Belarus
Over a causeway leading away from the town with lovely lakes on either side lies this palace-like castle and park complex. Erected by the Radziwill family…
Must-see attractions in Belarus
Belarus
Homel's signature attraction was built by Field Marshal Pyotr Rumyantsev in the late 19th century, soon after Homel became part of the Russian Empire. He…
Belarus
The 16th-century Mir Castle, reflected magnificently in an adjoining pond, resembles something straight out of Disney. A recent renovation has the place…
Museum of the Great Patriotic War
Minsk
Housed in a garish new building, Minsk's best museum houses an excellent display detailing Belarus' suffering and heroism during the Nazi occupation. With…
Minsk
Vul Kastrychnitskaya – still known by its Soviet name, ulitsa Oktyabrskaya – has blossomed into Minsk's unofficial arts district. Brazilian street artists…
Belavezhskaya Pushcha National Park
Belarus
Unesco World Heritage Site Belavezhskaya Pushcha National Park is the oldest wildlife refuge in Europe and the pride of Belarus. At the National Park…
Minsk
The capital's main thoroughfare impresses with its sheer size. Formerly pr Francyska Skaryny, it runs from what travel writer Colin Thubron dubbed the …
Belarus
One of the best-kept secrets in Belarus is this relatively untouched swath of marshes, swampland and floodplains emanating from the Pripyat River, about…
Minsk
For a taste of post-Soviet Belarus, head north of the centre to the new national library, a ghastly piece of Lukashenko-approved hubris. You'll need your…
Belarus
The first museum on every itinerary should be the excellent Chagall Art Center, which was established in 1992 and has about 300 of Chagall's graphic works…
Minsk
Independence Sq, formerly pl Lenina, is dominated by the 1930s constructivist Belarusian Government Building (behind the iconic Lenin statue). The red…
Minsk
Standing on a small island connected to the Old Town by a walking bridge, this evocative Afghan war memorial is known colloquially as the Island of Tears…
Minsk
The red-brick Catholic Church of SS Simon & Elena, built in 1910, is worth popping into for a peek at its unique, wave-like, arched ceiling. Its tall,…
Minsk
Off the northern edge of pl Svabody is the baroque, twin-towered Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, built in 1642. It was once part of a Polish…
Belarus
A must for military buffs is this impressive collection of tanks, missiles, helicopters and all other manner of Soviet war paraphernalia in an open field…
Museum of Folk Architecture & Rural Lifestyle
Minsk
Several dozen traditional wood houses, a school, a church and an old windmill have been transplanted to this open-air folk museum in Azyartso, 15km…
Belarus
The hamlet of Khatyn, 55km north of Minsk, was burned to the ground by the Nazis on 22 March 1943. Of a population of 149 (including 85 children), only…
Former Residence of Lee Harvey Oswald
Minsk
Just across the bridge over the Svislach River, on the west bank, is the former residence of Lee Harvey Oswald. The assassin of former US president John F…
Minsk
This excellent museum in one of Minsk's iconic buildings (built in 1939) includes definitive works by Soviet social realists and Russian masters,…
Belarus
There is not much left of the Hrodna's 'old castle', most of which was destroyed during the Great Northern War in the early 18th century. You can wander…
Belarus
Tasting delicious farm-made sausages, cheese and bread is only a small part of a visit to the open-air interactive museum of Dudutki, 40km south of Minsk…
Belarus
Across the town's river, a good 20-minute walk away from the Chagall Art Center, is the Marc Chagall House Museum, where the artist lived as a child for…
Minsk
This enormous addition to Minsk's totalitarian architecture is the country's new presidential palace in all but name. Architecturally uninspiring, the…
Minsk
The city's main square is referred to universally by its Russian name, Oktyabrskaya Ploshchad (October Sq). Here you'll find the impressive, severe Palats…
Belarus
The Polish-Lithuanian rulers built the rococo 'New Castle' in the mid-18th century to replace the destroyed 'Old Castle' next door. More palace than…
Minsk
This well-established gallery and cultural centre heralded a shift in the artistic landscape when it relocated to vul Kastrychnitskaya in 2018. It is…
Belarus
Heavenly Homel Park stretches for more than a kilometre along the west bank of the Sozh River. The centrepiece is Homel Palace, but you'll also find cafes…
Minsk
In the heart of the Old Town just off central vul Lenina is charming pl Svabody, lorded over by the white medieval Ratusha (town hall). Off the northern…
Minsk
Two freshly modernised museums in one here. The national history museum proper occupies the upper floors with exhibits of ethnographic and archaeological…
Belarus
The highlight of this surprisingly impressive collection are the moving realist scenes of early 20th-century Vitsebsk street life painted by Yudel Pen,…
Belarus
This polished museum is dedicated to the many wars that took place in Homel from the 14th to the 20th century. The heaviest coverage is reserved for WWII,…
Minsk
Trinity Hill is a pleasant – if tiny – recreation of Minsk's pre-war buildings on a pretty bend of the river just a little north of the centre. It has a…
Belarus
Pripyatsky National Park's nature museum is a real find in out-of-the-way Lyaskavichi. Fully air-conditioned and modernized, it has beautiful exhibits and…
Minsk
An entire block of central pr Nezalezhnastsi is occupied by this yellow neoclassical building with an ominous, temple-like Corinthian portal – the KGB…
Belarus
Vitsebsk's two most prominent churches command high ground in the Old Town above the spot where the tiny Visba River empties into the Dvina. The larger…
Minsk
This red-brick church was built in 1898, closed by the Bolsheviks, reopened by the Nazis, closed again by the Soviets and now it's open once more. It's…
Minsk
Off the vul Lenina overpass is the attractively restored 17th-century SS Peter & Paul Church. The city's oldest church, it was built in 1612, looted by…
Minsk
This extremely moving sight, rather hidden away in a sunken gully amid trees off vul Melnikayte, commemorates the savage murder of 5000 Jews from Minsk at…
Minsk
Striking pl Peremohi is marked by an obelisk and an eternal flame (accessible from the underground passageway). Cyclists use this oval as a makeshift…
Minsk
Minsk's ratusha has been rebuilt in the place where it was originally constructed in the 1800s and now lords it over pl Svabody, its pointed steeple…
