The Kaliningrad region is one of the top popular destinations and has long attracted tourists. We have put together a three-day express car tour of the city and region, including the Museum of the World Ocean, the Curonian Spit, the “cat” city of Zelenogradsk and other places that are definitely worth seeing.
How to get there
The cost of a direct flight from Moscow to Kaliningrad and back is approximately 9,000 rubles*. Travel time is about 2.5 hours.
The journey on the branded Yantar train will take a little less than a day. Since the route runs through the territory of Lithuania, passengers must have a foreign passport, as well as obtain a simplified railway travel document (STRD) in advance by filling out a form on the website of the Lithuanian Embassy. The application will be approved or rejected within a few days.
It is more convenient to travel around the Kaliningrad region by car: it makes it easier to move between cities. A car will be especially useful for a trip to the Curonian Spit.
Where to stay
Capsule hotel Fox (rating 9.8) – from 2,100 rubles per night*.
Apartment Crown39 (rating 9.6) – from 6,280 rubles per night*.
Three-star Ibis Kaliningrad Center (rating 9.9) – from 9,000 rubles per night*.
Day 1: Kaliningrad
Immanuel Kant Island and Fishing Village
The tourist heart of the city beats on Immanuel Kant Island, on which rises Gothic Cathedral. Founded in the 14th century, the building was heavily damaged during the fighting in 1945 and was restored. The church is not active: within its walls there is a museum and a concert hall, where in the evening you can listen to the largest organ in Russia. Adjacent to one of the walls of the cathedral is a gallery with the grave of the German philosopher Immanuel Kant.
The cathedral offers a photogenic view of the facades of Fish Village, which occupies the opposite bank of the Pregolya River. This is a residential and hotel complex, stylized as a pre-war burgher building. Restaurants and pastry shops are located on the ground floors of the buildings. If you’re hungry, you can stop by “Ferrum” to try the famous Königsberg klops – fish or meat balls.
Kant Island and the Fishing Village are connected by Honey Bridge. According to legend, in the Middle Ages, residents received permission to build this crossing in exchange for a barrel of honey. It is better to walk along the Honey Bridge, carefully looking around. So you definitely won’t miss grandfather-homlin,perched on the parapet. Khomlins are a new urban tradition of Kaliningrad. Figurines of fairy-tale iron men, slightly larger than the palm of your hand, are installed in various popular locations in the city. Tourists are offered to find dad, son, little Ulya and other members of the brownie family.
Museum of the World Ocean
In Russia’s only comprehensive Museum of the World Ocean, you can see not only an interactive exhibition about the study of the depths of the sea, but also climb aboard several ships moored on the embankment. Visitors are welcome on a lighthouse, a fishing trawler, a research vessel and even a submarine. With a separate excursion you can get to the unique ship “Cosmonaut Viktor Patsayev”, which was part of the naval space fleet.
The exhibition “Depth” presents bathyscaphes from different eras, including the famous “Mir-1”, on which director James Cameron descended to the Titanic. While walking around the museum grounds, pay attention to the unusual two-tier bridge, the spectacular Friedrichsburg Gate, Kant’s bench and the little homlin sailor on the embankment fence. Inspecting all ships and halls will take at least four hours. You can buy tickets for each object separately or choose a single pass, which is valid for two days.
Fort No. 11
Kaliningrad is surrounded by a belt of defensive structures built in different eras. Fort No. 11, “Dönhoff”, is better preserved than the others. In the dungeons of the bastion, visitors are told about the history of the city fortifications. The fort is located almost on the outskirts of Kaliningrad. The museum ticket office is open until 18:00.
German district of Amalienau
Amalienau is one of the districts of Kaliningrad. It’s nice to stroll along the quiet streets under the canopies of old trees and admire dozens of different luxurious houses, and then look into the park nearby to see Kirch in memory of Queen Louise. At the beginning of the 20th century, wealthy citizens purchased plots in the elite Amalienau, erected villas in fashionable Art Nouveau style and surrounded them with orchards. Future residents had to follow uniform recommendations for the design of the area: maintain architectural uniformity, build houses no higher than two floors, abandon towers and high blind fences. Today, some villas have received the status of cultural heritage monuments.
You can end the evening at the gastrobar “Salt” —one of the most fashionable places in Kaliningrad, where the chef surprises with unusual combinations of products in modern signature dishes kitchens.
Day 2: Svetlogorsk
On the morning of the second day, go by car to Svetlogorsk. The tourist town with numerous cafes and souvenir shops with amber has retained the modest charm of a German resort. From Kaliningrad to the famous health resort on the shores of the Baltic Sea, which was in demand among musicians and writers, it takes about an hour. Today Svetlogorsk is experiencing a new round of development and popularity, so it is better to book rooms in sanatoriums and hotels in advance. For example, you can stay at the Royal Falke Resort & SPA.
A walk and sightseeing in Svetlogorsk will take three to four hours. You can park your car along Kaliningradsky Prospekt.
A spectacular start to your walk will be provided by the historic cable car with open yellow cabins, which will take you to the Baltic Sea coast. On the beach you can look for amber in the sand and feed the annoying seagulls. A paved promenade along the coastal strip past restaurants and cafes leads to an ancient stone staircase, which you can climb up to the Kurhaus —formerly this was the name of the most modern and beautiful hotel, where the cultural life of the resort was in full swing. From there, walk along Oktyabrsky Prospekt to one of the symbols of the city – a whimsical entwined with plantswater tower in a romantic style. Around the corner are the shopping arcades of Rauschen, which have long since expanded beyond their historical limits. In addition to numerous shops with amber, pay attention to the Peacock fountain, decorated with colored mosaics shimmering in the sun. Returning to the car along Lenin Street, look at the colorful villa with pointed roofs, which is called “Hunting Lodge”.
After your walk, you can drink coffee at cafe “Croissant” and try a Kaliningrad specialty – sweet almond marzipan.
In the depths of the area built up with private German villas, there is another attraction – the medieval Königsberg in miniature. On the streets of the model there are dozens of colorful ceramic houses, as well as the now lost town hall and royal castle. Not far from this place there is an expressive monument to the German writer E. T. A. Hoffmann. Wanting to show the dual nature of the author, the sculptor combined his two hypostases: a calm official, from whom the fantasy of a storyteller bursts out.
Day 3: Kaliningrad, Curonian Spit and Zelenogradsk
Amber Museum
The Kaliningrad region is home to the world’s largest amber deposits. That’s why the sunstone is everywhere here: from countless souvenirs to the names of shops and hotels. The largest sample of hardened resin in Russia, weighing 4.2 kg, is stored in the Amber Museum, which occupies several floors of former defensive structures — Don Tower and Rossgarten Gate. At the entrance to the museum, visitors are greeted by the homlin grandmother Martha. After viewing the exhibition, stroll along the Verkhny Lake embankment with European views of residential buildings and reach Wrangel Tower. homlin mother.
settled on the thick walls in one of the loopholes
Zelenogradsk
Located on the coast Zelenogradsk– not quite an ordinary city. The fact is that local residents love cats very much. Animals here feel at ease, because all the infrastructure has been created for them: houses for street strays, vending machines with food, and even special traffic lights for four-legged animals. Whiskered pets have become a symbol of the city, and one of the most visited places has become Murarium – a cat museum occupying a former water tower.
Curonian Spit
Curonian Spit National Park is located approximately 35 km from Kaliningrad. It is most convenient to move around the park by car, since buses rarely run, and you will have to stop several times along the 42 km. With limited time, travelers choose a number of popular locations.
You can start the route from the Dancing Forest. See tree trunks that are bizarrely curved and twisted into rings: scientists still cannot find a clear explanation for this anomaly. Then go to Efa dune, where for a hundred years the struggle of people against the wandering sands that destroy the Curonian Spit has not stopped. And then on the beach across the road to admire the waves of the Baltic Sea, look for amber in the sand and watch the surfers.
*Prices are current at the time of publication.
