The Best Things to Do in Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod, founded in 1221, is one of the oldest cities in Russia, so is home to an array of historic attractions. If you’re headed to the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia and happen to find yourself in Nizhny Novgorod, it would be an absolute shame to miss out on seeing the city. Here are the best things to see and do.
Go back in time on Bolshaya Pokrovskaya
If you’re a fan of the Golden Age of Russian literature, Bolshaya Pokrovskaya is the place for you to go. As one of the city’s central streets, long lines of well-preserved 19th-century buildings stretch along both sides. It’s not only the architecture that will transport you back in time: sculptures of past inhabitants of the town, each with a story to tell, will make you feel as if you were a character in a Dostoevsky novel.
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Have a picnic on the riverbank
The Chkalov Staircase, consisting of almost 600 stairs, leads from the Kremlin to the riverbank. On a sunny day, after a long walk around the Kremlin, head down to the Volga river, stroll along it and have lunch sitting on one of the benches placed near the boardwalk.
See the river from above
A cable car runs above the river from Nizhny Novgorod to Bor, a town on the other side of the Volga river. It is often used by locals as a means of public transport and the views from it are breathtaking. Spend an afternoon going to Bor and back; a trip that is most certainly worth your time.
Spend an afternoon in space
In a district just outside the city centre you’ll find a very special monument dedicated to Gromozeka, a well-loved character from a sci-fi Soviet cartoon. Gromozeka, whose metal sculpture can now be found on the playground in Nizhny Novgorod, was a friendly alien archaeologist from a far-away planet called Chumaroz. A few benches around the monument are hidden in what look like USSR space helmets. A must-see for all the space geeks out there.
Visit the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin
Memorial
Get a sneak-peek into Nizhny Novgorod's pre-revolutionary literary world
Building, Museum
Become a 19th-century nobleman or woman for the day
Building, Museum
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