Founded in 1604 on the high bank of the Tom River in the lands of the Eushta Tatars, Tomsk is the oldest educational and scientific center in Siberia. Through the centuries he carried a special, sometimes harsh northern charm.
The first thing that catches your eye here is the huge number of young people. We’ll tell you why this happened and what to see in the history-rich cultural capital of Western Siberia.
How to get there
The International Airport named after Tomsk is located 20 km from Tomsk. N.I.Kamova. Ticket prices for direct flights from Moscow start from 6,500 rubles*. From the airport to the city center you can take bus number 119 or take a taxi.
Trains also run to Tomsk, arriving at the Tomsk-1 railway station. The trip from the central part of Russia will take two to three days, prices start from 5,700 rubles*.
Where to stay
- “Rus Tomsk” (rating 9.3) – hostel, from 1,200 rubles* per night.
- “Asti Rooms” (rating 8.3) – mini-hotel, from 4,500 rubles* per night.
- Hotel “Magistrat” (rating 9.3) – four-star hotel, from 17,400 rubles* per night.
Parks, streets with history and walking routes
The best way to start exploring the city is from the Camp Garden, a multi-tiered park on the right bank of the Tom. It is named after the summer camps of the Tomsk Infantry Regiment, located here in the 18th–19th centuries.
The terraces offer peaceful views of the bends of the river and the expanses of the left bank. Here you can stroll along the shady birch and pine alleys, feed tame squirrels, ride bicycles or practice tricks in the skate park on the lower terrace.
From the Camp Garden it is convenient to take a route along Lenin Avenue– one of the main streets of Tomsk, where almost every house is a monument of history and architecture. Walking along it and turning into neighboring blocks, you will see many of the city’s attractions. For example, houses-monuments of wooden architecture and Resurrection Mountain.
The buildings of several universities in the city are lined up on Lenin Avenue – monumental, noble buildings. The city is home to six major universities and two dozen technical schools. Tomsk State University, founded in 1878, is the first university beyond the Urals. Every sixth resident of Tomsk is a student. Guys from all over Russia and from 88 other countries study here, so you can always feel the youth vibe.
Having reached the university grove, relax among the greenery, blooming peonies and roses of the Siberian Botanical Garden – an oasis of peace and quiet. And in the indoor greenhouses you will go from Siberia straight to the humid tropics.
On the right, Kirov Avenue abuts Lenin Avenue, where there is an alley with a bicycle path and wooden swing benches surrounded by centuries-old fir trees. This is one of the most cozy and favorite places for Tomsk residents to meet and walk.
Afterwards you can go to Kuznetsova Street, picturesque and atmospheric, where the life history of famous townspeople is hidden behind the walls of houses. Find the House with the Spire, Camilla Tomaszynska’s former first private music school, opened in 1902. Or take a look at the “Professor’s Apartment-Museum” of a house in the wooden “modern” style: in the middle of the 20th century, composer Edison Denisov and other representatives of the Tomsk intelligentsia lived here.
Down the street, you will find yourself in the City Garden – a family park with attractions and recreation areas with paths through the trees, a lake with ducks and designer benches. You can go up on the Ferris wheel and look at the rooftops of the elegant center of Tomsk. A particularly mysterious view of the City Garden from Kuznetsov opens in the evening, when the lights of the fairground carousel turn on – just like in the movies.
Across the road from the City Garden is the main park of the city – Trinity Squareon Novo-Cathedral Square. Among flowerbeds with fashionable landscape design and trees that are decades old, there is a singing fountain illuminated at night. In winter, this is the center of New Year’s life with illuminations, a Christmas tree, slides, a large skating rink and transparent ice sculptures.
Novosoborka, as Tomsk residents lovingly call it, is a witness to the main events in the life of the city, from revolutionary rallies of the early 20th century to modern street exhibitions, festivals and concerts. Don’t be surprised by the happy people of all ages dancing in the alleys here. These dance schools of always active Tomsk hold free outdoor classes.
Another must-see location in the city is Tatarskaya Sloboda. Authentic trim ornaments, the Red and White Mosques, the magnificent mansion of the merchant K. Khamitov, where the Center of Tatar Culture is located, will tell guests about the history and life of the Tomsk Tatars.
The Tom River Embankment is a place with its own atmosphere. Especially on summer evenings, when street musicians play here every 100 meters, stylish young people walk around and everyone tries to catch the best shot of the setting sun.
Rising from Lenin Square along Bakunin Street, you will get to Resurrection Mountain – the place where Tomsk was born. Here is a monument to the founding of the city made from a block of red iron ore, part of a restored wooden fort and panoramic views of the river and the city center. Part of the cobblestone street has been preserved on Bakunina, and one can easily imagine how the wheels of a cart rolling here a couple of centuries ago clattered.
Obrub Street leads to one of the oldest parts of the city – the Boloto district. Once upon a time, simple craftsmen lived here, and now many buildings require restoration. But it’s worth looking here to see unpretentious Tomsk with its rickety houses, wood sheds and interesting stories. However, on Shishkova Street there are houses built in the best traditions of wooden architecture of Tomsk: with openwork balconies and platbands.
On Oktyabrskaya Street, where you can also find carefully restored, like doll houses, you will reach another favorite vacation spot for the townspeople – the garden near White Lake.
Architectural heritage of Tomsk
Fairytale and whimsical patterns of mansion carvings made Tomsk a treasury of wooden architectureon a national scale. Sometimes it seems that the thinnest lace of cornices is not made of wood, but is knitted. Historical magical buildings have survived on many central streets: from the Moscow Highway to Krasnoarmeyskaya.
You can learn about the intricacies of the unique Tomsk art of masters of the late 19th – early 20th centuries at the Museum of Wooden Architecture.
The visiting cards of the city are the House with the Firebirds, the Emerald House and the incredibly beautiful House of the merchant Golovanov.
The local educated merchants did a lot for the development of Tomsk. Most of the architectural masterpieces in the style of ceremonial “Siberian Art Nouveau” were built thanks to him. For example, the luxurious arcade of the Vtorov merchants, the respectable House of Science named after the famous Tomsk philanthropist P. Makushin and the original Kukhterin Flour Building, where the roof is stylized as a coolie with flour.
Tomsk is a city of architectural eclecticism, where the spirit of antiquity and modern design meet. Among all the diversity, there was a place for the original “Siberian Baroque”, which combined European elegance and northern restraint. Outstanding monuments of this style are the Resurrection Church and the Cathedral of the Epiphany.
Cultural program: museums, theaters, concerts and cafes
When there is bad weather outside, there is also something to do in Tomsk. For example, you can organize a raid on museums. In the First Museum of Slavic Mythology they will tell you about Russian traditions and rituals. At the Museum of Local Lore, you will listen to interesting stories about the ancient Kulai culture and live concerts of organ music. From the exhibition of the NKVD Investigation Prison museum you will learn about the dark chapters of Siberian history, exiles and political prisoners. And from the observation deck of the Tomsk History Museum, stylized as a fire tower with the same figurine of a fireman at the top, you will have a panoramic view of the modern city center on one side and the narrow streets of the green private sector and the panorama of residential areas on the other.
To plunge into urban legends and find out what secrets the ancient walls of Tomsk keep, be sure to take a tour. For example, they will tell you about the mysterious old man Fyodor Kuzmich, who lived here in the 19th century and, according to legend, was Emperor Alexander I, who faked his death.
The Tourist Information Center or the V. Shishkov House of Arts will help you decide on excursions and routes. Walks through natural attractions – springs, of which there are more than a thousand in the city – are also fascinating.
Many interesting options can be found on OneTwoTrip:
- Siberian Athens: auto tour of Tomsk.
- True stories of the main avenue.
- Tomsk yesterday, today, tomorrow.
- Tomsk: from dinosaurs to the present day.
- Tomsk and the secrets of the House of Romanov.
The city has several theatres with original repertoires and touring performances of stars of the Russian stage: Tomsk Drama Theater, chamber Theater for Young Spectators, Puppet and Actor Theater Buffoon and touching live puppet theater 2+Ku.
If you get tired of actively moving around the city, you can take a break in a cafe or restaurant: they are on every corner in youthful Tomsk. Drink a pistachio latte at the Boulanger coffee shop and have lunch at the Siberian Meal tavern. And in the evening, if you have any energy left, go dancing in an Irish pub with live music Harat’s.
Where else to go for a walk or exercise
- Polytechnic Stadium (Burevestnik) and the Health Path – a popular place for hiking, cycling, running, rollerblading and skiing.
- Forest Academy Town.
- Forest Park Mikhailovskaya Grove.
- Buff Garden and Igumensky Park.
- Dam along the Tom River– a little-known and uncrowded place.
- Open-air skating rinks: flooded paths of the City Garden, White Lake, Mavlyukeevskoe Lake, skating rink in the Student Groups Square.
Funny monuments of Tomsk
Siberian artists and sculptors are people with humor, so there are many intricate and ironic monuments in Tomsk.
A. P. Chekhov on the Embankment. Once a writer spoke unflatteringly about the city, for which one modern sculptor rewarded him with a satirical appearance and the inscription “Chekhov through the eyes of a drunken man lying in a ditch and who has not read Kashtanka.”
Monument to a lover hanging in his shorts on the ledge of his lady’s window.
Monument to Happiness – a satisfied, well-fed wolf from the cartoon “Once Upon a Time There Was a Dog.” His nose is polished to a shine by the hands of townspeople and tourists – for good luck.
Monument to Tomsk Students – Saint Tatiana, patroness of students. Compassionate Tomsk residents put a scarf and mittens on it during the cold season.
The smallest monument in the world is the Traveling Frog near the railway station. Finding her is a whole quest.
Monument to a baby in cabbage in front of the doors of the Maternity Hospital.
The monument to S. M. Kirov at the beginning of the avenue of the same name is famous for the fact that every year, after defending their diploma, students paint his boots green or red. This tradition is about 40 years old.
What to do: events and activities in Tomsk
The city never stands still, you can always find a lot of interesting events here.
Every year in Tomsk they celebrate City Day (June 7), Youth Day (at the end of June) and Tomish Day(second Saturday in September). The center hosts concerts of local and invited bands, the Muz-online rock festival, a parade of universities, fairs, interactive platforms and free master classes in a variety of areas, from trampoline jumping to playing the guitar.
In energetic Tomsk, open sports events, running and skiing marathons are organized all year round, where not only athletes, but also simply active citizens, children and even their four-legged pets participate.
On August weekends, melodies of Tchaikovsky, Ravel and Brahms float over the summer evening city: on the Ushaika River Embankment, the Tomsk Symphony Orchestra performs classical masterpieces from its repertoire for free.
In the warm season, in a secluded art space with original installations in the city center – Engineering courtyard of Tomsk Polytechnic University – photo exhibitions and swap parties are held , lectures and workshops from university scientists.
Transport of Tomsk
Tomsk has urban electric transport – trams and trolleybuses (fare 25 rubles*) and a wide network of shuttle buses connecting all city districts and suburbs (from 27 rubles*).
There is an interesting phenomenon in Tomsk, which at first alarms visiting guests – in order to pay for travel on crowded transport, passengers pass money and change to each other across the entire cabin. Don’t be surprised if someone asks you to give the driver a bank card, phone, or even a tablet; a trusting attitude towards fellow travelers in a minibus is the norm here.
Time of year to visit
Tomsk looks most elegant and picturesque from May to October: lush greenery, blooming apple trees, bird cherry trees and flower beds give way to a golden-red autumn canvas. In winter, the city dresses up in the bright lights of festive illuminations and is immersed in the New Year’s atmosphere of a fairy tale. True, you need to be prepared for bitter frosts, which usually last about a week several times a season.
*Prices are current at the time of publication.
