When arriving in any city for a day or two, you want to have time to see the maximum number of attractions and visit “cult” places. Ekaterinburg claims to be the most compact city with a population of one million, so you can fit the maximum number of objects into your weekend cultural program.
Each of us has our own ideas about beauty, so our selection will most likely differ significantly from the generally accepted list. For example, we would not recommend visiting the zoo, despite the fact that it is located in the city center and contains hundreds of rare animals. There are much more interesting zoos – in Novosibirsk or Kaliningrad. This is clearly not the “calling card” of the city.
Spending a weekend in Yekaterinburg will be interesting for residents of Chelyabinsk, Tyumen, Ufa, Izhevsk, Perm and other nearby cities, the journey from which will not take much time.
The approximate travel budget for one person is from 3500 rubles.*
- Round-trip train tickets from 1,176 rubles*;
Flights fly from Moscow to Yekaterinburg every day. The cheapest ticket costs 1,999 rubles*, and the flight lasts 2 hours 20 minutes. - 1 night in a hostel – from 290 rubles* or in a 3* hotel – from 700 rubles*;
- The average bill in a cafe is 400 rubles;
- Walks around the city, travel on public transport, souvenirs – 800 rubles.
To get into the spirit of Yekaterinburg, you should first of all walk along the Red Line (website).
The Red Line of Yekaterinburg is a pedestrian tourist route through the historical center. The length of the route is 6.5 kilometers, it is marked with special markings on the asphalt and includes 35 main attractions of the city – from monuments and estates to streets and squares. Here are some of them that are definitely worth a look:
Central square of the city
Square 1905 is the central and oldest square in Yekaterinburg. Here is one of the most recognizable buildings – the city administration. This is an architectural monument in the neoclassical style (after reconstruction). Not taking a photo of the city administration building with its spire, clock and bas-reliefs is like not visiting Yekaterinburg. By the way, if you look closely at the entrance, you will have a clear association with the TV series “Santa Barbara”.
Plotinka
Plotinka is the main place for folk festivals in Yekaterinburg. The city pond was created in 1723 during the construction of the first Yekaterinburg plant. It was then that the embankment appeared. Here you can take a boat ride or listen to the songs of local musicians while crossing, admiring the portraits of Viktor Tsoi, and admire the fountains. In any case, you will not be able to walk past Plotinka, even if you try very hard. Reserve at least a couple of hours so you have time to evaluate everything. By the way, The Prodigy immortalized Plotinka and the underground passage in their video this year.
Monument to Tatishchev and De Gennin
You don’t need to go far. Here, in the center, it makes sense to take a photo near the water tower in the Historical Park and near the monument to Tatishchev and De Gennin, the founders of Yekaterinburg. The monument appeared relatively recently, in 1998, in honor of the 275th anniversary of the city. Among local residents, the monument has an unofficial name – the Beavis and Butt-Head Monument.
Sevastyanov House
One of the most recognizable objects of Yekaterinburg is the Sevastyanov House – a palace built in the first quarter of the 19th century on the banks of the City Pond, formed by a dam on the Iset River. In 2008, the building was reconstructed and now houses the residence of the President of Russia. Several urban legends are associated with Sevastyanov’s house. According to one of them, Nikolai Ivanovich Sevastyanov planned to decorate the roof of the rotunda with gold, for which he repeatedly submitted petitions even to the highest name. But since only the domes of temples are covered with gold, this request was not approved. And as punishment, the petitioner was sentenced to walk every morning to the nearest church in cast iron galoshes. According to another legend, the owner built a luxurious palace to the envy of the entire city, and he lived in a small house opposite and every evening, sitting on a bench in front of the house, he admired his creation. Then he went bankrupt and was forced to sell the building to the Ministry of Justice.
Temple on the Blood
The Church on the Blood is another of the “must-see” attractions in Yekaterinburg. It was built on the site of the house of engineer Ipatiev, in which the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II and his family were detained and executed on the night of July 17, 1918. The temple itself appeared at the beginning of the 2000s, and today people come here not only to pray, but also just on excursions: almost every excursion route stops here to visit the temple. By the way, it was in the Temple on the Blood that blogger Ruslan Sokolovsky caught Pokemon.
Opera House
We would still recommend that tourists coming to Yekaterinburg take time and go to the opera house. Indicative, perhaps, is that city residents try to go out to watch opera or ballet as often as possible. Going to the opera house several times a year is considered good form. If you are not a big fan of art, then just take a walk to the theater – the building itself is beautiful and serves as one of the symbols of Yekaterinburg.
Monument to Vladimir Vysotsky and observation deck of the Vysotsky Business Center
Seeing the entire city from a bird’s eye view is a must-have for an exemplary tourist. The open observation deck is located on the 52nd floor of the Vysotsky business center. And after going down to the first floor, you can go to the Vladimir Vysotsky Museum. The exhibition is based on the poet’s personal belongings; the hotel room in which he lived while on tour in Sverdlovsk was completely restored. The Yekaterinburg museum presents a number of exhibits that are not found anywhere else in the world. Next to the Vysotsky business center, near the Antey shopping and entertainment center, there is a monument to Vladimir Vysotsky and Marina Vladi. Despite the fact that it was installed relatively recently, the monument is very popular among local residents and tourists.
Keyboard Monument
Along the Iset on the embankment there is another monument – to a computer keyboard, which was opened in 2005. Despite the fact that each “button” weighs from 100 kg, over several years the keys were partially stolen. However, the monument has now been reconstructed.
Vayner Street
It is also extremely difficult to pass by the local Arbat. This is the main pedestrian street of Yekaterinburg and is worth a walk along it: firstly, there are a concentration of shopping centers where you can buy souvenirs (where would a tourist be without them?),
secondly – here you will find the most bizarre sculptures: “Friends”, “Peddler”, “Lovers”, Michael Jackson and, for example, the character from “Happy Together” Gena Bukin. Among other things, street musicians, actors and clowns often perform at Weiner.
Chekist town
Yekaterinburg is considered the largest center of constructivist architecture. One of the most important monuments of constructivism remains the town of security officers – a mysterious place in the center of the city. The residential block began to grow in the early 1930s. According to legend, if you look at the Chekist Town from above, you can see a hammer and sickle. The sickle is the semicircular building of the Iset Hotel, the Hammer is the building of the Local History Museum with an annex.
White Tower
To visit the “White Tower” you will have to leave the city center and go down to the metro (by the way, there is also something to see here),
get to the Uralmash microdistrict – here is the former water tower of the UZTM plant, built in 1929-31 according to the design of Moses Reischer.
The White Tower is recognized as a monument of avant-garde architecture. It was abandoned for a long time, now active work is underway to restore it, excursions and cultural events are held.
Ekaterinburg beaches
If you decide to sunbathe in Yekaterinburg (which, of course, depends on the weather),
then it is worth paying attention to Lake Shartash. You can relax here in two ways: cheap and cheerful and with comfort. The main thing is that the Ministry of Emergency Situations recognized Shartash as suitable for swimming. An important plus is that you don’t have to travel outside the city.
The lake is located within the city. There are no sunbeds or umbrellas provided here. Therefore, you need to go with your “accessories”.
How to get there: you can get to Shartash by buses No. 13k, 25, 61, by trams No. 8, 13, 15, 23, 32.
The second option is to relax at the SanDali beach club. It is located on the southern bank of Shartash. There is a volleyball court and a play area for children on site. There are also showers, a storage room, and you can rent beach equipment: sun loungers, umbrellas, mattresses, towels. Entrance to the beach complex is free. Sun lounger rental – 200 rubles.
Address SanDali: Peski Street, 13A.
Where to eat
You can have an inexpensive lunch in the very center of the city: in the building of the Iset Hotel (by the way, this is also a monument of constructivism) there is an establishment called “Factory Kitchen”. It opened on the site of the iconic Ural dumplings. The average bill for the center of Yekaterinburg here is quite affordable – 200 rubles.
Opening hours:**
Mon — Thu: 11:00 – 21:00.
Fri — Sat: 11:00 – 21:30.
Sun: 12:00 – 21:00.
Address: Lenina Avenue, 69/1
Website : fabrikakuhnyaekb.ru.
Yeltsin Center
It’s worth visiting this place if only to see what director Nikita Mikhalkov so intensely criticizes and praises, for example, German Gref. The museum of the first president of Russia has an art gallery, a cinema and conference hall, a bookstore, a cafe, an archive, a library, and a scientific amusement park. Here you can ride in glass elevators overlooking the embankment or sit by the fountains on the second floor. Entrance ticket costs 200 rubles.
Opening Hours:**
W — Sun: 10:00 – 21:00.
Cash desk open until 20.30
Visit cost: 200 ₽.
Address: Boris Yeltsin Street, 3
Site: yeltsin.ru.
* Prices for travel and accommodation are indicated at the time of writing. The cost indicated in the material and the final price may vary depending on the season and time for which tickets are purchased.
**Operating hours of organizations are indicated at the time of publication of the text. Opening hours may vary depending on the time of year.
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Text author: Alexandra Morozova
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