Yekaterinburg: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
Yekaterinburg did not grow from a village; it was founded in 1723 as a state ironworks, with a dam across the Iset River to drive the hammers. The money of the Ural mines then built merchants' mansions around the pond, and the 20th century added a skyscraper and a museum of the 1990s. This walk circles the pond in the centre. About three hours on flat ground; the Fine Arts museum is closed on Mondays.
A short history of Yekaterinburg
The city was founded in 1723 as an ironworks and fortress on the Iset River, and was named after Empress Catherine I, the wife of Peter the Great. It became the mining and metalworking centre of the Urals. On the night of 17 July 1918 Tsar Nicholas II and his family were murdered in the cellar of the Ipatiev House, and a church now stands on the site. Between 1924 and 1991 the city was called Sverdlovsk, and in the Second World War entire factories were moved here from the western Soviet Union. In 1960 the American U-2 spy plane was shot down nearby. Boris Yeltsin began his political career here.
The ten best sights in Yekaterinburg
1Church on the BloodBuilt where the last tsar's family was shot; the lower church marks the spot
2Ascension ChurchOn the hill above the Church on the Blood, with a view down the street
3Ganina Yama MonasterySeven wooden churches in a pine forest 20 km north; modest dress, scarves at the gate
4Novo-Tikhvin ConventA working convent with a quiet garden, south of the centre
5Yeltsin CenterA museum of Russia in the 1990s; the best-made museum in the city, give it two hours
6Museum of Fine ArtsGo for the Kasli cast-iron pavilion in the riverside building
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7Sevastyanov House
The fairy-tale mansion on the pond; seen from outside, inside only on tours
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8Rastorguyev-Kharitonov Estate
A merchant palace on the hill; the park behind it is free
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9Opera and Ballet Theatre
Strong ballet company and cheap tickets compared with Moscow
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10Ural Geological Museum
Malachite, gems and gold from the Urals; small and dense
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Yekaterinburg →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 Yekaterinburg:
Free walking tours in Yekaterinburg
A factory on a pond
Yekaterinburg did not grow from a village; it was founded in 1723 as a state ironworks, with a dam across the Iset River to drive the hammers. The money of the Ural mines then built merchants' mansions around the pond, and the 20th century added a skyscraper and a museum of the 1990s. This walk circles the pond in the centre. About three hours on flat ground; the Fine Arts museum is closed on Mondays.
- Plotinka · The city was founded here in 1723 around the dam and ironworks, and named after Catherine I, the wife of Peter the Great. The pond the dam created is still the centre of town.
- Sevastyanov House · The mansion was rebuilt in the 1860s for the official Nikolai Sevastyanov in a mix of Gothic and Moorish styles. After a long restoration it is now used for official receptions and state visits.
- Opera and Ballet Theatre · The theatre opened in 1912, and during the Second World War it shared its stage with companies evacuated from the west. Its ballet troupe has won the Golden Mask, Russia's national theatre prize, several times.
- Vysotsky Tower · The 188-metre tower is named after Vladimir Vysotsky, the singer and actor whose songs every Russian knows. A small museum of his life is inside, and the viewing deck is on the 52nd floor.
- Museum of Fine Arts · Its treasure is the Kasli pavilion, a whole cast-iron pavilion made by the Kasli ironworks of the Urals for the 1900 Paris World Fair, where it won a top prize. It is so fine that from a distance it looks carved from black lace.
- Yeltsin Center · Boris Yeltsin ran the Communist Party of the Sverdlovsk region from 1976 to 1985, before he went to Moscow and became Russia's first president. The centre opened in 2015, and its museum walks through the seven days of the 1991 coup and the decade that followed.
The last days of the Romanovs
In April 1918 the Bolsheviks brought the deposed tsar Nicholas II, his wife and their five children to Yekaterinburg and locked them in a merchant's house. In the night of 16–17 July they were shot in its cellar with four of their servants, and their bodies were driven into the forest. This route follows them from the hill where the house stood to the forest sites north of the city. The town part is on foot; for the last two stops you need a car, about two hours more.
- Ascension Church · The Ipatiev house stood just below this church, on the slope of Voznesenskaya Hill. The Bolsheviks called it the House of Special Purpose, and put up a high wooden fence so that no one in the street could see the prisoners.
- Church on the Blood · In 1977 the Politburo ordered the Ipatiev house demolished so it would not become a shrine, and the regional party boss who carried it out was Boris Yeltsin. The church on the site was consecrated in 2003, after the family had been declared saints.
- Museum of the Holy Royal Family · The family lived 78 days in the Ipatiev house, from 30 April to the night of 16–17 July 1918. The museum, run by the church beside the Church on the Blood, tells those days through their letters, diaries and photographs.
- Novo-Tikhvin Convent · During the family's imprisonment, nuns from this convent were allowed to bring them milk, eggs and bread. The convent was closed under Soviet rule and returned to the nuns in the 1990s.
- Porosenkov Log · The remains of most of the family were found here secretly in 1979 by the local geologist Alexander Avdonin and the filmmaker Geli Ryabov, who kept quiet until 1989; they were exhumed in 1991. The bones of Alexei and one of his sisters were found nearby only in 2007.
- Ganina Yama Monastery · The bodies were first thrown into an abandoned mine shaft here, then pulled out and moved when the killers feared they would be found. The monastery built after 2000 has seven wooden churches, one for each member of the family.
Red Sverdlovsk and the edge of Asia
From 1924 to 1991 the city was called Sverdlovsk, after a Bolshevik leader, and it was rebuilt as an industrial capital in the bold modern style of the 1920s and 30s. This route visits that constructivist city and its giant machine plant, then leaves town for granite rocks in the forest and the line where Europe ends. It needs a car and most of a day; the obelisk is about an hour west on the old Moscow road.
- Gorodok Chekistov · The complex was built in 1929–1936 as housing for officers of the secret police and their families. Many of the people who moved in were themselves arrested in the purges of 1937–1938.
- Iset Hotel · The curved tower of the hotel is part of the same Chekist complex, and it is often said that from the air the buildings form a hammer and sickle. It is one of the best-known constructivist buildings in Russia.
- White Tower · Built in 1929–1931 as the water tower for the workers' town of Uralmash, it was designed by the young architect Moisei Reisher. It stood empty for years and now hosts tours, lectures and concerts.
- Uralmash Plant · Opened in 1933, it was called the factory of factories because it built machines for other plants. During the Second World War it turned to tanks and self-propelled guns for the Red Army.
- Shartash Stone Tents · The stacks of granite in the forest were sacred to the ancient peoples of the Urals, and archaeologists have found traces of settlement and offerings around them. The name comes from their shape, like piled-up tents.
- Europe-Asia Obelisk · Here the old road from Moscow crosses the watershed of the Ural range, which geographers take as the border between Europe and Asia. A marker has stood at this spot since the 19th century, and newlyweds still come to be photographed with one foot on each continent.
Getting to Yekaterinburg and getting around
- Koltsovo Airport · About 16 km south-east of the centre; the Urals' main airport
- Yekaterinburg-Passazhirsky Station · The Trans-Siberian stop, about 1,800 km from Moscow; the old green station building is now a railway museum
- Northern Bus Station · Next to the railway station; buses to the towns of the Urals
Cheap eats in Yekaterinburg
The Urals eat pelmeni, small dumplings of meat in thin dough served with sour cream, and they claim the dish as their own. Canteens and Uzbek plov houses feed the city cheaply, and the market sells pine nuts and berries from the taiga. Prices are in roubles and lower than Moscow; carry some cash.
- Schastlivy Pelmen · Pelmeni bar on Weiner Street; a portion about 300-500 roubles
- Skatert-Samobranka · Self-service canteen on Weiner; soup and a main about 350-600 roubles
- Pelmeni Club · Pelmeni and vareniki near the Iset embankment; about 400-700 roubles
- Plov Project · Uzbek plov and samsa on Weiner; a plate about 350-550 roubles
- Provizia · Food-hall counters with many kitchens; dishes about 400-800 roubles
- Shartash Market · Pine nuts, berries and smoked fish; a snack about 150-400 roubles
Museums in Yekaterinburg
- Yeltsin Center · The 1990s told well, with a reconstructed Soviet shop queue
- Museum of Fine Arts · The Kasli cast-iron pavilion and Russian painting
- Ural Geological Museum · Malachite, jasper and gold nuggets from Ural mines
- Museum of the Holy Royal Family · Photographs and letters of the Romanovs' last weeks
- Literary Quarter · Small writers' museums in old wooden houses
Nature and day trips near Yekaterinburg
- Shartash Stone Tents · Granite rocks in a pine forest; climb to the top for the view
- Lake Shartash · The city's beach lake, with a forest park around it
- Kharitonov Garden · English-style park with a pond behind the merchant estate
- Dendrological Park · Tree collection and shady paths a short tram ride east
- Europe-Asia Obelisk · The continental border in the forest west of town
Holy places in Yekaterinburg
- Church on the Blood · Night procession to Ganina Yama every 17 July
- Ganina Yama Monastery · Seven wooden churches in the forest; scarves at the gate
- Novo-Tikhvin Convent · Working convent with a garden and an embroidery workshop
- Ascension Church · Baroque church on the hill above the Ipatiev site
- Jewish Community Centre and Synagogue · Services and community life; call ahead to visit
Where to eat in Yekaterinburg
- Podkova · Old-school Russian and Ural dishes on Lenin Avenue
- Vysota 5642 · Caucasian grill and khachapuri, busy at night
- Starik Khinkalych · Georgian khinkali chain; a fun, cheap dinner
- Pelmeni Club · Ural pelmeni with a glass of something cold
Frequently asked questions about Yekaterinburg
What is there to see in Yekaterinburg?
The top sights in Yekaterinburg are Church on the Blood, Ascension Church and Ganina Yama Monastery. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Yekaterinburg?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Yekaterinburg without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Yekaterinburg?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Yekaterinburg, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: A factory on a pond.
How do you get to Yekaterinburg and get around?
The main ways are Koltsovo Airport, Yekaterinburg-Passazhirsky Station and Northern Bus Station. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Yekaterinburg, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Yekaterinburg 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 Yekaterinburg for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.