Stary Mensk

Minsk


Stary Mensk is a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cafe hidden among monoliths opposite the KGB building. It has a pleasant terrace on the sidewalk with occasional live acoustic music.

Down the street its cousin, London, has a similar vibe.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Minsk attractions

1. KGB Headquarters

0.07 MILES

An entire block of central pr Nezalezhnastsi is occupied by this yellow neoclassical building with an ominous, temple-like Corinthian portal – the KGB…

2. National History Museum

0.1 MILES

Two freshly modernised museums in one here. The national history museum proper occupies the upper floors with exhibits of ethnographic and archaeological…

3. Bust of Felix Dzerzhinsky

0.1 MILES

Between pr Nezalezhnastsi and vul Karla Marksa is a long narrow park with a bust of Felix Dzerzhinsky, the founder of the KGB's predecessor (the Cheka)…

4. Pr Nezalezhnastsi

0.21 MILES

The capital's main thoroughfare impresses with its sheer size. Formerly pr Francyska Skaryny, it runs from what travel writer Colin Thubron dubbed the …

5. Church of SS Simon & Elena

0.27 MILES

The red-brick Catholic Church of SS Simon & Elena, built in 1910, is worth popping into for a peek at its unique, wave-like, arched ceiling. Its tall,…

6. Belarusian State Art Museum

0.3 MILES

This excellent museum in one of Minsk's iconic buildings (built in 1939) includes definitive works by Soviet social realists and Russian masters,…

7. Pl Nezalezhnastsi

0.37 MILES

Independence Sq, formerly pl Lenina, is dominated by the 1930s constructivist Belarusian Government Building (behind the iconic Lenin statue). The red…

8. Pl Svabody

0.4 MILES

In the heart of the Old Town just off central vul Lenina is charming pl Svabody, lorded over by the white medieval Ratusha (town hall). Off the northern…