Kemerovo

Kemerovo (Russian: Ке́мерово KYEHM-eer-uh-vuh) is a city in Kemerovo Oblast, Western Siberia. Kemerovo is the capital of Kemerovo region or Kuzbass. It is a city with over half a million of population — big enough for Siberia. Rivers Tom and Iskitimka run through the city.

By train
Direct trains arrive from
 * Moscow (55 hours), #29, firmenniy train Kuzbass.
 * Tashtagol (16 hours), #680/679.
 * Novosibirsk (5 hours), #853/854

Get around
By bus, trams, trolleybus, taxi. Prices are fair enough: ₽14 for public transport and around ₽200-300 for a taxi, depending on how far you want to go.

See
There are many museums and art galleries in Kemerovo, most of which are located in the city center. The grand Lenin's Square with the Lenin`s monument is a symbol of past Soviet times. Also you can find here a monument dedicated to miners who gave their lives working the region's mines.



Also the city is surrounded by beautiful forest — taiga, where you can almost feel the wildness and greatness of lands untouched by civilization.


 * 'Khimik' Stadium, one of the largest hockey arena in the world where Russian hockey teams play.


 * Znamenskiy Kafedral'nyy Sobor, Ulitsa Lunacharskogo, 4. Prominent city church.

Do
Skiing, snowboarding, bowling, pool, hiking, hunting, fishing. Also Disco and night clubs.

Take a tour of the massive strip mine just outside Kemerovo, which fueled Russia's industrial revolution under Stalin's 5-year plan.

Buy
Most common Russian souvenirs. Matryoshka, lapti, beresta. Different types of wood-carved hand-made souvenirs.

Eat
There are a great number of restaurants. Russian, sushi, European and others. Fast-food meal for 2 people will be around ₽300. A restaurant meal for 2 people with beer or wine will be as much as ₽1000.

Drink
Vodka! The nearby town of Mariinsk is considered a somewhat adequate manufacturer of vodka.

Sleep
Plenty of hotels. Centrally located hotels include: Hotel Kuzbass, Tom River Plaza Hotel, Azimut Hotel Kristall. Outside the city in the taiga you can stay at the Park Hotel Graal (http://park-hotel-graal.ru) or the hotel Tsarskiye Palaty.

Go next
Gornaya Shoriya and a ski-resort Sheregesh.