Kazan or Nizhny Novgorod: which is a better Trans-Siberian stop?

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anitatravels
anitatravels
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Hi everyone,

I'm planning an overland trip from Beijing to Moscow, and am trying to decide between Kazan and Nizhny Novgorod as my final stop before Moscow.

Has anyone been to both, and would strongly recommend one above the other? Or visited just one, but feel very passionate about it as a place to go? I hear a lot of buzz about NN but the pictures of Kazan suggest some really dazzling architecture.

We'll be travelling in winter and we're a pair of travellers who love winter sports, outdoor adventure (can't wait for frozen Baikal!) admiring architecture and historic sights. (Not too worried about finding great cafes/bars in all our stops as we'll probably do a celebratory blowout when we hit Moscow.) As it's towards the end of our overland trip, we might be starting to get a bit knackered, if that's a consideration. Other stops on our journey are likely to be Harbin, Ulan-Ude, Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk.

Thanks

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paanwalla
paanwalla

I would opt for Kazan. It has a more broad ethnic and cultural spectrum than NN and don't miss the great tatar food!

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muteki
muteki

I've been to both and enjoyed both, but honestly Kazan wins. It's the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan and is interesting and different culturally. Some of the nicest people in Russia are in Kazan! There's a good amount to see -- it has one of my favourite Kremlins. Just note that it's technically not on the trans-siberian route, so if you're planning to take the nicer (lower-numbered) trans-sib trains, you'll have to switch at Ekaterinburg or another station and get a separate train to Kazan.

In Ulan Ude, stay at UU Travellers House, the main hostel near Lenin's head. It's run by a really cool guy in his wife, great people. Just email ahead since places are often closed in winter when there's no guests -- that goes for most cities outside Moscow. From UU it's easy to get a marshrutka to one of the small villages the shore of Baikal, like Gremyachinsk. You might have an encounter with some lovely babushkas who will feed you fresh food and lots of vodka (personal experience!).

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anitatravels
anitatravels
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Thanks for the replies, it sounds like Kazan is the favourite! It does look really intriguing, some of the photos I've seen are eye-popping.

@muteki - thanks for the tips about Ulan-Ude too, I'm really looking forward to it (though I've heard mixed reviews with some travellers telling me it's mostly a photo-op for the giant head!) and the villages sound great. Might have to improve my vodka tolerance for this trip...

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sikmir
sikmir
In response to #3

My advice - never drink vodka in Russia.

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raki_man
raki_man

I thought Ulan-Ude was a bit of a dump!

I quite liked Nizhny Novgorod - went to the Kremlin. Saw gorgeous girl standing guard at the war memorial. Went to a monastery down by the river. Stayed at Bugrov Hostel which was better than expected and just around the corner from the train station. Best thing was looking out of the window of my room at night and watching the trams rattling down poorly lit-streets- thought it was 1920..............

Never try to whistle with a mouth full of custard.
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anitatravels
anitatravels
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In response to #4

Ha ha! Surely it's mandatory!

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muteki
muteki

Just to clarify -- there isn't much to see or do in UU, but it makes a great base for the area. Also, make sure to see Ivolginsky Datsan, the nearby Buddhist Monastery. UU has Lenin's head and a small pedestrian street, plus some nice traditional wood houses if you get yourself lost.

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anitatravels
anitatravels
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In response to #7

Oh wow, I'd never heard of this place but I just looked it up and it sounds fascinating - great tip, thank you!

(Link for anyone reading who is curious: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivolginsky_Datsan)

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daniiltimin
daniiltimin

I'll say Kazan for sure - such a great city with really interesting history, architecture and culture. Nizhny Novgorod is pretty boring to be honest.

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