Kazan: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
Kazan was the capital of a Tatar khanate until Ivan the Terrible took it in 1552, and the white Kremlin above the river carries both stories at once. Inside the walls a cathedral built by the conquerors and a mosque rebuilt by the Tatars stand a few metres apart. From the gate the walk goes down Bauman Street to the old university. Two to three hours; entry to the Kremlin grounds is free, and the museums inside charge separately.
A short history of Kazan
Kazan celebrated its thousandth anniversary in 2005, and finds from the beginning of the 11th century have been discovered in its Kremlin. In the 15th century it became the capital of the Tatar Khanate of Kazan, and in 1552 Ivan the Terrible captured it and ordered the Annunciation Cathedral built inside the fortress. In 1804 a university was founded here, where Leo Tolstoy and Lenin studied. The city is the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, and in its Kremlin churches stand alongside the Kul Sharif Mosque, rebuilt in 2005. In 2000 the Kremlin was declared a World Heritage Site.
The ten best sights in Kazan
1Kazan KremlinFree to walk in; a mosque and a cathedral stand side by side inside the walls
2Qol Sharif MosqueVisitors go up to the gallery; women are lent a headscarf at the door
3Annunciation CathedralThe oldest building in the Kremlin, a few steps from the mosque
4Söyembikä TowerThe leaning red tower is the symbol of the city; best seen from the embankment
5National Museum of TatarstanOpposite the Kremlin gate; the place to understand Tatar history before you walk
6Hermitage-KazanA branch of the St Petersburg Hermitage inside the Kremlin, with changing exhibitions
7Peter and Paul CathedralBaroque, painted all over in colour; one of the most ornate churches on the Volga
8Marjani MosqueStill the heart of Tatar Muslim life in the old quarter; modest dress
9Kamal TheatrePlays in Tatar on the shore of Lake Kaban; check for a Russian translation headset
10Kazan Federal UniversityThe white classical main building; Tolstoy and Lenin both studied here
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Kazan →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 Kazan:
Free walking tours in Kazan
The white Kremlin
Kazan was the capital of a Tatar khanate until Ivan the Terrible took it in 1552, and the white Kremlin above the river carries both stories at once. Inside the walls a cathedral built by the conquerors and a mosque rebuilt by the Tatars stand a few metres apart. From the gate the walk goes down Bauman Street to the old university. Two to three hours; entry to the Kremlin grounds is free, and the museums inside charge separately.
- Spasskaya Tower · This is the main gate of the Kremlin. The white stone walls were raised after the conquest of 1552 on the line of the khans' wooden fortress, and the whole Kremlin became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000.
- Annunciation Cathedral · Built in 1561–1562 by masons from Pskov, it is the oldest surviving building in the Kremlin. It was meant as a sign that the city was now Orthodox and Russian.
- Söyembikä Tower · Its top leans about two metres out of line. The tower is named after Söyembikä, the last queen of Kazan, and a legend says she threw herself from it rather than marry Ivan the Terrible — but the tower was most likely built long after her time.
- Qol Sharif Mosque · Qol Sharif was the imam who died with his students defending the city in 1552, and the great mosque of the khans was destroyed with it. The new mosque bearing his name opened in 2005, for Kazan's thousandth anniversary.
- Bauman Street · The singer Fyodor Chaliapin, the great Russian bass, was born in Kazan in 1873, and his bronze statue stands on this street. It is the city's oldest street and has been pedestrian since the 1990s.
- Kazan Federal University · Leo Tolstoy studied here and left without a degree, and in 1887 the young Vladimir Ulyanov — later Lenin — was expelled after a few months for joining a student protest. The mathematician Nikolai Lobachevsky, who founded non-Euclidean geometry, was its rector.
Tatar Kazan
After 1552 the Tatars were forced out of the walled city and settled across Lake Kaban, and their quarter is still the place where Tatar is spoken in the street. This walk goes from the market through the old wooden houses to the first stone mosque, and ends at the Tatar theatre on the lake. Two to three hours on foot; mosques expect covered arms and legs, and women cover their hair.
- Central Market · Look for kazylyk, a dried sausage of horse meat that is served at Tatar celebrations. Horse meat has been part of Tatar cooking since the nomadic days on the steppe.
- Chak-Chak Museum · Chak-chak is fried dough soaked in honey and piled into a mound, and a big one is brought to every Tatar wedding. The museum is set up as a 19th-century merchant's home, and the visit ends at the tea table.
- Old Tatar Quarter · This is where the Tatar merchants who rebuilt their fortunes under Russian rule lived in the 18th and 19th centuries. Many of their wooden and brick houses have been restored, with carved window frames painted in green and blue.
- Marjani Mosque · Built in 1766–1770 with the permission of Catherine the Great, it was the first stone mosque allowed in Kazan after the conquest. It stayed open through the Soviet years, when almost every other mosque in the city was closed.
- Lake Kaban · A legend says that when the city fell in 1552, the treasure of the khans was sunk in this lake. Divers and treasure hunters have searched it more than once and found nothing.
- Kamal Theatre · The first Tatar professional theatre traces its beginning to 1906 and is named after the playwright Galiaskar Kamal. Its plays are still performed in Tatar, a Turkic language closer to Kazakh than to Russian.
Around Kazan
The forests and islands west of Kazan hold the places that explain how the city was taken and how it prays. This drive starts at two modern landmarks on the city's edge, goes out to an island fortress on the Volga and a monastery in a forest reserve, and comes back by the cold blue lakes north of town. It needs a car and a full day, about 150 km in all; take a swimsuit only if you are brave.
- Kazan Family Centre · Opened in 2013, the building is shaped like a cauldron — in Tatar, kazan — one of the explanations offered for the city's name. Couples come here to register their marriages, and the deck on top looks straight across at the Kremlin.
- Temple of All Religions · The artist Ildar Khanov began building it in 1992, mixing a church, a mosque, a synagogue and a pagoda into one structure. It has never been a place of worship, and work continued after his death in 2013.
- Sviyazhsk · In 1551 Ivan the Terrible had a whole wooden fortress cut and marked near Uglich, floated down the Volga in pieces and put together here in about four weeks. From this hill his army prepared the siege of Kazan the next year.
- Assumption Cathedral, Sviyazhsk · Its 16th-century frescoes include a rare image of St Christopher with the head of a horse. The cathedral and its monastery were added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2017.
- Raifa Monastery · Founded in 1613 by a hermit in the forest, it keeps the Georgian Icon of the Mother of God, which pilgrims come to venerate. A local legend says the frogs of the lake beside it fell silent so as not to disturb the monks at prayer.
- Blue Lakes · The lakes are fed by underground springs, so the water stays only a few degrees above zero even in July. The blue colour comes from the clay and minerals on the bottom, and divers train here because of the clear water.
Getting to Kazan and getting around
- Kazan International Airport · About 25 km south of the centre; an express train runs to the main station
- Kazan-Passazhirskaya Station · The main station for the Trans-Siberian, a 15-minute walk from the Kremlin; the red-brick hall is from 1896
- Stolichny Bus Station · Buses to Sviyazhsk and the towns of Tatarstan leave from here
Cheap eats in Kazan
Tatar food is the food of a people that moved from the steppe to the Volga: dough, meat, butter and honey, made to fill you up for a long day. Pastries are the everyday snack — the triangular echpochmak, the round belish with meat and potato, the folded kystybyi — and they are eaten with strong black tea. Prices are in roubles and far below Moscow, and many canteens take cash only.
- Dom Chaya · Tatar tea-house canteen on Bauman; echpochmak and tea about 150-300 roubles
- Tubatay · Tatar fast food on Kremlyovskaya Street; a pastry with tea about 150-350 roubles
- Kystybyi · Small stand named after its flatbread; one kystybyi about 100-200 roubles
- Dobraya Stolovaya · Self-service canteen off Bauman; soup and a main about 300-500 roubles
- Central Market · Pastries, honey and dried fruit; a snack about 100-300 roubles
Museums in Kazan
- National Museum of Tatarstan · Volga Bulgars, the khanate and Tatar life; opposite the Kremlin
- Hermitage-Kazan · Changing shows from the Hermitage collection inside the Kremlin
- Museum of Socialist Life · A crowded flat of Soviet everyday objects; fun and short
- Chak-Chak Museum · Tatar sweets and customs in a merchant house; ends with tea
- Kazan Federal University · Historic halls and small museums inside the old main building
Nature and day trips near Kazan
- Raifa Monastery and lake · Forest reserve with walking trails around the monastery lake
- Blue Lakes · Spring-fed lakes in the pines; icy water all year
- Lake Kaban · Lakeside promenade with fountains in the old Tatar quarter
- Kremlin Embankment · Riverside walk under the Kremlin walls; sunset views
- Kazan Zoo and Botanical Garden · Old zoo with gardens by the lakes south of the centre
Holy places in Kazan
- Qol Sharif Mosque · Gallery open to visitors; a small museum of Islam downstairs
- Annunciation Cathedral · The Kremlin's 16th-century cathedral; covered shoulders
- Marjani Mosque · The old quarter's mosque, in use since 1770
- Peter and Paul Cathedral · Painted baroque church off Bauman Street
- Assumption Cathedral, Sviyazhsk · UNESCO frescoes on the island; check opening hours
Where to eat in Kazan
- Tatarskaya Usadba · Tatar dishes in a wooden house in the old quarter
- Tugan Avylym · Wooden village complex by Lake Kaban with a Tatar restaurant
- Chirem · Restaurant inside the Kremlin walls, near the mosque
- Dom Chaya · Cheap and busy until evening; good for a pastry and tea
Frequently asked questions about Kazan
What is there to see in Kazan?
The top sights in Kazan are Kazan Kremlin, Qol Sharif Mosque and Annunciation Cathedral. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Kazan?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Kazan without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Kazan?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Kazan, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The white Kremlin.
How do you get to Kazan and get around?
The main ways are Kazan International Airport, Kazan-Passazhirskaya Station and Stolichny Bus Station. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Kazan, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Kazan that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Kazan for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.