Where the Volga meets the Oka: a proud merchant city with a red-brick Kremlin, grand staircases and some of the best river views in Russia.
Why Nizhny Novgorod
Founded in 1221, Nizhny Novgorod was once the trading capital of Russia and the home of the great Nizhny Fair. Today it is a lively university city with a restored historic centre, riverside promenades and easy day trips to the folk-craft towns of the Volga.
1 day · groups & individual
Kremlin & Old Town Tour
The Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin with its towers and walls above the Volga, Minin and Pozharsky Square, the Chkalov Staircase, the Strelka where two great rivers meet, and the merchant mansions of Rozhdestvenskaya Street.
2–3 hours · river views
Volga Embankments & Cable Car
A walk along the Upper Volga Embankment and down the Chkalov Staircase, followed by a ride on the cable car across the Volga to the town of Bor — one of the longest river crossings of its kind in Europe.
Half day · walking
Bolshaya Pokrovskaya & Merchant Nizhny
The city’s main pedestrian street with its bronze sculptures, theatres and cafés, the Rukavishnikov Mansion and the stories of the merchant families who made Nizhny rich.
1 day · folk crafts
Gorodets: Crafts of the Volga
One of the oldest towns on the Volga, famous for Gorodets painting, gingerbread and wood carving. Visit craft workshops and museums, and try your hand at traditional painting.
1 day · by road or river
Makaryev Monastery
A white-walled 17th-century monastery on the banks of the Volga, once the site of the famous Makaryev Fair. Quiet, photogenic and full of history.
2 days · weekend
Nizhny Novgorod in 2 Days
The city tour, embankments and cable car on day one, and a trip to Gorodets or the Makaryev Monastery on day two — easily combined with Moscow by fast train (about 4 hours).
Nizhny Novgorod sits between Moscow and Kazan — the perfect stop on a Volga route. Ask us for a combined programme.
Nizhny Novgorod · Moscow · Kazan
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: A.Savin, FAL · AlexTref871, CC BY-SA 4.0 · WildPea, CC0 · Alexxx1979, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Vulkan-Avia, Public domain