Must-see attractions in Western European Russia

  • Assumption Cathedral at dawn, Smolensk, Russia.

    Assumption Cathedral

    Western European Russia

    Dominating the skyline is this huge green-and-white working cathedral topped by five silver domes. A church has stood here since 1101; this one was built…

  • Mikhailovskoe

    Western European Russia

    Russia’s most beloved poet, Alexander Pushkin, lived several years at his family estate, Mikhailovskoe, near the small town of Pushkinskie Gory …

  • Yasnaya Polyana

    Western European Russia

    This late 19th-century estate is where Leo Tolstoy wrote War and Peace and Anna Karenina, as well being the place he was born, lived most of his life and…

  • Arms Museum

    Western European Russia

    Tula has been a weapons manufacturing centre for centuries, a legacy celebrated at this fantastically kitted-out new building that houses an impressive…

  • Ascension Cathedral

    Western European Russia

    Designed by Konstantin Ton (1794–1881), the genius behind Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, the Kremlin Armoury and the Grand Kremlin Palace, this…

  • Art Gallery

    Western European Russia

    Housed in a beautiful building with wrought-iron staircases, this splendid collection includes pieces by luminaries such as Valentin Serov, Ilya Repin and…

  • Tula Kremlin

    Western European Russia

    This restored stone fortress, first constructed out of wood in the early 16th century, is home to the stunning 18th-century Assumption Cathedral. The…

  • Trinity Cathedral

    Western European Russia

    This blindingly white 72m-high structure, with its top dome shining gold, can be seen from miles away on a clear day. Consecrated in 1699, it’s the fourth…

  • Tula Regional Arts Museum

    Western European Russia

    This exceptional gallery charts a course from gilded icons and late-15th-century European paintings through to fascinating pieces of socialist realism…

  • Dostoevsky House Museum

    Western European Russia

    The author’s family lived on the 1st floor of this riverside dacha, which contains many original pieces. Dostoevsky’s bookcase is still stocked, and his…

  • Church at the entrance to Museum-Reserve IS Turgenev "Spassky Lutovinovo." Russia. Orel region, Mtsensk District, the village Spasskoe- Lutovinovo; Shutterstock ID 221602441; Your name (First / Last): Josh Vogel; Project no. or GL code: 56530; Network activity no. or Cost Centre: Online-Design; Product or Project: 65050/7529/Josh Vogel/LP.com Destination Galleries

    Spasskoe-Lutovinovo

    Western European Russia

    Surrounded by beautiful countryside, Spasskoe-Lutovinovo, 65km north of Oryol, is the family estate of Ivan Turgenev (1818–83), where the 19th-century…

  • Flyonovo

    Western European Russia

    In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, illustrious artists and musicians, including Stravinsky, Chaliapin, Vrubel and Serov, visited Flyonovo, the…

  • Fortress Walls & Around

    Western European Russia

    Making a circuit of the restored city walls, long sections of which boast fine towers reminiscent of the Moscow Kremlin, is a pleasant way to pass a warm…

  • Pechory Monastery

    Western European Russia

    Founded in 1473, this monastery sits in a ravine full of hermits’ grottoes. With all the high ground outside, it’s an improbable stronghold, but several…

  • Tula Necropolis

    Western European Russia

    Set over 50 hectares, photography buffs will love this huge, gorgeously creepy graveyard, with hundreds of telegenic tombstones slowly being devoured by…

  • Fortress

    Western European Russia

    The ruins of this ancient stone fortress are among the oldest in Russia, and from its ridge location it overlooks a beautiful slice of countryside. Inside…

  • Kremlin

    Western European Russia

    Rising from a high narrow cape on the banks of the Velikaya River, Pskov's mighty kremlin (also known as the Krom) is the most complete portion of a…

  • Burial Caves

    Western European Russia

    Pechory Monastery's eerie burial caves house some 10,000 bodies, bricked up in underground vaults. The only way to access the caves is on a tour led by…

  • Glinka Garden

    Western European Russia

    At the east end of this shady garden with fountains, an 1885 statue of the composer Glinka is surrounded by a fence with excerpts from his opera A Life…

  • Oceanarium

    Western European Russia

    That one of Europe's largest aquariums can be found in a shopping centre in a landlocked town synonymous with Black Earth may seem a little odd, but you…

  • Smolensk WWII Museum

    Western European Russia

    This comprehensive museum covers WWII in the Smolensk area from the beginning of the war and occupation by the Nazis to the region's liberation. Displays …

  • Ivan The Terrible Monument

    Western European Russia

    Unveiled in late 2016, Russia's first monument to the formidable 16th-century tsar, Ivan the Terrible, has caused plenty of controversy. Locals protested…

  • City Garden

    Western European Russia

    On the grounds of what once was Tver’s kremlin, this park has a fun fair (rides from R60) with a Ferris wheel and cafes, and often hosts live concerts on…

  • Central Park

    Western European Russia

    A large, pleasant park perfect for strolling and watching locals cycling and rollerblading around. If you enter the park from pr Lenina, you'll see the…

  • Ivan Bunin Museum

    Western European Russia

    There’s a good collection of photos and other documents relating to the Nobel Prize–winning writer (no English captions, however), plus a 'Paris Room’…

  • Ploshchad Mira

    Western European Russia

    The southern end of ‘Peace Square’ is easily identified by its WWII tank memorial, one of the original involved in liberating Oryol from German occupation…

  • Military History Museum

    Western European Russia

    This detailed museum covers military history through the years, including the Napoleonic War, Russian Civil War, WWI and WWII, as well as more recent…

  • Smolensk Flax Museum

    Western European Russia

    Flax production developed from the Middle Ages as one of Smolensk’s main industries, as the moderate climate sustained soil ideal for growing the plant…

  • Art Gallery

    Western European Russia

    This gallery is usually housed in Catherine the Great's 1775 Road Palace (which is being very slowly restored), but for now you'll find the collection in…

  • Church of the White Trinity

    Western European Russia

    Amid a quaint neighbourhood of old wooden houses with carved eaves and window frames, west of the market on ul Bragina, you’ll find Tver’s oldest building…

  • Museum of Tver Life

    Western European Russia

    This museum is split across two adjacent houses: one is set up to display the life of wealthy merchants; the other (across the street in a crumbling…

  • Regional Museum

    Western European Russia

    Housed in a sweet blue-and-white 19th-century building, this surprisingly diverse museum is worth visiting. Among the miscellany, you'll find a room of…

  • Kartinnaya Gallery

    Western European Russia

    On the grounds of a 12th-century monastery, this gallery houses a noteworthy selection of paintings and sculptures by artists who spent time in Staraya…

  • City Park

    Western European Russia

    This park has a summertime Ferris wheel, a concert stage, amusement rides and a statue of writer Ivan Bunin. Next to the main entrance is the antique red…

  • Young Defenders of the Motherland Museum

    Western European Russia

    This small museum tells the tragic stories of the children and teenagers who fought against fascism during the ferocious battles of WWII. There's a photo…

  • Victory Memorial

    Western European Russia

    Kursk's 'Arc de Triomphe' dominates the northern entrance to the city. The soaring arch is surrounded by military paraphernalia including tanks and heavy…

  • Borisoglebsky Monastery

    Western European Russia

    The oldest monastery complex in Tver Oblast still bustles with religious activity; visitors and pilgrims are welcome. The adjoining museum has exhibits on…

  • House Museum of Yelets Lace

    Western European Russia

    This quaint, bright-blue building contains an exquisite collection of Yelets lacework displayed in elegant surrounds. The 2nd floor has a collection of…