Nizhny Novgorod is built on the hills, at the confluence of the Volga and Oka rivers – important transport arteries of Russia. Thanks to such an advantageous geographical location, the Nizhny Novgorod Fair, one of the largest in the country, was famous throughout Russia in the 19th century. During the Soviet period, under the name Gorky City, it became a major industrial center. And in 2021, this million-plus population with historical and industrial heritage, picturesque sunsets and fashionable places celebrates its 800th anniversary.
How to get to Nizhny Novgorod
You can come here from the two capitals by high-speed trains “Strizh” or “Lastochka”. Then rent a car to visit pastoral Gorodets, an original city where houses and streets have retained a fairy-tale atmosphere.
Where to stay in Nizhny Novgorod:
Smile Hostel – from 600 rubles* per night per person;
Ibis Nizhny Novgorod – from 2900 rubles* per night per person;
Sheraton Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin – from 6900 rubles* per night per person.
Day one
Having arrived at Moskovsky station, you can take the metro to the hotel to rest after the journey, or immediately start a walk around the city and in fifteen minutes you will be in its very heart – the Nizhny Novgorod Fair. The Main Fair House is stylized as an elegant Russian tower with pointed turrets and airy arches on the roof. Inside there is a multimedia exhibition “Russia – My History”. You can enter the first floor without a ticket. Behind the house begins Yarmarochny Passage, which ends at the classic Spassky Old Fair Cathedral, to the construction of which the architect Auguste Montferrand, one of the authors of St. Isaac’s Cathedral in St. Petersburg, had a hand. If you walk along Betancourt Street to the embankment and turn behind the shopping center, you can see a giant stone man crawling out of the ground. The sculpture “Breakthrough” is one of the spectacular photo points along the route. Back Volzhskaya embankment leads past the stadium “Nizhny Novgorod” to the cathedral Alexander Nevsky Cathedral s with an impressive 23-meter iconostasis. It is interesting that during the Great Patriotic War an anti-aircraft battery was located in the central dome. The walk ends at art recreation park, which opened on Cape Strelka in August 2021.
Walking time: about two hours without visiting exhibitions.
Photo: Sergei Afanasev/shutterstock.com
The second part of the route begins on the other side in the lower part of the city, where you can cross over the Kanavinsky Bridge. Malaya Pokrovskaya Street– this is a “necklace” of ancient mansions where famous people of Nizhny Novgorod lived. And behind it is a circular route along Zvezdinka Street, through the park named after. Kulibin, leading to Maxim Gorky Street, leading to the square of the same name.
Walk time: one and a half hours.
Day two
Walk around the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, the main historical and artistic complex of the city, better together with a tour. The powerful red stone fortress never surrendered to the enemy. It is built on high hills, from which a panorama of the city and Cape Strelka opens up.. Some towers host thematic exhibitions. Until the end of August, the complex is closed to the public due to large-scale reconstruction, after which a 2 km long route along the fortress walls will open for the city’s anniversary. This is not the case in any other Kremlin in Russia.
Time for inspection: from two to three hours.
From the observation deck of the Kremlin, a spectacular cascade of steps descends to the Nizhne-Volzhskaya embankment Chkalovskaya staircase is a favorite place for tourists to take photos. Nearby there are two more interesting objects – boat “Hero” and sculpture “Silver Deer”.
The second half of the day begins with a visit to Pechersk Ascension Monastery XIV-XVI centuries, where thematic alleys with sculptures are laid out representatives of the Rurik and Romanov dynasties, as well as Russian patriarchs. On nearby Frunze Street is located Garantiya Bank, an example of appropriate modern architecture. And the evening ends with watching the sunset in the cabin of Europe’s longest cable car over the water, which connects the two banks of the Volga. Nizhegorodskaya station is located in the same area.
Walk time: two hours.
Cable car ticket price: 100 rubles*.
Day three
Photo: Natalia Anyukhina/shutterstock.com
The route begins on the outskirts of the city in the open-air museum “Steam Locomotives of Russia”. More than 20 real exhibits clearly show the evolution of locomotives. Many of them can be climbed for photographs.
Inspection time: hour
Entrance: free.
Then it’s worth returning to Bolshaya Pokrovskaya Street – the main pedestrian artery of the city. Here you can find colorful gastronomic establishments, substantial mansions of wealthy merchants, and funny monuments to nameless residents and animals. The main object is the colorful building Nizhny Novgorod State Bank, an architectural monument of the early 20th century in the neo-Russian style. The elegant white palace with carved bas-reliefs and pointed turrets seems to have been created to illustrate fairy tales and epics. If you are lucky enough to sign up for a tour in advance, then inside you can see incredible painted scenes and fantasies embodied in the decor.
After lunch, the walk continues with an acquaintance with an outstanding example of constructivism of the 1930s – the house-commune “Cultural Revolution” on Piskunova Street. Then Ilyinskaya and Nizhegorodskaya streets along residential wooden houses will lead to the inspiring monument to Jules Verne on Zalomnova Street. Next – a stop near Nativity of the Stroganov Church turn of the 17th-18th centuries. It is its domes that look so elegant in all city panoramas. There are several more interesting objects nearby: strange Electric Vitamin Arch, where you have to stand holding hands, and the monument to Minin and Pozharsky, which copies the Moscow one, located on Red Square. At the end of the street next to the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist, there is a Alarm Bell at the market place. According to legend, from here the Nizhny Novgorod elder Kozma Minin appealed to the people to gather a militia against the Polish intervention. And the route ends on the Fedorovsky embankment, where, according to many tourists, you can see the most spectacular sunsets.
Walk time: about four hours.
Day four
Photo: Denis.Vostrikov/shutterstock.com
Let’s go on a trip by car. For the first half of the day, it is better to plan a visit to the museum at the Gorky Automobile Plant. A large interesting exhibition tells about the development of the enterprise. Visitors can examine in detail 30 unique cars from different eras and other thematic exhibits. Important: the museum is not open on Sundays, and is often closed for renovations, so it is better to check the schedule on the website in advance.
Inspection time: one and a half hours.
Photo: Denis.Vostrikov/shutterstock.com
The journey will continue outside of Nizhny Novgorod, after two hours of travel, in Gorodets. One of the oldest cities on the Volga, founded in the 12th century, is known as the place where Alexander Nevsky died. Photographers here will enjoy spectacular views of high banks and wooden houses with carved frames and shutters. Children will be interested in the interactive museum “City of Masters”, where they teach various crafts. But the main specialty is the famous Gorodets gingerbread, which is produced in three factories in the city. A special pleasure: going into all the shops and letting the sellers convince you that their recipe is the real one, not like their competitors.
Time for a walk: two hours.
It’s better to return to Nizhny Novgorod before evening in order to have time to take a walk at sunset in the picturesque Switzerland Park.
*Prices valid at time of publication
