Irkutsk: what to see, where to stay and how to get around

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For two centuries Russia sent its rebels to Siberia, and Irkutsk became the place where many of them made a life. The Decembrists, officers who rose against the tsar in December 1825, came here with their wives and turned their wooden houses into salons; merchants grown rich on the China trade built carved mansions. This walk goes through that wooden city, about two and a half hours, ending at the restored quarter of cafés.

A short history of Irkutsk

In 1661 Russian Cossacks built a wooden fort on the bank of the Angara River, about 70 kilometres from Lake Baikal, and around it grew a city that traded with China and Mongolia. After the Decembrist revolt of 1825 many of the rebel officers were exiled here, and the wives who joined them brought the city the cultural life of a capital. In 1879 a great fire burned most of the city, and it was rebuilt in stone. In 1898 the Trans-Siberian Railway reached it. In February 1920 Admiral Kolchak, leader of the Whites in the Civil War, was executed here. The carved wooden houses that remain from the 19th century are still part of the scene in the centre.

The ten best sights in Irkutsk

1
Znamensky Monastery
A green-and-white convent on the river, with famous graves in its yard
2
Church of the Saviour
The oldest stone building in the city; look at the paintings on the outside wall
3
Volkonsky House-Museum
The Decembrist family's wooden home; evening concerts on the old piano
4
Trubetskoy House-Museum
The second Decembrist house, a few minutes' walk from the Volkonskys'
5
Irkutsk Synagogue
A working synagogue from the 19th century on Karl Liebknecht Street; ask before visiting
6
Sukachev Art Museum
Russian and Siberian painting, from a mayor's private collection
7
Irkutsk Regional Museum
A Moorish-style building on the embankment; Siberian peoples and explorers
8
Okhlopkov Drama Theatre
One of the oldest theatres in Siberia, in a grand 1890s building
9
Taltsy Museum
An open-air village of old wooden buildings on the road to Baikal; stop on the way
10
Baikal Museum
In Listvyanka, about an hour away; the nerpa seals in the aquarium are the stars

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What is an audio walk?

Tours in Irkutsk →

A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Irkutsk:

Free walking tours in Irkutsk

Exiles and merchants

Volkonsky House-Museum · Princess Maria Volkonskaya followed her husband Sergei, a Decembrist, into Siberia in 1826, leaving their baby son behind; she never saw him again. In this house, years later, she held musical evenings that were the centre of Irkutsk society.
Trubetskoy House-Museum · Ekaterina Trubetskaya was the first of the Decembrist wives to follow her husband to Siberia, in 1826. She died in Irkutsk in 1854 and is buried at the Znamensky Monastery.
Lace House · The house of the merchant Shastin family is covered in carved wooden fretwork so fine that the city calls it the Lace House. Irkutsk still has thousands of wooden houses, more than almost any other Russian city.
Irkutsk Synagogue · Jews came to Irkutsk as exiles and as former soldiers allowed to settle in Siberia after long service, and the community built this synagogue in the late 19th century. It was taken over in the Soviet years and returned to the community afterwards; services are held here again.
Central Market · Look for omul, a fish of the salmon family found only in Lake Baikal, sold smoked, salted or dried. Locals eat it with bread and onion, and train passengers buy it for the road.
130th Kvartal · The quarter was rebuilt for the city's 350th anniversary in 2011, with old wooden houses restored or reconstructed. At its entrance stands the babr, the animal on the city's coat of arms: a tiger holding a sable in its mouth.

The fort on the Angara

Irkutsk began in 1661 as a wooden fort of Cossacks on the right bank of the Angara, the only river that flows out of Lake Baikal. The oldest stone buildings of the city stand around that spot, and the embankment runs from there past the gates that once received travellers from Moscow. This walk is short, about two hours, and ends at the convent where some of Siberia's most famous dead are buried.

Speransky Square · The Cossack fort of 1661 stood here. The square now carries the name of Mikhail Speransky, the reforming governor-general of Siberia in 1819–1821, after many years as Kirov Square.
Church of the Saviour · Built in 1706–1710, it is the oldest stone building in Irkutsk. Paintings on its outer wall show the baptism of local Buryats, a scene found on few Russian churches.
Lower Embankment · A monument to the founders of the city stands on the embankment, with Yakov Pokhabov, the Cossack officer who built the first fort. The Angara here flows fast and clear, straight out of Baikal 60 km upstream.
Moscow Gates · The first triumphal arch was built in 1811–1813 to mark ten years of Alexander I's reign, and travellers from the west entered the city through it. It was pulled down in 1928, and the copy you see was built in 2011.
Irkutsk Regional Museum · The Moorish-style building was put up in 1883 for the East Siberian branch of the Russian Geographical Society. The names of explorers of Siberia and the Far East run along its façade.
Znamensky Monastery · Grigory Shelikhov, the Irkutsk merchant who founded the first permanent Russian settlement in Alaska in 1784, is buried in the yard. Near the convent, in February 1920, the Bolsheviks shot Admiral Kolchak, leader of the White forces, and pushed his body under the river ice; a statue of him stands outside.

Down to Baikal

Baikal is the deepest lake on Earth, over 1,600 metres, and holds about a fifth of the world's unfrozen fresh water. This route follows the Angara 70 km up to the point where it leaves the lake, stopping at an old icebreaker and a village of wooden buildings on the way. It is a full day by car or minibus; the lake is cold and windy even in summer, so bring a jacket.

Icebreaker Angara · The Angara was built in England in 1900, shipped in pieces and assembled on Baikal, to help the train ferry across the frozen lake before the railway round its southern shore was finished. It is the oldest surviving icebreaker in Russia.
Taltsy Museum · Many of its wooden buildings were moved here from villages that were about to be flooded by the dams on the Angara. Among them is a defence tower of the Ilimsk fort from the 17th century.
Shaman Stone · More than 300 rivers flow into Baikal and only the Angara flows out. In the Buryat legend the Angara was Baikal's daughter, who ran away to her lover the Yenisei, and her father threw this rock after her.
Baikal Museum · The nerpa in its tanks is the only seal in the world that lives only in fresh water. How it reached a lake in the middle of Siberia, thousands of kilometres from any ocean, is still argued about by scientists.
Chersky Stone · The viewpoint is named after Jan Czerski, a Polish rebel exiled to Siberia after 1863, who became one of the first scientists to map the geology of Baikal. On a clear day you can see the mountains on the far shore.
Listvyanka Fish Market · The omul here is smoked over the fire in the stalls behind the counters, hot-smoked or cold-smoked. Baikal catches have been limited in recent years to protect the fish, so prices rise and fall with the rules.

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Getting to Irkutsk and getting around

Irkutsk Airport · Right on the edge of the city, about 15 minutes from the centre by taxi
Irkutsk-Passazhirsky Station · On the west bank of the Angara; cross the bridge by tram or taxi to reach the centre
Irkutsk Bus Station · Minibuses to Listvyanka on Lake Baikal leave from here, about an hour

Cheap eats in Irkutsk

Irkutsk eats two things that you will not find in Moscow: omul, the fish of Lake Baikal, and the steamed dumplings of the Buryats, the Mongol people of the Baikal region. Pozy houses are everywhere, cheap and fast, and a plate of them with tea is lunch. Prices are in roubles; at the Listvyanka market pay cash.

Khan-Buuza · Buryat buuza in 130th Kvartal; a few buuza about 250-450 roubles
Omulevochnaya · Baikal omul fried, smoked or in soup; a dish about 400-700 roubles
Pozy na Lenina 25 · Simple pozy house; four pozy and tea about 250-400 roubles
Railway Canteen · East Siberian Railway staff canteen open to all; lunch about 300-500 roubles
Poznaya · Pozy counter near the market; about 60-100 roubles a piece
Listvyanka Fish Market · Smoked omul by the piece, about 300-600 roubles

Museums in Irkutsk

Volkonsky House-Museum · Decembrist home with evening concerts
Trubetskoy House-Museum · Letters and furniture of the Decembrist exiles
Sukachev Art Museum · Russian painting and Asian art
Irkutsk Regional Museum · Buryat and Evenk life and Siberian explorers
Taltsy Museum · Open-air wooden village on the Baikal road
Icebreaker Angara · Climb aboard the 1900 icebreaker

Nature and day trips near Irkutsk

Lower Embankment · Riverside walk along the Angara
Shaman Stone · The rock at the Angara source
Chersky Stone · Chairlift and trail to the Baikal viewpoint
Baikal Museum · Nerpa seals and a dive simulator into the lake
Port Baikal · Ferry from Listvyanka; start of the Circum-Baikal Railway

Holy places in Irkutsk

Irkutsk Synagogue · Active 19th-century synagogue; modest dress, ask ahead
Znamensky Monastery · Graves of Shelikhov and Princess Trubetskaya
Church of the Saviour · The oldest stone church in town, now partly a museum
Kazan Church at Taltsy · Wooden church from the Ilimsk fort, in the open-air museum

Where to eat in Irkutsk

Rassolnik · Russian home cooking in 130th Kvartal
Ulus · Buryat and Mongol dishes: buuza, lamb and milk tea
Taiga · Siberian game, berries and fish on Lenin Street
Sobranie Speshilova · Restaurant in an old merchant house near 130th Kvartal

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Frequently asked questions about Irkutsk

What is there to see in Irkutsk?

The top sights in Irkutsk are Znamensky Monastery, Church of the Saviour and Volkonsky House-Museum. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.

How many days do you need in Irkutsk?

Three to four days are enough to see the best of Irkutsk without rushing, including at least one walking tour.

Is there a free walking tour in Irkutsk?

Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Irkutsk, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: Exiles and merchants.

How do you get to Irkutsk and get around?

The main ways are Irkutsk Airport, Irkutsk-Passazhirsky Station and Irkutsk Bus Station. Full details are in the transport section on this page.

Where to stay in Irkutsk, and for how much?

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