Things to do in Minsk
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Stary Mensk
The hippest cafés are the itsy-bitsy Stary Mensk and its teeny-weeny cousin, London. They both serve coffees and fresh teas, and whip up a mean hot chocolate. In summer, Stary Mensk puts on batlejka (traditional Belarusian puppet shows) - very nationalistic, and all right across from the KGB headquarters.
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Strawnya Talaka
This small Belarusian eatery is suitable for a romantic, intimate dinner amid sophisticated Slavic décor, although it can get a little smoky, depending on the other diners. It's a stone's throw from Rakovsky Brovar, if you're up for something rowdier afterward. Reservations are required.
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Grunwald
A great place for a splurge. The décor is lightly medieval, the atmosphere relaxed, and the superb food a mix of European and Belarusian (delicious soups and draniki, filling enough for a meal). There's a dazzling array of inventive fish and meat dishes.
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Praspekt Francyska Skaryny
Minsk's main thoroughfare impresses in its sheer girth. Hectic and huge, it tripled in width when it was rebuilt after WWII and extends over 11km from the train station to the outer city. The busiest section - with the best architectural examples of Soviet monumentalism - is sandwiched between pl Nezalezhnastsi and pl Peramohi, with the block between vul Lenina and vul Enhelsa doubling as a popular evening youth hangout.
The stubbornly austere and expansive ploshcha Nezalezhnastsi (Independence Square; ploshchad Nezavisimosti in Russian) is dominated by the Belarusian Government Building (behind the Lenin statue) on its northern side, and the equally proletarian Belarusia…
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Dudutki
Near Dudutki, 40km (25mi) south of Minsk, is an open-air museum where 19th-century Belarusian country life comes to life. Traditional crafts, such as carpentry, pottery, handicraft-making and baking are on display in wood-and-hay houses. Best of all is the traditional meal you can order, washed down with a shot of local samagon (moonshine).
If you only make one day trip from Minsk, let this be the one. You can wander around the grounds spying on a working farm as it was a century ago. Nearby is a working windmill which you can climb. You can also go horse riding or just rest on bales of hay. Public transport to Dudutki is iffy. About three daily buses go to Ptich from Min…
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Traetskae Prodmestse
A minuscule area on the eastern bank of the Svislach River, bordered by vul Maxima Bahdanovicha, has been rebuilt in 17th- and 18th-century style to recreate the look and feel of what much of Minsk once looked like. This Old Town is known as Traetskae Prodmestse (Trinity Suburb). It's the city's most photographed area, and there are a few cafés, bars, restaurants and craft-gift shops to tempt you for a lazy hour.
By the river banks is the Ostrov Slyoz (Island of Tears), in memory of Belarusians who lost their lives to war. There sits a fantastic monument in the shape of a chapel, ornamented with mourning female figures; nearby a guarding angel weeps for having failed to …
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Ploshcha Svabody
Ploshcha Svabody, to the southeast of the overpass, bordered by vul Lenina, became the new city centre in the 16th century. The surrounding area is known as Upper Town (Verkhny Garad). The baroque, twin-towered Orthodox Holy Spirit Cathedral, off the northern end of the small square, stands on a small hill and was once part of a Polish Bernardine convent (founded in 1628) along with the former Bernardine Church next door.
There are several side streets in the triangle formed by vuls Lenina, Torhovaja and Internatsjanalnaja, on which some houses remain from the pre-WWII period. They are in poor condition, but their old-world charm offers a welcome respite in a city whose p…
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Former Residence of Lee Harvey Oswald
Just across the bridge over the Svislach River, on the west bank, is the former residence of Lee Harvey Oswald; it's the bottom left apartment. The alleged assassin of former US president John F Kennedy lived here for a couple of years in his early 20s. He arrived in Minsk in January 1960 after leaving the US Marines and defecting to the USSR. Once here, he truly went native: he got a job in a radio factory, married a Minsk woman, had a child - and even changed his name to Alek.
But soon he returned to the United States and…you know the rest.
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Museum of the Great Patriotic War
Don't leave town without visiting the Museum of the Great Patriotic War, where Belarus' horrors and heroism during WWII are exhibited in photographs, huge dioramas and other media. Particularly harrowing are the photographs of partisans being executed in recognisable central Minsk locations. The big sign above the building (ПОДВИГУ НАРОДА ЖИТЬ В ВЕКАХ) means 'The Feats of Mankind Will Live On for Centuries'.
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Souvenir Market
Folk art is the main source of souvenirs, which include carved wooden trinkets, ceramics and woven textiles. Unique to Belarus are wooden boxes intricately ornamented with geometric patterns composed of multicoloured pieces of straw. These are easily found in city department stores and in some museum kiosks. Most days, this small outdoor souvenir market operates in the small space between the Trade Unions' House of Culture and the Museum of the Great Patriotic War.
Breeze past the cheesy paintings and you'll find crafts in the back.
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KGB Building
This yellow neoclassical building occupies an entire block and its ominous, temple-like Corinthian portal looks down over Independence Square (ploshcha Nezalezhnastsi). On the opposite side of the street is a long, narrow park with a bust of terror-monger Felix Dzerzhinsky, the founder of the KGB's predecessor, the Cheka.
The downing of his statue in Moscow was one of the defining moments of the breakup of the USSR in 1991; this is one of the world's last remaining statues to the person responsible for much bloodshed.
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Al' Halil'
Don't let the hole-in-the-wall aspect of this Palestinian joint freak you - here you'll chow down on hot fresh lavash (soft flatbread) and all kinds of Middle Eastern treats: dolma, baba ganoush and several meat dishes. Note that what's on the menu isn't everything, and that some of what is on the menu is prepared in a 'Russianised' way (think mayonnaise). But talk to the staff (they speak a little English) and let them know what you want. They're eager to please.
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Island of Tears
At the end of a little footbridge near the Old Town is the evocative Afghan war memorial, Island of Tears. Standing on a small island connected by a walking bridge, it's built in the form of a tiny church, with four entrances, and is surrounded by towering gaunt statues of sorrowful mothers and sisters of Belarusian soldiers who perished in the war between Russia and Afghanistan (1979-89). Look for the small statue of the crying angel, off to the side - it is the guardian angel of Belarus.
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Metro Entrance Memorial
The congested overpass that now carries vul Lenina over vul Njamiha near the Njamiha metro station was the site of Minsk's main marketplace in the 12th century. In May 1999 the metro entrance was the site of a brutal stampede in which 53 people died. The tragedy occurred when hundreds of young people ran into the pedestrian tunnel to escape a sudden thunderstorm at a beer festival. There is now a touching memorial at the metro entrance, with a bronze rose for each of the people who died.
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Graffiti
The place to go if you want to hear the latest Belarusian musicians or to see some live theatre is Graffiti. The underground club is small (get there early if you want in) and not conveniently located (best take a taxi), but the bands and the troupes are often on Lukashenko's shit-list, and this is the only venue in town where they get away with performing (at least most of the time). Bar snacks and beer are tasty and super cheap.
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Palats Respubliki
Between vulitsa Enhelsa and vulitsa Janki Kupaly is a square that is still referred to by its Russian name, Oktyabrskaya ploshchad (in Belarusian, it's ploshcha Kastrychnitskaja). This is where opposition groups gather to protest against Lukashenko from time to time, and it's where they attempted the Denim Revolution in March 2006. Here you'll find the impressive, severe Palats Respubliki, which is a concert hall.
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Lee Harvey Oswald Apartment Building
The Lee Harvey Oswald Apartment Building is where Lee Harvey Oswald - the alleged assassin of US president John F Kennedy - lived for a few years in his early 20s. Few locals know or are interested in this fact, though the building - and Oswald's stay in the city - remains a curiosity for most tourists. He was lucky enough to have lived on one of the city's prettiest streets, excellent for riverside strolling.
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Central Ticket Office
Just like they were during the Soviet Union, the performing arts here are of very good quality, and tickets are priced to make them accessible to the proletariat. Opera performances are held at 19:00 on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Ballet performances are at 19:00 on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. To buy advance tickets or to find out what's on, head to the Central Ticket Office .
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Khutorok
Of all the folk-style traditional restaurants in town, this one takes the prize. Set southeast of the centre, Khutorok has several thematically decorated rooms to choose from, a leafy summer terrace and a menu filled with meat-heavy country cooking (their shashlyk is among the city's best). It's either an 800m walk east of metro Mahileuskaja or a cab ride from the centre.
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Theatre Ticket Office
To buy advance tickets or to find out what's playing in Minsk, head to the theatre ticket office; tickets for pretty much every performance in all theatres, with some exceptions, can be bought here. There are other ticket sales points scattered along pr Francyska Skaryny and in the underground passageways. Same-day tickets are usually available only from the theatres.
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Belarusian State Art Museum
The Belarusian State Art Museum is a very interesting place. Here you'll find the country's largest collection of Belarusian art, in two rooms devoted to works depicting the depopulated agrarian bliss of the 1920s and 1930s. There are also impressive works by Arkhip Kuindji, Nikolai Ghe, Ilya Repin, Isaak Levitan and Konstantin Makovsky.
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West World
Because of its circular shape, locals call this place shaiba (hockey puck). It's quite a scene, with erotic dancing, flashy nouveau riche, Eurotrash wannabes and prostitutes aplenty, as well as visiting Turks, Azeris and Georgians. Sometimes 'face control' is exercised, so shy away from wearing jeans and trainers, just in case.
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Minskae Mora
There's swimming and beach fun at Minskae Mora, an artificial reservoir 5km north of the city (buses leave regularly from the central bus station). There's a free public beach (plus a nudist beach!), and pedal-boat and catamaran rental. By car, head north along the P28 and watch for the signs after the village of Ratomka.
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U Ratushi
Formerly called 'Nul Pyat', referring to the standard serving of beer (a half-litre), this multilevel pub-style restaurant, right across from the ratusha, is packed with a raucous, fun-loving crowd on weekends (there is often a small cover charge for live bands). Book ahead for weekends, or come really early.
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Planeta Sushi
Sushi? In Belarus? You bet. In fact there are now several choices for a bowl of miso and a plate of nigiri. Other Japanese dishes (udon, tempura etc) are offered as well. The place seems to have a surprisingly decent connection for fresh fish, but it could use a new avocado supplier.
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