10 things you should do in Krasnoyarsk

Next — 10 things you should do in Krasnoyarsk.

Feeding the gophers on Tatishev island

Tatishev island – is a giant natural park in the center of the city. This is the place where Krasnoyarsk locals rest by the water, do sport activities or go for picnic. There are walking paths, roads for running, toilets, cafes and locations for street workout on the island. No cars are allowed on the island, but you can rent a bike or roller-skates at the rental booths. You can go ice skating at the largest ice rink in the city in winter.

You can find foxes, ducks, owls all around the Tatishev island. But, it’s the gophers’ territory. There are more than 4000 gophers on the island. They’re brave and cute. You can feed them and take photos. But, be aware, do not touch them. They bite. Badly.

Take a photo of the city from Karaulnaya hill

There’s a beautiful sightseeing view of Krasnoyarsk historical center and mountains on the other bank of Yenisei river from Karaulnaya hill (which is also known as Pokrovskaya). We advise coming here at noon, every day at 12 a.m. a cannon on Karaulnaya hill fires a shot. It was placed here in memory of the Cossacks who defended the city from enemy sieges in the old days.

Coming here in the evening is not a bad choice either. You can take a photo of night Krasnoyarsk. Chapel of Paraskeva Pyatnitsa is only 163 years old. It’s a very young tourist attraction by world measures. But it’s printed on a 10 rubles’ banknote. You can take a photo of the chapel and of the banknote at the same time.

you can buy water and orthodox icons at the chapel’s shop nearby.

Try Russian cuisine in Krasnoyarsk restaurants

Facts about Krasnoyarsk restaurants:

• Krasnoyarsk is among Russian cities with most restaurants and cafes. Many locals do not eat at home but dine at the local restaurants instead. You won’t have problems finding a fancy restaurant, a café with decent prices or an interesting bar.
• local restaurateurs open institutions in other cities and even countries. This means that Krasnoyarsk restaurants are of a very high level. We recommend checking out the following restaurant holdings:

• On summer of 2018 there’re no Starbucks or McDonald’s cafes in Krasnoyarsk. But there’s a lot of coffee houses and fast food cafes with decent food and coffee.
• If you wish to try Russian cuisine, you should know that there’s a Russian national cuisine (borsch – Russian traditional red-beet soup, porridges, pierogi – traditional pastry with various fillings) and there’s a Soviet home cuisine (Olivier salad, pelmeni – Russian famous dumplings, or “Oreshki” dessert). You can try both at: Bulgakov bar, Tipichnaya pelmennaya, Hozyain Taigi, Mayak, Rasputin, Gadalov.

5 dishes and beverages you should try in Krasnoyarsk

Buy Siberian souvenirs

There are two types of souvenirs in Krasnoyarsk:

• Traditional and mass production.
• Designed and hand-crafted.

First type are magnets with tourist attractions, jewelry boxes with cedar nuts made of birch tree bark, t-shirts and cups with city symbols. If you wish to have these not expensive and predictable gifts, they can be bought at the Krasnoyarsk airport, at the hall of the hotel “Krasnoyarsk” or Diana gift shop.

But we recommend you to choose hand-crafted souvenirs from Krasnoyarsk. You should seek for one at:

1. Kamenka|Store

Kamenka shop is a popular place at the right bank of the Yenisei. You can find wooden glasses here, kokoshnik(traditional Russian women headwear) made of leather, jewelry made of Siberian flowers, design clothes and bags, herbal tea and cute chancery.

2. Rossiya vokrug nas|Russia around us

Unofficial symbol of Krasnoyarsk is a red crown, that looks like mountains on the right bank of the Yenisei river. Look for it on baseball caps, ushanka hats (Russian traditional winter headwear), cups and even socks. The shop is in the departure zone of Krasnoyarsk airport.

3. BADGUYS

It is a gallery and fashion shop in the center of the city. Works of local artists, hand crafted chancery and post cards can be found here.

Take a photo of Yenisei from different places

Yenisei is one of the biggest rivers in Russia. In the old city of Yeniseisk the river is frozen in the winter, and in Krasnoyarsk it’s not. In Krasnoyarsk Yenisei is a river, and 50 km from the city it’s almost a sea.

• Enjoy the view of the Yenisei from the city embankment. You’ll need to get to Dubrovinskovo street.
• A beautiful view of the Yenisei and its banks is from the Svyato-Uspenskiy man monastery. If you have clothes that cover elbows and knees and women have something to cover their heads you can visit the territory of the monastery to witness the beauty of the orthodox buildings and icons.

There are extraordinary views of the river outside the city. Locals tend to go outside the city to Ovsyanka, Divnogorsk, to Krasnoyarsk Hydro-electric Station and so called „Krasnoyarsk sea”. This kind of tour can be purchased at any tourist office, like, „Azimut” agency. If you want extreme — try figuring out the local train schedule in the internet and buy a ticket to Divnogorsk.

Departure from (just copy this phrase to past it inside the form on site) — Красноярск Пассажирский.

Arrival to (just copy this phrase to past it inside the form on site) — Овсянка или Дивногорск.

Ovsyanka is a village, home of the famous Krasnoyarsk writer Victor Astafiev. There’s a museum in Ovsyanka dedicated to the „Last bow” novel. You will see what living in a Russian village was like.

Divnogorsk is a city built for Hydro-electric Station (HES or GES in Russian) builders. Take a walk along the beautiful embankment, do fitness on street workout points, feed the ducks. You can buy bread at the local grocery store on the other side of the road.

HES is on a 10 rubles’ banknote. You can take a photo — a real HES and the one depicted on the 10 rubles at the same time. Several facts about HES:

Take a 10 000 steps walk along the Mira Avenue

Mira Avenue is the central historical street in Krasnoyarsk. There are many beautiful buildings on the avenue. You can find a lot of small cafes, bars and monuments along the way. Try walking a maximum amount of steps and find as many sights and historical buildings as possible. It takes almost 10 000 steps to walk the Mira Avenue from one way to another. Doctors say that 10 000 steps are the daily amount of physical exercises needed for a general man.

Also…

Three places where you can arrange a meeting with locals, have a snack or take a photo. These parks and streets were improved by the RUSAL company specially for the Universiade 2019. We’ll show them on the city map.

1 — The Revolution Square. It’s the place where Lenin monument stands. There’s a pergola, a beautiful Italian architectural element, on the square, all thanks to Krasnoyarsk Aluminum Plant. You can drink coffee or swing under these arches. More than that, the RUSAL company restored the whole square, created locations where you can hide from sun and take rest in a hammock. Other architect forms and modern public places features were created, like dynamic lightning, for instance.

2 — Surikov Park. Surikov is a great Russian artist. His paintings can be seen in Moscow and Saint-Petersburg, and in Krasnoyarsk you can visit a beautiful park created in his name. Its improvement was supported by the RUSAL company, there are stands for street expositions, lesser architectural forms and children playground, all these were created during the improvement.

3 — The RUSAL also takes part in preserving of old historical architecture. If you come to Krasnoyarsk in 2019, visit the Gorky street and you’ll see a whole bunch of restored buildings with famous Russian wood carvings on facades.

Look, all three places can be easily visited during one walk.

Visit museums

There’s a lot of museums in Krasnoyarsk. We’ll recommend where to go if you’re a history or photography lover.

„Svyatitel Nikolai” museum

This is an old steam ship. At different times it was a transport for Vladimir Lenin and the last Russian tsar Nikolai II.

What you’ll see: the interior of an old steamer: gear, engines and cabins, you can turn the hand wheel and ring the ship bell.
How to get to: taxi, trolleybus, buses, „Gostinitsa Oktyabrskaya” bus stop, by foot from the center of the city, situated in front of the Museum Centre „Ploshad’ Mira”.
Contacts and prices: kkkm.ru

Surikov’s museum

Vasili Surikov is the great Russian artist, he was born and raised in Krasnoyarsk. The old Russian house in the center of Krasnoyarsk is his home.

You’ll witness the way of old life in Russian village, many pictures and old photos.

How to get to: taxi, trolleybus, buses, „Stadium Locomotive” bus stop.
Contacts and prices: surikov-dom.com

Local history museum

The most important about this museum is that it was built as an Egyptian pyramid.

What you’ll see: a mammoth, a huge Cossack ship, cave painting, planes and satellites that are hanging right under the roof.

How to get to: taxi, trolleybus, buses, „Teatr Operi I Baleta”, „Perensona”, „Dom tekhniki” bus stop, by foot from the city center.
Contacts and prices: kkkm.ru

Udin’s house-museum

Gennadiy Udin is Krasnoyarsk merchant and the most famous book collectioner. Most of his collection is in the Congress Library in US.

You’ll witness the life of the wealthy Krasnoyarsk locals in the 19th century, merchant’s house interiors, the stuff that belonged to Dekabrists.

How to get to: taxi, bus #14, 26, 36, 77 „Zheleznodorojnaya bolnitsa” bus stop
Contacts and prices: kkkm.ru

Museum Centre Ploshad’ Mira

The center of modern art in Krasnoyarsk. In USSR it was a Lenin’s museum. Several expositions dedicated to Vladimir Lenin can be visited even today. The Museum Centre is the place for many famous expositions from Salvador Dali to Hant Slonem.

What you’ll see: many art-objects, Lenin’s exhibition, exhibition about Soviet way of life, science museum, planetarium.

How to get to: taxi, trolleybus, buses, „Gostinitsa Oktyabrskaya” bus stop.
Contacts and prices: mira1.ru

Visit Stolby

Stolby — is a natural reservation forest, where one can find huge red stones. These rocks are bizarre. They called them by the things they look like: Grandfather, Elephant, Feathers. Locals visit Stolby at the weekends. It’s a relax, fitness and hobby. The people who visit Stolby often are called “stolbisty”. Attention! Do not try climbing the rocks if you do not have a proper climbing experience! Do not risk. But if you are accompanied by an experienced “stolbyst” be aware, you’ll be spanked by a kalosha(rubber shoes), it’s a tradition. There are three ways to see the rocks of Stolby.

Central Stolby

By foot: 7 km one way
Time: you should plan to spend half a day at Stolby
How to get to: taxi, bus N 19, 50, 54, 78, “Turbaza” bus stop

This is the longest way, but also the most popular. It’s a 7 km long walk via an asphalt road, eko-paths and natural walking paths. You’ll have to walk up the mountain a lot. You’ll find many chipmunks and squirrels along the way.

Eastern Entrance

By foot: 500 meters and more
Time: you can take a 2 hours walk, or move further if you have enough time
How to get to: taxi, bus N37, “Poselok Bazaiha” bus stop (1,5 km walk from bus stop)

It’s a beautiful place to visit in winter. You’ll see a giant ice waterfall. It’s made for alpinist training purposes. And in summer take a walk through a magical forest. 600 meters you’ll walk along the wooden path and then just follow the forest walking paths. Check out the map at the entrance to be able to navigate using the color markings on trees.

Via “Bobroviy log” fun-park

By foot: 500 metres
Time: minimum 60 min
How to get to: taxi, bus N37, “Bobroviy log” bus stop
Fee: prices for cable car tickets are here

This way is perfect when you do not have much time, but you wish to see the taiga. Take a ride on a cable car up the mountain, walk 400 meters using the navigation signs and you’ll reach the sightseeing point.

“Bobroviy log” is also an all-season amusement park. In winter there’s a skiing track, skating rink and tubing tracks, you can slide right from the mountain. In summer there’s an open air swimming pool and extreme amusements.

Visit a cultural or sport city event

Krasnoyarsk is the place for many different everyday events like general club meetings or even huge festivals. The event schedule is available at gorodprima.ru. And here’s the list of tickets you should seek for if you’re a city guest. We created a rating of events of which you can tell everyone at home.

1 place – sport

Krasnoyarsk sport teams are among the best in rare kinds of sport. Krasnoyarsk is the home for one of the toughest teams in the world in bandy. This kind of sport is also known as “Russian hockey”. The most distinctive features are: the goalkeeper does not have a hockey stick, the skating rink is of the same size as football field, therefore bandy games are often held on open air. Games schedule and tickets can be found here: www.hc-enisey.ru.

Krasnoyarsk is the home for two best rugby teams in Russia. Derby schedule and tickets can be found here: www.hc-enisey.ru.

2 place – classical music

Our orchestras play soundtracks from “Titanic” and “Terminator”, arrange concerts with rollers, free-runners and bikers, you’re lucky if you visit a theme concert. Schedule and tickets are here krasfil.ru.

3 place – theatre

Watch the “Alisa”. It’s a theatrical phantasy based on the famous Luis Carol novel. It’s one of the best performances in Russia. Just so you know, it received the “Golden Mask” reward, it’s like the Oscar Nominations but in Russia and given for theatrical achievements. It’s a visual theatre. There’s almost no actual dialogs in the performance but a lot of visual effects. Schedule and tickets are here ktyz.ru.

Buy clothes, medicines, food and vodka

Shopping. Krasnoyarsk is not the shopping center. Many world brands do not have their shops here, there are no shopping streets or areas with worldwide known shops. If you require regular clothes from known brands you’ll need to go to “Planeta”. It is the largest shopping mall with hundreds of shops, cinema, restaurants and cafes. Shops of the following brands are in “Planeta”: Armani Exchange, Bershka, Calvin Klein Jeans, Colin’s, GANT, Guess, H&M, Henderson, Levi’s, Mango, Massimo Dutti, Pull&Bear, Quiksilver, Tommy Hilfiger, Zara and others. If you require perfumes or cosmetics you should check out Yves Rocher, Il’de Bote, L’Etual, Rive Gosche.

Medicines. Drug stores are on every street. They’re easily recognized by the red cross in front of the entrance and by the word “АПТЕКА”.

Food and alcohol. There’re 3 largest supermarkets chains which you can totally trust: Krasniy yar, Komandor, Rosa. There you can find different products with decent prices. These stores you’ll find in every district. Many of them work 24\7. You can pay via credit cards and NFC pay systems like Android Pay or Apple Pay in every store. Usually, you can find ATM and cookery shops inside. Alcohol is being sold only to those above 18 years old. Attention: from 23.00 till morning selling of all alcohol is forbidden.