Nizhny Novgorod

Nizhny Novgorod (Russian: Ни́жний Но́вгород NEEZH-nee NOHV-guh-ruht), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, is Russia's fifth largest city, ranking after Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk and Yekaterinburg. It had a population in 2018 of 1.26 million. It is the economic and cultural center of the vast Volga economic region, and also the administrative center of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast and Volga Federal District.

From 1932 to 1990 the city was known as Gorky (Го́рький), after the writer Maxim Gorky. Following the fall of the Soviet Union, the old name was restored.

Do not confuse Nizhny Novgorod with Novgorod (or, fully, Veliky Novgorod), which is a different city. In particular, do not shorten the name Nizhny Novgorod to Novgorod.

Districts
The city is divided by the River Oka into two major parts: the Upper city (Verkhnyaya or Nagornaya chast) on the hilly right side and the Lower city (Nizhnyaya or Zarechnaya chast — what literally means "the part over the river") on the left bank of the river. The Upper city is the old historical part of Nizhny Novgorod, whereas the Lower city is larger, newer and consists of more industrial districts.

History
The city was founded by Grand Duke George II of Russia in 1221 at the confluence of two most important rivers of his principality, the Volga and the Oka. Its name literally means Newtown the Lower, to distinguish it from the older Novgorod. A major stronghold for border protection, Nizhny Novgorod fortress took advantage of a natural moat formed by the two rivers.

Along with Moscow and Tver, Nizhny Novgorod was among several newly founded towns that escaped Mongol devastation on account of its insignificance and grew up into important centers of Russian political life during the period of Tatar yoke. For a short period of time it was the capital of the Suzdal Principality and competed with Moscow for the power in the region. However the competition with Moscow was lost and in 1392 the city was incorporated into Muscovy. Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin was built in 1508-1511 (under supervision of the Italian fortress engineers) and became one of the strongest Russian citadels. There is a legend saying that the project was initially developed with participation of Leonardo da Vinci. However there is no documented proof of Leonardo's work for that project, the only thing the legend is based on is the striking resemblance of Leonardo's sketches and the actual Kremlin schemes. The fortress was strong enough to withstand Tatar sieges in 1520 and 1536.

In 1612, the so-called national militia, gathered by a local merchant Kuzma Minin and commanded by Knyaz Dmitry Pozharsky expelled the Polish troops from Moscow, thus putting an end to the Time of Troubles and establishing the rule of the Romanov dynasty.

In 1817, the Makaryev Monastery Fair, one of the liveliest in the world the 16th-18th centuries, was transferred to Nizhny Novgorod, which thereupon started to attract numerous visitors and by the mid-19th century it turned Nizhny Novgorod into trade capital of the Russian Empire.

Under the Soviet period, the trade connections of the city were abandoned and Nizhny Novgorod became an important industrial centre instead. During the communist time the city was closed to foreigners to safeguard the security of Soviet military research. The physicist and the Nobel laureate Andrei Sakharov was exiled there during 1980-1986 to limit his contacts with foreigners.

Climate
The climate in the region is humid continental and it is similar to the climate in Moscow, although colder in winter, which lasts from late November until late March with a permanent snow cover.

By train
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.

When searching timetables and fares on the RZD website, enter "Nizhniy Novgorod" as the station for Nizhny Novgorod.

There are several options for train travel from Moscow including high speed Sapsan trains (3½ hours, ₽1200-1700) and slower late night trains (7 hours, from ₽700). Trains are generally cheaper if purchased in advance. Most trains from Moscow arrive depart from Moscow's Kursky or Yaroslavsky train stations.

There are 2 daily overnight trains from Saint Petersburg (15-16 hours, from ₽900).

There are also direct train connections with Vladimir, Dzerzhinsk, Kazan, Samara, Kirov (6-7 hours, from ₽550), Yaroslavl (9 hours, from ₽450), Kungur (16 hours, from ₽1200), Yekaterinburg, (20 hours, from ₽1400), Novosibirsk (40 hours, from ₽2500), Irkutsk (69 hours, ₽10000), Astrakhan, Simferopol, Novorossiysk (52 hours, from ₽1900), Vladivostok, Beijing, Ulaanbaatar, and many other cities. Suburban commuter trains connect Nizhny Novgorod with towns within 200 km of the city.



By plane


The airport is connected to the city by public transport including buses 11, 20, T-29, T-46. The journey by public transport to the city centre takes approximately 1 hour. A taxi ride takes around 30 minutes and should cost under ₽1000 if negotiated in advance.

By car
Nizhny Novgorod is situated on the M7/E30 road. The road is in decent condition, although with traffic it can take anywhere from 4 to 8 hours to drive to/from Moscow.

By bus
There are several stops for buses arriving in Nizhny Novgorod; however, departing buses leave from either Kanavinskaya bus station, near the railway station, for buses going to points north and west, and the main bus station (Avtovokzal) near pl. Lyadova, for the buses going to points south and east.

Buses are generally uncomfortable and slower than the trains.

MR Trans operates buses to/from Moscow (9 hours, ₽600-1000), Yoshkar-Ola, Kazan, Cheboksary, and other nearby cities.

By boat
Turflot, Infoflot, and many other companies operate multi-day river cruises down the Volga from early May to the end of September.

Many companies operate passenger boat service between Moscow and Astrakhan, with stops at most cities along the Volga River.

By foot
The city centre is compact and walkable. However, there are many inclines or steps from the river banks. The bridges are not pedestrian friendly since the sidewalk is very narrow and cars drive extremely fast close to the pedestrians.

Via public transport
There is a network of s-trains, trams, trolleybuses, buses, marshrutkas and a 2-line metro system. Google maps can be used for directions via public transport.

The fare on public transport is ₽20 per ride and operating hours are generally 05:15 to 00:00.

On 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. A konductor who will come to you, take money and issue a ticket; if there is no konductor, you should pay directly to the driver. Both the driver and konductor will give change if needed, although notes of ₽1000 and larger are sometimes denied. It is best to have exact change ready.

As of 2019, you can pay by Apple Pay/Google Pay/Visa PayWave/Mastercard Contactless on board on any public transport including marshrutkas.

By metro
The metro is open from 05:15 to 00:15. To get in, look for an underground passage with the red letter M on top and go down under the ground. At the entrance to the metro you need to go through the security system. Police officers have the right to examine you, if necessary. The metro is accessible by tokens, city transport smart cards and bank cards. The fare is ₽20, as of May 2017. There are also electronic transport cards for ₽90 for 24 hours of travel on all types of public transport and ₽20 for 70 minutes.

The metro consists of 2 lines and 14 stations, with more stations planned in the future. The system was designed during Soviet times and stops are near factories and industrial areas. However, the demographics have shifted and as a result, the metro is not as useful as it once was and surface transport is more popular and more crowded. The 2 lines intersect at Moscovskaya Metro Station. This is the only metro station in the ex-USSR with 4 adjacent tracks. In the afternoon you can expect a train about 8 minutes, in the evenings intervals reach 13-15 minutes. Therefore, you can see what happens with the interval clock: after reaching 10 minutes they just go out and time stops. After 22:00, the movement of trains going in an interesting way. From the Park Kultury to the Proletarskaya train move from the right platform, then the passengers are planted at the station and they pass to the other side of the platform, where trains run from Gorkovskaya (or Burevestnik) to Proletarskaya and back. Meanwhile, passengers who need to get to the Park Kultury get on the train that came from this station, and go back to the Avtozavodsky City District.

The Nizhny Novgorod metro is useful for those travelers who want to visit the city center, the well-organized industrial Avtozavodsky City District and the Sormovsky City District with a large number of pre-revolutionary and Stalinist buildings, and, at the same time, spend a minimum of time for transportation. The first stations were built in the early 1980s, from an architectural point of view, they are of little interest. However, two of them deserve attention: Moskovskaya (the only station with four routes and 2 lines) and Gorkovskaya (its walls are decorated with a panel depicting the main attractions of the city). Transportation between them on the train, you'll see a metro-bridge, Oka panorama, Strelka and Rozhdestvenskaya street. Also interesting is the terrestrial covered station Burevestnik - this is the only station of the Nizhny Novgorod metro with lateral platforms. Another interesting station is Zarechnaya, where the walls are decorated in the form of a river wave, and in the end of the station there is a panel "Grad Kitezh".

By city rail
The City Rail connects areas where there are no metro lines. Connects with the subway at the Moscow railway station. It has 2 lines: Sormovskaya and Priokskaya. The fare by train costs 28 rubles. According to the Citicard Transport Card, the fare is 26 rubles. Also by train you can get to the nearest suburb, or transfer to suburban trains to Dzerzhinsk, Bor, Semenov or Arzamas.

By bus and trolleybus
As of May 2017 in each district of the city there are several city bus routes. The number of trolleybus routes is much less. In one district of the city there are 1-2 trolleybus routes. Trolleybus routes are completely absent in the Leninsky city district. It is worth noting that trolleybuses do not connect the Lower City to the Upper. This is because the trolleybuses do not have enough power to climb the mountain.

The trolleybus network is divided into 3 parts:
 * The upper trolleybus network (it unites all three districts - Nizhegorodsky, Sovetsky and Prioksky) with a turning circle on the Minin Square, near the Kremlin.
 * The lower trolleybus network (connects Kanavinsky, Moskovsky and Sormovsky districts)
 * The Avtozavod trolleybus network (connects all the distant sleeping microdistricts among themselves)

By tram
Throughout the city, land trams run. The longest route of all is 417. It connects the outskirts of Avtozavodsky district with the Moskovsky Rail Terminal. The journey takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes. The route passes through the sleeping areas (approximately 75% of the way). Also in remote neighborhoods there are routes of several more trams, but in most cases, they are in the Upper City. By the way, you can reach there by tram 27 or 10 directly from the Moscow railway station.

By marshrutka
Marshrutkas do not stop at every stop. To 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.

By bicycle
Nizhny Novgorod has not very developed bicycle infrastructure. Special bike paths exist only on the Upper-Volga and Lower-Volga embankments and on Rozhdestvenskaya Street.

The upper city is very hilly and full of steep inclines and even many locals will get off their bicycles and push their bikes up the hill by foot. Drivers can be reckless and pose a danger to cyclists. The roads can also be icy during the winter. City cyclists solve this problem by replacing summer tires with winter tires.

Also, in 2017 the implementation of a new integrated transport scheme of the city began. It provides for a large number of bicycle paths in the Upper City (including on Bolshaya Pokrovskaya Street) and in the Lower City.

Embankments
The Upper city is hilly and the slopes start not far from the waterfront, therefore in addition to embankments proper — the streets that run along the water — there is another kind of streets that are also called embankment. These are the streets running along the top of the hill slope, thus having a view of the rivers and opposite banks from 100-150 m above. The latter are great for walking, offering far-reaching views and good winds from the river.





Buildings

 * Several XVII-century brick houses:
 * Several XVII-century brick houses:
 * Several XVII-century brick houses:
 * Several XVII-century brick houses:

Museums

 * It's an organization running several museums each holding some exhibitions and organizing different events:
 * It's an organization running several museums each holding some exhibitions and organizing different events:
 * It's an organization running several museums each holding some exhibitions and organizing different events:
 * It's an organization running several museums each holding some exhibitions and organizing different events:
 * It's an organization running several museums each holding some exhibitions and organizing different events:
 * It's an organization running several museums each holding some exhibitions and organizing different events:

Monuments

 * Monument to Valery Chkalov, the famous test pilot of the 1930s, known for his ultra long flight from Moscow to Washington State via the North Pole.
 * Maxim Gorky, at the square named after him
 * Alexander Pushkin (at the entrance to the Theatre of Opera and Ballet)

Religious

 * Pechersky Ascencion Monastery, near Sennaya Square a couple miles east of downtown, halfway down the slope to Volga. With a cathedral and several churches surrounded by a restored stone wall, the monastery is the seat of the archbishops of Nizhny Novgorod.
 * A big variety of other churches and convents.

Do

 * Watch football at Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, opened in 2018 to host games of the FIFA World Cup. It's home to FC Olimpiyets Nizhny Novgorod, who play in the Russian Premier League (ie top tier of Russian football). The stadium, capacity just under 45,000, stands on the west bank of the River Oka just as it joins the Volga, and looks across to the Kremlin on the Oka east bank. It's a circular colonnade, 1 km north of the city's main "Moscow" railway station, walk or take metro to Strelka.
 * Watch football at Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, opened in 2018 to host games of the FIFA World Cup. It's home to FC Olimpiyets Nizhny Novgorod, who play in the Russian Premier League (ie top tier of Russian football). The stadium, capacity just under 45,000, stands on the west bank of the River Oka just as it joins the Volga, and looks across to the Kremlin on the Oka east bank. It's a circular colonnade, 1 km north of the city's main "Moscow" railway station, walk or take metro to Strelka.
 * Watch football at Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, opened in 2018 to host games of the FIFA World Cup. It's home to FC Olimpiyets Nizhny Novgorod, who play in the Russian Premier League (ie top tier of Russian football). The stadium, capacity just under 45,000, stands on the west bank of the River Oka just as it joins the Volga, and looks across to the Kremlin on the Oka east bank. It's a circular colonnade, 1 km north of the city's main "Moscow" railway station, walk or take metro to Strelka.
 * Watch football at Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, opened in 2018 to host games of the FIFA World Cup. It's home to FC Olimpiyets Nizhny Novgorod, who play in the Russian Premier League (ie top tier of Russian football). The stadium, capacity just under 45,000, stands on the west bank of the River Oka just as it joins the Volga, and looks across to the Kremlin on the Oka east bank. It's a circular colonnade, 1 km north of the city's main "Moscow" railway station, walk or take metro to Strelka.
 * Watch football at Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, opened in 2018 to host games of the FIFA World Cup. It's home to FC Olimpiyets Nizhny Novgorod, who play in the Russian Premier League (ie top tier of Russian football). The stadium, capacity just under 45,000, stands on the west bank of the River Oka just as it joins the Volga, and looks across to the Kremlin on the Oka east bank. It's a circular colonnade, 1 km north of the city's main "Moscow" railway station, walk or take metro to Strelka.

Winter sports
During winter, with permanent snow cover, Nizhny offers different possibilities for winter sports. Some of them are listed below.
 * Skating is possible on many open ice rinks, starting from a hockey-rink-sized ones, often located near schools, poorly-maintained, lacking any room where you can left your belongings, but free for entrance, up to soccer-sized (and more) stadiums with proper infrastructure, skates rent and paid entrance.
 * Mega shopping mall has also a very small skating rink at the main hall, but it's of interest only during summer, when big skating rinks do not work.
 * Cross-country skiing is possible in many Nizhny Novgorod parks and in many forests surrounding the city; almost in every park you will find a circular ski track for classical skiing. Bigger forested areas, primary Schelkovsky Khutor (Щелковский Хутор) and adjacent Ankudinovsky forest (Анкудиновский лес) in the Upper city, and Dubravy forest (Дубравный) in the furthermost Sormovo have much more of classical and skating ski tracks. However, the infrastructure for ski rent is not widespread. Most of the tracks have no lighting, so skiing after roughly 15:00, when it starts becoming darker, will not be pleasant.
 * Mega shopping mall has also a very small skating rink at the main hall, but it's of interest only during summer, when big skating rinks do not work.
 * Cross-country skiing is possible in many Nizhny Novgorod parks and in many forests surrounding the city; almost in every park you will find a circular ski track for classical skiing. Bigger forested areas, primary Schelkovsky Khutor (Щелковский Хутор) and adjacent Ankudinovsky forest (Анкудиновский лес) in the Upper city, and Dubravy forest (Дубравный) in the furthermost Sormovo have much more of classical and skating ski tracks. However, the infrastructure for ski rent is not widespread. Most of the tracks have no lighting, so skiing after roughly 15:00, when it starts becoming darker, will not be pleasant.

Souvenirs
Apart from simple souvenirs like thick pencils with city name, which are present in every Russian city with just the name changed, and have nothing to do with Russian traditions, there are some souvenirs that are really Russian and really Nizhny-Novgorodian. The most important and famous are Khokhloma gold-red-black painted wooden items such as tableware and furniture; Khokhloma is actually a village in Nizhny Novgorod oblast, a traditional center for the craft.

Also there are other traditional Russia souvenirs such as Gorodets-style painted wooden items, and lots of different Matryoshkas.

You can find lots of souvenirs on street stalls along the pedestrian part of Bolshaya Pokrovskaya street (especially in its upper and further from Kremlin part), and in some stalls inside Kremlin. There are also several stands inside the train station building, both on the ground floor and in the basement.



Grocery
There are many small local grocery shops (продукты) in Nizhny Novgorod, but you are advised to shop in slightly more respectable chain self-service supermarket stores listed below. There are lots of stores for each chain, so only a couple of center-most are listed for each chain. The quality of food is generally good in every store, but you are advised to check the expiry dates on the items that do not last long (such as dairy products). Also note the common trick employed by store owners: on the shelves you will often find the same items, but with different production dates, and facing you on the shelf are the oldest items, while the freshest are somewhere in the back of the shelf.
 * Магнит (Magnit, lit. Magnet) are cheap but basic stores. Do not expect anything beyond simple food (some stores also have basic household chemical goods). But if you want just a slice of bread, a bottle of milk or yogurt, simple cheese or cookies, beer or water, etc., this will always be the cheapest place. Also, they often have unexpectedly good and cheap selection of vegetables and fruits as compared to other small stores. There are no Magnit stores in the very center, but some of them just out of center: 160 Gorky st. (ул. Горького), 118 Belinsky st. (ул. Белинского), 26 Sovnarkomovskaya st. (ул. Совнаркомовская), etc.
 * Also almost every shopping mall (see below) has a grocery store. In addition to the mentioned chains, you may meet Auchan (Ашан) stores there. If you are looking for a really wide selection and cheap price, head to one of these, but you will have to go out of the city center.
 * Also almost every shopping mall (see below) has a grocery store. In addition to the mentioned chains, you may meet Auchan (Ашан) stores there. If you are looking for a really wide selection and cheap price, head to one of these, but you will have to go out of the city center.
 * Also almost every shopping mall (see below) has a grocery store. In addition to the mentioned chains, you may meet Auchan (Ашан) stores there. If you are looking for a really wide selection and cheap price, head to one of these, but you will have to go out of the city center.

Street food
In the city stalls with shawarma are very popular. They can be found everywhere, even on the outskirts of the city.



Fast food chains
McDonald's and KFC have locations near almost every shopping mall and central streets and squares. It is common to pay extra for condiments.



Sleep
All hotels and hostels offer free Wi-Fi and many have computer terminals. Almost all accept credit cards. Hotels and hostels will usually provide a visa invitation and registration for an additional fee.

Phone
For information on purchasing a SIM card in Russia, see Russia.

Note that Nizhny Novgorod is in the Volga region zone, and SIM cards purchased elsewhere, such as in Moscow or Saint Petersburg, may be subject to roaming charges.

There are payphones in the streets; however, you can only buy phone-cards in the post offices and in a few newspaper kiosks.

Internet
Free WiFi is available in most hotels, shopping malls, university buildings, restaurants and cafes, the airport as well as several metro stations. There is also free public WiFi on B. Pokrovskaya street.

Consulates

 * 🇦🇹 Austria
 * 🇨🇿 Czech Republic
 * 🇮🇹 Italy
 * 🇰🇵 North Korea

Visa centers

 * 🇧🇬 Bulgaria 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇬🇷 Greece 🇮🇸 Iceland 🇲🇹 Malta 🇪🇸 Spain

Go next

 * Gorodets - a town founded in the 12th century, famous for its Museum of samovars.
 * Makaryev Monastery is 100 km southeast of Nizhny Novgorod. It was constructed between 1651 and 1667. Approximately 20 nuns live there. It is the last resting place of its legendary founder, Venerable Macarius, of the Miracle of the Moose fame.