A Weekend Guide to Yekaterinburg, Russia
As a modern city with a long past, Yekaterinburg has so many elements to explore. Execution site to the last Russian royal family and birth place to the Russian Federation’s first president, the city has unique political importance. Its industrial roots are still evident in many of its constructivist buildings, replete with Brutalist charm and splendour. It also has a thriving art, culture and music scene, and as the major city for the Ural region, straddling both European and Asian Russia, it is a gastronomical delight. All this makes for a busy trip if you’re visiting for a short time, so don’t miss out on the best bits with our weekend guide.
What to do on Saturday morning
Go on a self-guided tour with highlights from the Red Line Tour and add some of Yekaterinburg’s iconic constructivist buildings into the mix. Start at the city ponds and take in the Dinamo building’s Brutalist beauty from across the banks. Stroll around and make your way to the Iset River embankment to soak up a bit of street life. Have a quick look at the immense Square of 1905, which was once was a conflict site during the Russian Revolution and is now a multi-purpose space.
Stop off at Mamma’s Big House and lap up the café’s retro feel over a coffee and snack before you amble down towards the QWERTY Monument and the Beatles Monument along Iset River.
Finally, head over to the Medical Village and the House of Justice Building Complex to get another taste of Yekaterinburg’s finest constructivist buildings.
Mamma’s Big House, Lenin Ave, 26, Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovskaya Oblast, 620014 Russia, +7 343 222 1905
Monument to the Beatles, ул, ul. Malysheva, 33, Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovskaya Oblast, 620075 Russia
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUERkOZgY78/?tagged=keyboardmonument
What to do on Saturday afternoon
Head on down to Nigora for a cheap, cheerful and well-deserved lunch, and eat your fill of delicious Uzbek cuisine. After lunch, visit the Yeltsin centre and learn about Russian politics, while admiring the centre’s modern architecture.
Finish the afternoon off with a beer or two at Jaws Spot – a beer bar attached to one of Russia’s premier craft breweries that is paving the way for craft beer in the nation.
Yeltsin Centre, ul. Borisa Eltsina, 3, Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovskaya Oblast, 620031 Russia, +7 343 312 4343
https://www.instagram.com/p/BRqMi4Mhiu9/?tagged=yeltsincentre
What to do on Saturday evening
Make your own dinner at Pelmeni Club, a cheerful and friendly little restaurant where diners can actually make their own dumplings. Have a cocktail at New Bar before it gets rammed, then catch a gig and party the night away at Loft, a multi purpose arts and hospitality space that is in the old Press House, another constructivist treat.
Pelmeni Club, Krasnoarmeyskaya ul., 2, Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovskaya Oblast, 620075 Russia, +7 343 328 5444
New Bar, ul. 8 Marta, 8Д, Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovskaya Oblast, 620014 Russia, +7 953 606 7684
Press House Loft, Ulitsa Lenina 49, Yekaterinburg, 620990 Russia, +7 343 382 5224
What to do on Sunday morning
Enjoy a lazy brunch at Engels, a charming and casual waffle cafe that does all the European and Russian breakfast standards as well. Then mosey on over to the Vysotsky Business Center and take the elevator up to the 52nd floor to the observation deck and get the best view of Yekaterinburg there is.
Vysotsky Business Center, ul. Malysheva, 51, Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovskaya Oblast, 620075 Russia, +7 343 378 4545
What to do on Sunday afternoon
Stop by the Black Tulip, Yekaterinburg’s beautifully sad war memorial, as well as going past the NKVS Residential Complex which is another Brutalist building.
Get an appreciation for Yekaterinburg’s historical importance in relation to the Russian Federation, as you take your time at the Church On Blood and the Romanov execution site and ponder the end of empirical Russia and a family.
What to do on Sunday evening
Head on over to Café 26/28, a new hipster restaurant headed by chef Vladimir Olkinitskiy, who is reviving local cuisine by creating contemporary Ural dishes in a very cool environment. Finally, finish your weekend off in grand style by catching an opera or ballet performance at one of Russia’s most important regional state theatres, and enjoy Russia’s long-standing appreciation for classical art forms.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BYVsTqkjjD8/?taken-by=dom2628
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