- Sights of Nizhny Novgorod
- Vacation with children
- Shopping
- Cafes and restaurants
Nizhny Novgorod is the third largest city in Russia, the “capital” of the Volga region. The city is located at the confluence of the Oka and Volga rivers. The Oka divides the city into an upper "upland" part and a lower - "beyond the river". The Volga separates Nizhny Novgorod and the neighboring town of Bor.
Nizhny Novgorod was founded in 1221 by Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich as a border fortress on the southern borders of Russia. In the 16th century, the Kremlin was built, which for all the time has never been taken. Thanks to its favorable location, Nizhny Novgorod becomes a trade center of the Volga region, and then of the whole of Russia. At the beginning of the 19th century, the status of the main trading city became almost official - the famous Makaryevskaya Fair, the largest in the Russian Empire, was transferred to Nizhny Novgorod.
Nizhny Novgorod is wide, free, like a real Russian merchant, and this subtly resembles its "elder brother" - Veliky Novgorod. But in Nizhny you feel not the thickness of the centuries of the oldest trading city, but the strength and power of the flourishing of the Russian Empire. Undoubtedly, this is one of the most picturesque cities in the country.
Nizhny Novgorod is included in the list of 100 cities of the world of unique world and historical value. There are more than 600 monuments of historical and architectural monuments here.
Getting to Nizhny Novgorod will not be difficult, the city is a powerful transport hub. Strigino international airport is located here, where planes fly from most regions. You can get from Moscow by car along the federal highway M-7 "Volga", a distance of 420 km. Travel time is about 6 hours. Perhaps the most convenient and comfortable way is by high-speed train "Strizh" or "Swallow". Travel time is only 3, 5 hours, the train arrives in the very center of the city. Any of the cruise routes running along the Volga must make a stop in Nizhny Novgorod.
Of course, you can come to Nizhny Novgorod for one day, but you will see only a part of the main attractions. In addition, Nizhny Novgorod does not tolerate haste, so it is better to get here for a couple of days, or even more.
Sights of Nizhny Novgorod
Almost the entire center of Nizhny Novgorod is built up with perfectly preserved architectural monuments of the 18th - early 20th centuries, including monuments of wooden architecture. There is also a lot of modern urban sculpture in Nizhny Novgorod, which gives the streets of the city a special charm. For example, on Bolshaya Pokrovskaya Street, you can see one after another city characters: a cat looking out for a pigeon on the cornice, a photographer taking pictures of hurrying tourists, a postman and a photographer. There is even a monument to Kose-Dereza, called by the locals "the cheerful goat". He will definitely bring you good luck if you touch the goat's … udder.
The Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin is number one on the "must see" list in Nizhny Novgorod. It was built at the beginning of the 16th century and is, perhaps, an exemplary medieval Russian fortress - impregnable walls with narrow loopholes and twelve (out of originally thirteen) multi-tiered towers. Today it is a whole city inside a two-kilometer wall, where many state institutions are located: court, registry office, philharmonic society, city council, post office. As well as the Alley of Love, the eternal flame and other attractions. It is most interesting to learn the history of the Kremlin on an excursion along the walls of the fortress, and to see its entire picturesque panorama is best from the board of a ship cruising to Bor
From the Nizhny Novgorod Fair, which in the 18th-19th centuries was a real symbol of the trading power of Nizhny Novgorod, only one building remained. Today it is an exhibition center, also known throughout the country. The author of historical sketches of the early 20th century, Vladimir Gilyarovsky, even dedicated his book to the Nizhny Novgorod fair.
The Annunciation Monastery, built on the high bank of the Oka, is the same age as the city itself. Unfortunately, the buildings of that time have not survived. Now the monastery is a huge complex of buildings dating back to the 17th - 19th centuries. The Annunciation Cathedral is an imposing building in the pseudo-Russian style. Be sure to look inside to gauge the height of the vaults. The old iconostasis and frescoes have been preserved in the cathedral. If you find yourself here on Easter, you can climb the bell tower and ring the bells with your own hands.
Bolshaya Pokrovskaya Street, the main street of the city, is especially conducive to walking. Most of the 2.5 km street is a pedestrian zone. There are many surviving buildings of the 18th-19th centuries here, while the buildings are homogeneous and very harmonious. There are many city sculptures installed on the street, and cozy lanterns are turned on in the evening.
The Nizhny Novgorod cable car is a landmark of the Lower City, which claims a place in the Guinness Book of Records (for its length). The cable car is, first of all, a transport facility, and only then a tourist one. It connects Nizhny Novgorod with its satellite town Bor, where a large number of administrative, trade and educational institutions are concentrated. A ride on the cable car will give you an unforgettable experience of contemplating the views of the city, the Volga, the Ob, the forests of the Volga region and the vastness of the Rybinsk reservoir.
Another unusual sight of Nizhny Novgorod is the Chkalovskaya Staircase, founded in 1943 after the victory of the Soviet troops at Stalingrad. This is a truly grandiose structure, perfectly visible even from the other bank of the Volga. The staircase has the shape of an eight and has 560 steps, in the upper part of it there is a monument to Valery Chkalov, a native of these places.
They say that the "heart" of Nizhny Novgorod is located in the Pechersky Monastery. Its history goes back over seven centuries. The first monks settled in caves and built a small church. The locals found out about this and soon the whole district helped to build the monastery. The main shrine of the monastery - the icon of the Pechersk Mother of God has been kept within the walls of the monastery since the XIV century.
Another must-see street in Nizhny Novgorod is Rozhdestvenskaya. It is located in the very center of the city, next to the Kremlin and the Volga, and is a perfectly preserved example of civil buildings of the 19th century. Throughout its existence, Rozhdestvenskaya Street has been the center of political and commercial life. There are 35 architectural monuments, among which the Christmas Church, built in a special Russian style - the Stroganov Baroque, in an extremely elegant architectural style, stands out. Walking along Rozhdestvenskaya Street, you can get a complete picture of the brightest periods of the city's life.
Vacation with children
Nizhny Novgorod is an excellent choice for traveling with children. Here tourists will find a wide variety of entertainment, and many of them you will not find anywhere else but in this city.
The first is the Limpopo Zoo, one of the largest private zoos in Europe. More than 1000 animals live here, which live in the wild, and not in enclosures. The safety of visitors is ensured by the natural relief. Among the inhabitants of the zoo are wolves, bears, giraffes, lynxes, African ostriches, bison, Japanese macaques and many other monkeys, tigers and alpacas, raccoons and aardvarks.
It will be interesting for adults and young children to visit the Children's Railway of Nizhny Novgorod. It has its own real station - a small copy, ticket offices, a waiting room and an operating KP-4 train from the 1950s. Children act as guides and drivers on the railway, which is several kilometers long.
A visit to the interactive popular science museum Kvarki will also cause great interest, in which children in a simple and understandable form can learn about the basic laws of physics, chemistry and biology.
Even more famous is another landmark of the city related to physics - the Arch of Electric Vitamins, built in honor of Alessandro Volta. Under the arch, several people close the circuit with metals and, according to the laws of physics, taste the current in their mouths.
The local planetarium houses the only simulator in Russia that simulates the docking of the ISS and Soyuz. In the parks "Switzerland" and the Sverdlov Children's Park, you can ride the attractions. Do not forget about riding the cable car and river boats. You can take a photo with funny monuments to Kose-Dereza, "pyatak" and even Gromozeka.
Shopping
It was not for nothing that Nizhny Novgorod was the trading capital of the Russian Empire. Here you can find a wide variety of unique local souvenirs. First of all, these are various wood products - nesting dolls, dishes and various interior items, decorated with original paintings of Nizhny Novgorod craft centers. This is a recognizable Semyonov painting, Gorodets trays, the famous Khokhloma and the seemingly simple but charming Polkhov-Maidan painting. Ladies will not be able to pass by shawls and kerchiefs from Balakhna, and those with a sweet tooth of all ages will not be able to pass by gingerbread and marmalade from Sormovo.
Cafes and restaurants
Nizhny Novgorod cuisine specializes in river fish dishes (try fish soup and kulebyaka) and wild mushroom dishes (for example, the famous porcini mushroom soup). For dessert, you can treat yourself to marmalades, pastilles and marshmallows of the Sormovskaya confectionery factory.
The main cafes and restaurants are concentrated around the Kremlin and on Bolshaya Pokrovskaya Street. Locals love the cozy pub "Shelter of the Tired Tractor Driver" and the wonderful establishment with rich Russian hunting cuisine "Vitalich". On Rozhdestvenskaya Street, pay attention to the Pyatkin restaurant with merchant cuisine: quail, sterlet, lamb and delicious homemade liqueurs.
