books, new and secondhand.

Buses Eurolines desk on the second floor of the main building at Leningrad Station (tel 095/975 3309).

Car rental These companies may have cars without drivers: A.M. Rent (tel 095/952 9658, www.amrent.ru ); Budget (tel 095/578 7344, budgetmoscow@col.ru ); Europcar (tel 095/155 0170, www.europcar.com ).

Embassies Australia, Kropotkinskiy per. 13 (Mon-Fri 9am-12.30pm & 1.30-5pm; tel 095/956 6070); Canada, Starokonyushenniy per. 23 (Mon-Fri 8.30am-5pm; tel 095/956 6666); Great Britain, Smolenskaya nab. 10 (Mon-Fri 9am-1pm & 2-4pm; tel 095/956 72 00); Ireland, Grokholskiy per. 5 (Mon-Fri 9.30am-1pm & 2.30-5.30pm; tel 095/937 5911); New Zealand, Povarskaya ul. 44 (Mon-Fri 10am-noon & 2-4pm; tel 095/956 3579); USA, Novinskiy bulvar 19/23 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm; tel 095/728 5000).

Emergencies For medical assistance, American Medical Center, Grokholskiy per. 1 (tel 095/933 7700, www.amcenters.com ); European Medical Centre, 2-oy Tverskoy-Yamskoy per. 10 (tel 095/787 7000, www.emcmos.ru/eng ); both recognized by international insurance companies.

Exchange Official currency exchanges and ATMs all over the centre of Moscow.

Internet cafes Chevignon at Stoleshnikov per. 14 (tel 095/733 9205; Teatralnaya metro); Internet Cafe, Novoslobodskaya ul. 16 ( www.cafe.image.ru ; Mendeleyevskaya metro); Internet Club, Kuznetskiy most 12 (tel 095/250 6169; Kuznetskiy Most metro).

Laundry For laundry or dry cleaning try one of the many branches of California Cleaners - for instance at Petrovska 27 (Mon-Sat 10am-10pm; tel 095/200 6400) or Noviy Arbat 54 (daily 10am-8pm; tel 095/241 0761).

Left luggage Most train stations have lockers and/or a 24hr left-luggage office, but you would be tempting fate to use them.

Pharmacy Staryy Arbat, Arbatskaya ul. 25; Multifarma, Tursistkaya ul. 27; 24hr pharmacy at pr. Mira 71.

Post office Central Telegraph Office at Tverskaya ul. 7 (8am-10pm); the Main Post Office ( glavniy pochtamt ) is at Myasnitskaya ul. 26/2, 101000 (daily 8am-8pm), near Chistye Prudy metro. Express postal services via Courier Service, Bolshaya Sadovaya 10 (tel 095/209 1735; Mayakovskaya metro); EMS Garant at the International Post Office, Varshavskoe shosse 37 (tel 095/728 4151); PXPost, Zorge ul. 10 (tel 095/956 2230).

Railway tickets . These can be bought cheaply at the stations or for a small commission from one of hundreds of agencies. Conveniently located in the centre is Intourtrans at Petrovka 15/13 (tel 095/929 8855).

Student Travel Star Travel at Baltiyskaya ul. 9 (tel 095/797 9555).