An evening in an hour and a half: the kremlin and the Volga

⏱ 1 h 30 min🚶 2 km🍽 1📍 4 stops

🐢 A little — under 3 km

A short evening loop: the illuminated kremlin, the Chkalov Stairs lit up, the embankment by the water and the signature "herring and coffee" on Rozhdestvenskaya.

🌙 Evening

🗺 Open in Yandex Maps

1
🏛 Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin
Кремль, вход с пл. Минина и Пожарского
🎟 partly ticketed · the grounds are free; the wall and the museums in the towers need a ticket
A red-brick 16th-century fortress on the high bank above the confluence of the Oka and the Volga: inside are cathedrals, museums, gardens and viewing platforms.
The kremlin in the evening: the grounds are open until 22:00, the walls are lit up.
📖 More about the placeCollapse
© Bestalex · CC BY-SA 4.0
© Vityavo · CC0
- The stone kremlin was founded on 1 September 1500, and the main work went on from 1508.
- In 1505 construction was interrupted by the siege of the city by the army of the Kazan khan Muhammad Amin.
- The two-kilometer wall has 13 towers: five gate towers and eight blind round ones.
- Of the surviving kremlins, Nizhny Novgorod's is second in area and wall length only to Moscow's.
- In 1929 the Transfiguration Cathedral was blown up, and the House of Soviets was built in its place.
- In 1935–1937 part of the wall with the Dmitrovskaya Tower was to be demolished to widen the square, but the kremlin survived.
- Today the kremlin houses the presidential envoy, the regional governor and the city mayor.
🚶 on foot
2
🌅 Chkalov Stairs
от памятника Чкалову до Нижне-Волжской наб.
A monumental figure-eight staircase from the Chkalov monument down to the Volga — the city's main postcard view.
Go down to the Volga by the "figure eight" — the best evening shots are from the intermediate platforms.
📖 More about the placeCollapse
© Алексей Трефилов · CC BY-SA 4.0
© A.Savin · FAL 1.3
© Vityavo · CC0
- The design was approved in 1943 and the stairs opened in 1949; the authors are Alexander Yakovlev, Lev Rudnev and Vladimir Munts.
- Officially they are the Volga Stairs, but since the 1980s they have been called the Chkalov Stairs, after the monument to the pilot Valery Chkalov at the top.
- The staircase is built as a figure eight, with viewing platforms where the flights cross.
- Below, on a pedestal, stands the Volga Military Flotilla boat "Geroy" — it was put there in 1985.
- From the top you can see the Volga, the Strelka and the town of Bor on the far bank.
- For the city's 800th anniversary the stairs were restored: the crumbled steps were replaced, keeping two historic flights.
🚶 on foot
3
🚶 Nizhne-Volzhskaya Embankment
Нижне-Волжская наб.
A wide embankment right by the water under the kremlin — from the Chkalov Stairs to Kanavinsky Bridge, with a bike path and a view of the Strelka.
West along the embankment, past the lights on the water, about 15 minutes to Zelensky Descent.
📖 More about the placeCollapse
© Алексей Трефилов · CC BY-SA 4.0
© AlexTref871 · CC BY-SA 4.0
- The embankment runs along the Volga for a little over 3 km, from Kazansky Descent to Kanavinsky Bridge.
- The section from Kazansky Descent to the former river terminal was landscaped in 2013, and a bike path appeared there in 2014.
- The second part, to Kanavinsky Bridge, was opened for walking in time for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
- At the foot of the Chkalov Stairs, on a pedestal, stands the Volga Military Flotilla boat "Geroy".
🚶 on foot
4
🍸 Herring and Coffee
Рождественская ул., 19
▮▮▯▯▯
Finish on Rozhdestvenskaya: "herring and coffee" or a glass with snacks. Open until midnight, on Friday and Saturday until 2 a.m.
🍴 A bar-restaurant on Rozhdestvenskaya with the most Nizhny Novgorod name possible and home cooking. What to order: the signature "herring and coffee", syrniki (cottage-cheese pancakes), a cheddar burger.