Nizhniy Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod, colloquially shortened to Nizhny and from 1932 to 1990 known as Gorky, is the administrative centre and largest city of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, and the administrative centre of the Volga Federal District, in Russia.
The city is located at the confluence of the Oka and the Volga rivers in Central Russia, with a population of over 1.2 million residents, and roughly 1.7 million residents in the wider urban area. Nizhny Novgorod is the sixth-largest city in Russia, and the second-most populous city on the Volga and in the Volga Federal District. The city is located 420 kilometers (260 mi) east of Moscow. It is an important economic, architectural, educational and cultural centre in Russia and the Volga-Vyatka Economic Region, and provides the majority of Russia's river tourism.
Getting to Nizhniy Novgorod
The train station in Nizhny Novgorod is in the northern part of the city centre, near the Metromost Bridge. It is reachable via the metro. The main hall of the train station is beautiful and includes a chandelier as well as soviet-style mosaics symbolizing the life of Russian people. All Trans-Siberian trains from Moscow except for train 99/100 (which goes via Yaroslavl instead) stop at Nizhny Novgorod.
- 01Nizhny Novgorod
- 02Nizhny Novgorod
Worth seeing
- 01The Kremlin
It's worth a wander around and contains a church, war monument with eternal flame, a reasonable art museum and impressive views along the Volga River.
- 02Minin and Pozharsky Square
The main square of city, at the south-east side of the Kremlin.
- 03Bolshaya Pokrovskaya Street
A pedestrian street, the main street of the city.
- 04Rozhdestvenskaya
Parallel to Oka river under the hill, this street contains a lot of 19th century buildings in rather good condition.
- 05Ilyinskaya
Merchant buildings of 19th century (and a few even older), some in good condition, some in rather worse one.
- 06Varvarskaya
Late 19th-century houses intermixed with early-21st century ones.
Things to do
Jet fighter flight on Sokol Airbase in MiG Jets, Nizhny Novgorod, MiGFlug & Adventure GmbH, Badenerstrasse 286, 8004 Zurich, info@migflug.com. Very nice but expensive experience. The customer can fly the plane under close watch of the pilot. Supersonic flights and stratospheric Edge of Space flights are possible €12,500 for a MiG-29 Fulcrum flight including transfer from Moscow and all preparations.
- 01Nizhny Novgorod Cableway
- 02Nizhny Novgorod
- 03Nizhny Novgorod
- 04Limpopo
- 05Trud
- 06Dinamo
Where to eat
= = In the city stalls with shawarma are very popular. They can be found everywhere, even on the outskirts of the city.
Getting around Nizhniy Novgorod the local way
- 371 Маршрутное такси 371: улица Касьянова => Мега
- 371 Маршрутное такси 371: Мега => улица Касьянова
OpenStreetMap contributors.
- Get aroundThere is a network of s-trains, trams, trolleybuses, buses, marshrutkas and a 2-line metro system.
- Get aroundOn surface public transport (trams, trolleybuses, buses and marshrutkas) you are expected to pay within one stop after you enter, the fare is fixed for one ride.
- Get aroundAs of 2019, you can pay by Apple Pay/Google Pay/Visa PayWave/Mastercard Contactless on board on any public transport including marshrutkas.
- Get aroundTo indicate your intention to exit a marshrutka, press a button and to indicate your intention to enter a marshrutka en-route, you need to wave your hand.
From Wikivoyage: Nizhny Novgorod, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.