The Grand Kremlin Palace is inside the Kremlin walls, adjoining the armoury. Consisting of several buildings, the main building was built in 1838 after the original was destroyed in the great Moscow fire of 1812. Prior to this, it was the residence of the tsars and grand dukes. Today, the Palace is used for performances by the Kremlin Ballet Company.

The fifteenth-century Faceted Palace, so called as its façade consists of faceted stones, has a stunning interior covered with frescoes. The Terem is another of the Grand Palace buildings and the oldest in the Kremlin, which was used by the tsar to receive visitors. None of these buildings are, as yet, open to the public.

From the Grand Kremlin Palace, the Patriach's Palace and the Cathedral of the Twelve Apostles come into view. Both serving as museums of seventeenth-century applied arts, they were built by the Patriarch Nikon in 1652 and form part of the same structure which is painted flesh-pink. Ecclesiastical regalia, furniture and domestic objects from the period are on display.