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

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Novosibirsk did not exist when the Trans-Siberian was planned. In 1893 engineers chose this point to cross the Ob, and the camp of bridge-builders grew into a town named Novonikolaevsk, after the young tsar Nicholas II, and renamed Novosibirsk in 1926. This walk goes from the station to the river and back up to the opera, about two and a half hours. Siberian winters are hard: from December to February walk in short stretches between warm buildings.

A short history of Novosibirsk

Siberia's largest city arose only in 1893, when work began on the Trans-Siberian Railway bridge over the Ob River. It was first called Novonikolayevsk, after the tsar, and in 1926 it received its present name, "new city of Siberia". In less than seventy years it reached a million inhabitants. In 1945 its opera house, the largest in Russia, opened, and in 1957 the science town of Akademgorodok was built nearby. In 1985 the first metro in Siberia opened in Novosibirsk.

The ten best sights in Novosibirsk

1
Opera and Ballet Theatre
Russia's largest theatre building; ballet tickets cost a fraction of Moscow prices
2
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
The first stone building in the city, near the river
3
St Nicholas Chapel
A tiny chapel in the middle of Krasny Prospekt; five minutes, and the story is the point
4
State Art Museum
The room of Nicholas Roerich's Himalayan paintings is the reason to come
5
Museum of Local Lore
Siberian history, shamans and the founding of the city; in a fine 1911 building
6
Ascension Cathedral
The city's main cathedral, blue and gold; services are open to visitors
7
Museum of Railway Technology
Open-air rows of steam and diesel locomotives near Akademgorodok
8
Lenin Square
The central square in front of the opera; the meeting point of the city
9
Krasny Prospekt
The main avenue, straight through the city for kilometres; walk the stretch by the opera
10
Mikhailovskaya Embankment
The promenade on the Ob, with views of the bridges

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What is an audio walk?

Tours in Novosibirsk →

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 Novosibirsk:

Free walking tours in Novosibirsk

A city born from a bridge

Novosibirsk-Glavny Station · The green and white station opened in 1939–1940 and is the largest station building on the whole Trans-Siberian line. Its huge central arch was meant as a gate to Siberia.
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral · Built in 1896–1899 for the workers on the bridge, it was the first stone building in the city. It was named after Alexander Nevsky, the patron saint of Alexander III, who had started the Trans-Siberian.
Alexander III Monument · Alexander III ordered the Trans-Siberian built in 1891, and his son, the future Nicholas II, laid the first stone at Vladivostok that year. The statue on the embankment was unveiled in 2012.
First Railway Bridge Span · The first bridge over the Ob opened in 1897, designed with the help of the engineer Nikolai Garin-Mikhailovsky, who chose the crossing point. When the bridge was replaced, one of its steel spans was set on the bank as a monument.
St Nicholas Chapel · It was built in 1915 for the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty, on what was then believed to be the geographical centre of the Russian Empire. The Soviets pulled it down in 1930, and it was rebuilt on the same spot in 1993.
Opera and Ballet Theatre · Building began in 1931 and the theatre opened only in 1945. During the war, before it opened, its empty halls stored the evacuated treasures of Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery and other museums.

Science town and the Ob Sea

In 1957 the Soviet government decided to build a city of scientists in the Siberian forest, far from Moscow, and within a few years dozens of research institutes stood among the birches south of Novosibirsk. Akademgorodok still has the feel of a campus, with squirrels on the paths and the beaches of an artificial sea a few minutes away. This route needs a car or a bus and about half a day; bring mosquito repellent in summer.

Akademgorodok · The mathematician Mikhail Lavrentyev persuaded Khrushchev to build the science town, and it became the seat of the Siberian branch of the Academy of Sciences. Its main street, Morskoy Prospekt, is named after the sea at its end.
Lab Mouse Monument · Unveiled in 2013 beside the Institute of Cytology and Genetics, it shows a mouse with glasses knitting a strand of DNA. It thanks the millions of mice used in research.
Central Siberian Botanical Garden · The garden belongs to the Academy of Sciences and covers about a thousand hectares of forest and collections. Its research focuses on which plants can survive the Siberian climate.
Ob Sea · The sea is a reservoir, about 200 km long, created when the Ob was dammed in the late 1950s. The old town of Berdsk and many villages were flooded and moved to higher ground.
Novosibirsk Hydroelectric Dam · The dam was built in the 1950s and is the first on the Ob. The road along its top is the shortest way between Akademgorodok and the other bank.
Museum of Railway Technology · The open-air museum opened in 2000 and is named after Nikolai Akulinin, a head of the West Siberian Railway. It shows locomotives, carriages and snowploughs from the steam age to the present.

Siberian treasures

The centre of Novosibirsk is young and Soviet, but its museums hold Siberia from the shamans to the Himalayas, and its market and zoo show what the taiga produces. This route mixes both, and ends at the forest railway that children run. It takes most of a day; use the metro and trams between the centre and the zoo, which sit a few kilometres apart.

Krasny Prospekt · The avenue was laid out at the very start of the town as Nikolaevsky Prospekt, after the tsar, and renamed Red Avenue after the revolution. It runs straight for about 7 km, the spine of the city.
Museum of Local Lore · The museum is in the City Trade Building of 1911, designed by Andrei Kryachkov, the architect who shaped early Novosibirsk. Inside are Siberian shaman costumes and a model of the town as it was before the revolution.
State Art Museum · The painter Nicholas Roerich passed through the town in 1926 during his Central Asian expedition. The museum holds about sixty of his Himalayan canvases, one of the largest Roerich collections in Russia.
Central Market · Look for Siberian pine nuts, sold in the cone or shelled. The cones of the Siberian stone pine take about two years to ripen, and whole families go into the taiga in autumn to collect them.
Novosibirsk Zoo · The zoo is named after Rostislav Shilo, who ran it for about half a century. In 2012 it became known worldwide for a liliger, a cub whose father was a lion and whose mother was a ligress.
Children's Railway · On Soviet children's railways the drivers' assistants, conductors and station staff are schoolchildren, trained in after-school clubs under adult supervision. This line runs through the pine forest beside the zoo in summer.

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Getting to Novosibirsk and getting around

Tolmachevo Airport · About 20 km west; the biggest airport in Siberia, with flights to Central Asia
Novosibirsk-Glavny Station · The biggest station building on the Trans-Siberian; the 2-3 day leg to Irkutsk starts here

Cheap eats in Novosibirsk

Siberia eats to keep warm: pelmeni frozen in sacks through the winter, thick soups, and pastries filled with meat. Novosibirsk adds the kitchens of Central Asia and the Caucasus, brought by workers and students, so plov and chebureki are everywhere near the station. Prices are in roubles and reasonable; many places take only Russian cards, so carry cash.

Nikolaevskaya Pelmennaya · Pelmeni house in the centre; a portion about 300-500 roubles
Pelmovar · Quick pelmeni counter on Lenin Street; about 250-450 roubles
Russkie Bliny · Blini with sweet or savoury fillings; about 150-350 roubles each
Gorchitsa · Canteen-style lunches near the station road; about 350-550 roubles
Kotletoshnaya · Cutlets and mash on Krasny Prospekt; about 300-500 roubles
CheburekMi · Fried chebureki with meat or cheese; about 150-300 roubles

Museums in Novosibirsk

State Art Museum · Roerich's Himalayas and Russian painting
Museum of Local Lore · Shamans, mammoths and the founding of the city
Museum of Railway Technology · Open-air locomotives; climb into some of the cabs
Opera and Ballet Theatre · Tours of the great hall run on some days

Nature and day trips near Novosibirsk

Ob Sea · Sandy beaches and pine woods; swimming in July
Central Siberian Botanical Garden · Forest trails and greenhouses
Mikhailovskaya Embankment · Riverside promenade on the Ob
Central Park · Shady paths behind the opera
Akademgorodok · Birch forest paths full of squirrels

Things to do in Novosibirsk with kids

Novosibirsk Zoo · Big cats and Siberian animals in the pines
Children's Railway · Summer rides through the forest, run by teens
Big Novosibirsk Planetarium · Dome shows and a space hall
Novosibirsk Circus · Classic circus; shows mostly on weekends
Museum of Railway Technology · Kids can climb into old locomotives

Where to eat in Novosibirsk

Suluguni · Georgian khachapuri and grills near the station road
Chuchvara · Uzbek dumplings, plov and lagman
Veranda Denisa Ivanova · Chef-run modern Russian food on Lenin Street
Dom Aktyora · Restaurant at the House of Actors, near the opera

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Frequently asked questions about Novosibirsk

What is there to see in Novosibirsk?

The top sights in Novosibirsk are Opera and Ballet Theatre, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and St Nicholas Chapel. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.

How many days do you need in Novosibirsk?

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

Is there a free walking tour in Novosibirsk?

Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Novosibirsk, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: A city born from a bridge.

How do you get to Novosibirsk and get around?

The main ways are Tolmachevo Airport and Novosibirsk-Glavny Station. Full details are in the transport section on this page.

Where to stay in Novosibirsk, and for how much?

sleepntrip shows only rooms in Novosibirsk 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.

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