To have time for a change of scenery over the weekend, you need to go to a city that can distract you with its originality and variety of leisure options. In Astrakhan, for example, there are colorful historical places where you can leisurely stroll, the great Volga with beautiful landscapes, and restaurants with its delicacies. And outside the city there is impressive nature.
How to get there
Direct flights from Moscow and St. Petersburg last 2 hours 15 minutes and 3 hours respectively. The airport is located just 11 kilometers from the city, the journey to the center will take approximately 20 minutes.
Air ticket Moscow – Astrakhan: from 3,855 rubles in both directions
Air ticket St. Petersburg – Astrakhan: from 5,998 rubles in both directions
The cost of a minibus from the airport is from 20 rubles
The cost of a taxi from the airport is about 200 rubles
- Hotel “Gallery” – from 952 rubles per night for two.
- Hotel “Azimut” – from 2000 rubles per night for two.
- Grand Hotel “Astrakhan” – from 4850 rubles per night for two.
Astrakhan route
District “White City”
This is the oldest historical district of Astrakhan, all the main attractions are concentrated in it. Start your walk at the Annunciation Monastery, surrounded by white stone walls. Next, move along Sovetskaya Street: on both sides there are historical buildings, estates and mansions that will introduce you to the architectural past of the city.
Astrakhan Kremlin
Its walls with towers stretch for almost 1.5 km, the territory behind them is quite large, there are many museums with exhibitions introducing the history, culture and nature of the region. If you have time, you can visit them too. But just walking outside the Kremlin walls is also interesting. The architectural ensemble consists of monuments of defense architecture, religious and domestic buildings. Among them is the main Orthodox church of the city – the Assumption Cathedral.
Sloboda
There are many of them in multinational Astrakhan: Kriusha, Armenian, Morskaya, Persian, Tatar, Agryzhanskaya and others. In previous centuries, merchants from Central Asia and the Middle East lived here, and now the spirit of those times has been preserved in these historical quarters. You will enjoy walking through them if you love authentic details and atmospheric courtyards that seem to take you back centuries.
Cruise on the Volga
After you get tired of walking the streets and sights, come to the embankment, buy a ticket for the river bus and go on an hour and a half date with the Volga itself. Fresh air, pleasant rocking on small waves, splendid landscapes and views of the city – you will relax and get to know Astrakhan from another, obligatory, side.
Price: 200 rubles*
Bogdinsko-Baskunchaksky Nature Reserve
Firstly, Mount Big Bogdo, located here, is very colorful and at the same time mysterious: it sings when strange sounds are heard from its caves, through which the wind blows. Secondly, this is an excellent observation deck – it offers views of the salt lake Baskunchak and the endless steppe. The lake is no less picturesque up close than from afar, and its water is similar in properties to the Dead Sea and has a healing effect.
Excursion price: from 3,125 rubles*
Restaurant “Pike”
At the center of gastronomy of the Volga city, of course, is fish. To visit here and not try its dishes means not to fully get to know Astrakhan. Fish soup, caviar, crayfish, pike cutlets, sprat in tomato, sturgeon dumplings or other local delicacies should definitely be on your menu to get a complete picture of the culture of the region.
Price – from 1000 rubles*
* Prices valid at time of publication
Preview photo: Truba7113/Shutterstock.com
