Western Siberia
The centrepiece of the tower-studded, white-walled, 18th-century kremlin is the glorious 1686 St Sofia Cathedral. Less eye-catching from the outside, but…
Must-see attractions in Western Siberia
Western Siberia
Riverside Trinity Monastery is undoubtedly Tyumen’s most appealing architectural complex. Its kremlin-style crenellated outer wall is pierced by a single…
Novosibirsk
This museum is dedicated to the works and life of the painter Nikolai Rerikh (Nicholas Roerick), beloved in these parts because of his life-long passion…
Tomsk
The gloomy basement of this former NKVD (proto-KGB) building is now a museum dedicated to the unspeakable horrors that took place here. Look out for the…
Western Siberia
Tobolsk's best museum, and indeed one of the best museums in Siberia, occupies a beautiful 18th-century former administration on the southwestern edge of…
Altai
Housed in a wonderfully dilapidated 1912 merchant’s house with original art nouveau fittings, this fine museum is home to standing stone idols,…
Altai
One of the more unusual sights along the Chusky Trakt is this sublime turquoise blue sulfur lake and geyser. This is no Yellowstone-style geyser erupting…
A.V. Anokhin National Museum of Altai
Altai
This well-put-together museum offers a good introduction to Altai culture with a range of ethnographic exhibits, wildlife displays and local art and…
Novosibirsk State History Museum
Novosibirsk
In an elegant mansion, the State History Museum has recently re-opened after renovations and is now by far the best museum in Novosibirsk. The well…
University & Siberian Botanical Gardens
Tomsk
The classically colonnaded main buildings of the university lie in resplendently leafy grounds, giving Tomsk the sobriquet ‘Oxford of Siberia’. Most of…
Western Siberia
Tyumen's sleek riverside promenade runs northwest from the centre almost all the way to Trinity Monastery. The promenade offers great views of the…
Altai Arts, Literature & Culture Museum
Altai
The impressively eclectic – not to mention good-value – Altai Arts, Literature & Culture Museum occupies a restored, furnished 1850s mansion. There are…
Novosibirsk
The 1898 Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is a red-brick Byzantine-style building with gilded domes and colourful murals. The cathedral was originally built as…
Western Siberia
Minsalim is a master bone-carver who turns mammoth tusks and antler fragments into detailed figurines related to myths and legends of the local brand of…
Altai
In an old brick house, the War History Museum is simple and all in Russian but the moving understatement of its Afghanistan and Chechnya memorials is…
Tomsk
Central pl Lenina isn’t really a square so much as a jumbled collection of beautifully restored historic buildings interspersed with banal Soviet concrete…
Tomsk
Housed in the splendid Atashev Palace, this modest museum has a 2500-year-old bear amulet and an interesting exhibit on the Great Tea Trail. But it's the…
Western Siberia
Built in 1887 for the 300th anniversary of the founding of Tobolsk, the Gubernsky Museum has displays on the history of Tobolsk, a hugely impressive and…
Novosibirsk
The gold-domed 1914 Cathedral of the Ascension has a wonderful, colourful interior with a soaring central space that’s unexpected given its fairly squat…
Western Siberia
The glorious gold- and blue-domed 1686 centrepiece of Tobolsk's kremlin is one of the most inspiring religious buildings in Western Siberia.
Altai
The tourist action in Chemal revolves around this canyon near the confluence of the Katun and Chemal Rivers. Despite power lines and summer crowds, views…
Altai
From the centre of town walk about 500m south along central ul Pchyolkina, past small Park Pobedy, then turn right toward the river at the signpost to…
Western Siberia
If you only have a couple of hours to kill, take a stroll though this oasis of green just north of the train station. It contains a bust of a jolly…
Western Siberia
The restored stone ramparts of the Kuznetsk Fortress are massive and topped with cannons, but represent only 20% of their 1810 extent. Kids ride ponies…
Tomsk
This dimple-sized hill was the location of Tomsk’s original fortress, and the replica of its central wooden spasskaya bashnya (savior's tower), which…
Western Siberia
The Art Museum displays a lot of fussy decorative arts but the rectilinear 1862 building is a historical curiosity in itself. It was built as the Siberian…
Altai
A herd of two dozen European bison live in a semiwild status as they range across the meadows and forests of this 'farm'. European bison were hunted to…
Novosibirsk
The highlight is the museum's collection of 65 original paintings by Nikolai Rerikh on the 2nd floor, mostly mountainscapes from the celebrated drifter's…
Tomsk
Up on Resurrection Hill, this museum's moderately interesting collection of old artefacts, clothing and recreations of old homes is well-presented, with…
Altai
From June to September, there are many daily lake trips (R800 per person) to Korbu Waterfall. You have a choice between fast, noisy hydrofoils (four hours…
Novosibirsk
While the collection of '70s Soviet bric-a-bric in this museum isn't particularly original, you get free rein over the place, which means photo-ops galore…
Altai
On the northern edge of the Varota Sartikpayev Gorge, a wobbly footbridge leads across a stunning canyon to a craggy island in the Katun River on which is…
Western Siberia
The Fine Arts Museum has several rotating and permanent exhibits ranging from ornate window frames saved from the city’s old wooden houses to tiny,…
Western Siberia
The blue Selskhoz Academy is a brick mansion that was originally a school museum. Its biggest claim to fame is being the hiding spot for Lenin during WWII…
Altai
The city’s Federal Security Services (FSB) headquarters is worth a peek. The bearded dude in the courtyard is Felix Dzerzhinsky, Cheka (KGB and FSB…
House-Museum of 19th- & 20th-Century History
Western Siberia
This museum contains artefacts from Tyumen’s past and is housed in the city’s finest carved cottage. The best way to experience the museum is by taking…
Western Siberia
At the eerie 1855 Tyuremny Zamok you can get a sense of the grim life behind bars in both Tsarist and Soviet times. The Tsarist exiles were temporarily…
Tomsk
On the riverbank, this cheeky Chekhov statue was sculpted in bronze for the 400th anniversary of the city’s founding. Rubbing its well-polished nose is…
Novosibirsk
The pretty little Chapel of St Nicholas was said to mark the geographical centre of Russia when it was built in 1915. Demolished in the 1930s, it was…
Western Siberia
Take a stroll in the City Park (Svetnoi Bulvar) with all the students, new mums and roller skaters. If you get peckish, grab a snack from one of the many…
