Something free on a trip pleases the soul of a tourist better than a New Year’s gift. We gathered ideas on what to do in Nizhny Novgorod without spending a penny. The selection includes options from excursions and art galleries to temples and music festivals. Walk, dance, study history and enjoy the sunsets!
Content
- Walking around the Kremlin
- Tour of the State Bank building
- Music and dancing in the sunset capital
- Walking tour with a policeman
- Contemporary art in the Arsenal
- The story of the Pechersk Ascension Monastery
- Treasures of street art
- Opening days in the gallery “9B”
- Cultural Center “Record”
- Vacation in “Knizhny Novgorod”
- Expositions in Terminal A
- Intervals 2024 Media Art Festival
Walk around the Kremlin
- Where: Kremlin, 6A
- How to get there: free entrance to the territory.
- Website
To get inside the fortress of the beginning of the XVI century, you do not need a ticket — you can freely enter and explore the powerful towers, passages, walls from the outside, churches and a bell tower. You can also visit the Mikhailo-Arkhangelsk Cathedral of the beginning of the XVII century, where Kuzma Minin’s ashes rest. And it will be interesting to just walk around the vast territory of the Kremlin with six gates, thirteen towers and several parks with wonderful views of the Volga River. You can get a free card at the tourist center near the Dmitrievskaya Tower, and download the audio guide, for example, on izi.travel . With the children, take a look at the Detinets playground in the form of an old wooden fortress. Another undeniable advantage of walking around the Kremlin (but this is my personal one) is that scooters are not allowed on the territory.
To get inside the fortress of the beginning of the XVI century, you do not need a ticket — you can freely enter and explore the powerful towers, passages, walls, churches and bell tower from the outside. Photo: Artyom Mirniy/Shutterstock.com
Where to spend the money saved
We have already told you where to walk in Nizhny Novgorod, if you managed not to spend all your vacation money at once. Just in case, we remind you where to eat and what to see in the city.
Take the route of Nicholas II through the building of the State Bank
- Where: Bolshaya Pokrovskaya str., 26
- How to get there: Sign up for a free tour.
- Website
The Neo-Renaissance building of the State Bank resembles either an ancient Russian tower or a medieval castle and has been decorating Bolshaya Pokrovskaya Street since the beginning of the last century.
From the outside, the enamel tent of the porch, the royal coat of arms carved from Ural stone surrounded by archangels, massive wrought-iron doors, turrets and spires are striking. Inside there are painted vaulted ceilings (sketches were drawn by Ivan Bilibin himself) with firebirds, griffins, zodiac signs and cornucopias. You can see them live by signing up for a free tour on the bank’s official website. You must have a passport with you — the bank is valid. There are two types of excursions: “The history of Russian money” and “Bank tower”. The second one will be more interesting for adults: together with the guide, visitors will be able to repeat the route of Nicholas II, who inaugurated the new building of the State Bank branch on May 17, 1913.
The Neo-Renaissance State Bank building resembles either an ancient Russian terem or a medieval castle. Photo: natalia volkova/Shutterstock.com
Listen to music and dance at the Capital of Sunsets festival
- Where: various venues around the city, including Fedorovsky Embankment, Alexander Garden and Nizhnevolzhskaya embankment
- How to get there: come to a concert or open-air.
- Website
The Capital of Sunsets Music Festival is a lot of drive, unfamiliar happy people and incendiary rhythms at the best open—air venues. A great way not only to have a good time, but also to create memories that will keep you warm on long winter evenings. Especially memorable are performances under the setting sun overlooking the Volga River — the so-called “Solo at Sunset” programs. Admission to open-air concerts is usually free, and tickets are offered only for private performances and parties.
Go on an excursion with a policeman
- Where: along the embankments and streets of the city
- How to get there: registration is not required, it is enough to go to the specified collection point.
- Website
The constant guardian of order in cities and towns before the revolution was a policeman in full dress. Today, in Nizhny Novgorod, policemen not only keep order on the streets and help tourists, but also conduct daily free excursions for everyone. The arsenal of policemen includes popular routes along Bolshaya Pokrovskaya and Rozhdestvenskaya Streets, as well as the Fedorovsky embankment. The policemen will tell stories from the ceremonial noble life and the life of the urban lower classes, tell about banks and brothels, scams and vivid examples of charity, about the famous fair and the daily life of a rich and hospitable city. The duration of each tour is 1 hour, the start time is 12:21, a sweet tribute from Nizhny Novgorod residents to their city (1221 is the year of Nizhny Novgorod’s foundation). The starting points, depending on the tour, are iconic city monuments: Minin and Pozharsky, the policeman or Jules Verne.
The arsenal of policemen includes popular routes along Bolshaya Pokrovskaya and Rozhdestvenskaya Streets. Photo: Pelikh Alexey/Shutterstock.com
View contemporary art in the Arsenal
- Where: Kremlin, 6
- How to get there: Free entry every Wednesday upon presentation of a document or a SPAR card. Visitors under the age of 17 and over 60 need to show an age—confirming document, the rest – a plastic card of the SPAR store or a QR code from the SPAR mobile application.
- Website
The branch of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts occupies the building of the Arsenal of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, for which it got its name. The museum presents works by both classics of Russian painting — Aivazovsky, Shishkin, Vasnetsov, Repin and others — and works by contemporary artists. You can also view temporary exhibitions dedicated toto various regions of the country and individual painters, attend workshops and lectures for children and adults.
How to save money on housing in Nizhny Novgorod
In Ostrovok.ru take a closer look at the hotels and apartments that offer discounts under the GURU loyalty program — savings on housing can range from 10% up to 40%. The more often you travel with Ostrovok.ru the higher the guru level (there are four in total) and the more pleasant the discount.
Take a look at the Pechersk Ascension Monastery and remember the Russian tsars
- Where: Privolzhskaya sloboda, 108A
- How to get there: free access.
- Website
A peaceful monastic complex of the first half of the XVII century with the five-domed Ascension Cathedral and an inclined bell tower, the tent Dormition Church and other temples. The well—groomed territory with roses and hydrangeas, silence and ringing of bells is the perfect place to be alone with your thoughts. It is interesting to explore the square with busts of kings and princes, remember the changeable history and think about the eternal. There is also a good pie shop and benches in the monastery — you can relax with a beautiful view.
A peaceful monastic complex of the first half of the XVII century with a five-domed Ascension Cathedral and an inclined bell tower. Photo: Borisb17/Shutterstock.com
Find the treasures of street art
- Where: all over the city.
- How to get there: take a walk on your own using an online map.
- Website: the route can be built in Yandex maps or 2gis.
Nizhny Novgorod is a worthy rival of Yekaterinburg for the title of the Russian capital of street art. The local Mesto festival is not much less famous than Stenografia: Russian and foreign artists come to participate in it. There are a lot of drawings in the city, so graffiti lovers can spend several hours looking for iconic ones — “Big Brother”, “On the Volga”, the mural “Crossword Puzzle”, “Happy Life” — and lesser-known works. Nikita Nomerz, Alexey Kislow, Slava ATGM, Kirill Vedernikov, Ilya Mozgi and other masters of the spray can were noted among the authors. Catch a detailed guide on Nizhny Novgorod street art.
Visit the opening day in the gallery “9B”
- Where: St. Oktyabrskaya, 9B.
- How to get there: free entry, some events are asked to register.
- The site
Is small, but dashing — that’s what I want to say when looking at this gallery of modern (albeit sometimes controversial) art. Until April 7, 2024, you can visit the opening day of the Nizhny Novgorod artist Evsti Bomse “Electric Dreams” for free here. Further, the organizers promise to get acquainted with the residents of the art workshop who work with graphics, painting, papier-mache and ceramics.
A joint project of the FUTURO Gallery and the 9B Gallery is the Alice Joffe exhibition “Address?”. Photo: 9bgallery.com
Watch a movie or listen to a lecture at the Record Cultural Center
- Where: Piskunov str., 11
- How to get there: admission is free for some events, for some you need to register in advance.
- Website
The cinema, exhibition and lecture hall are all the cultural center “Record”. Here you can watch a movie for free, view an art exhibition and chat with artists and directors. There are paid and free events in the poster, and announcements can also be tracked in the center’s group.
Read in “Knizhny Novgorod”
- Where: St. Alekseevskaya, 2
- How to get there: just come to the store. Registration is required for individual lectures.
- Website
This is not just a bookstore, but a lecture and exhibition space, a location for cozy meetings with friends, a discussion club and a space for sketch meetings and other exciting (and free!) events. An atmospheric two-storey store in a modern building is located directly opposite the Kremlin. There are places to relax, so you can sit quietly, leaf through books, drink coffee or buy interesting souvenirs. See the full event poster in the bookstore group.
This is not just a bookstore, but a lecture and exhibition space, a location for cozy meetings with friends, a discussion club and a space for sketch meetings. Photo: Xenia B & Veronika Belyakova/Yandex.Maps
Get to know contemporary art at the Terminal A center
- Where: Krasnaya Sloboda str., 9
- How to get there: free access to the center every Wednesday.
- Website
The Terminal A Contemporary Art Center is located in the buildings of the former shipyard. Exhibitions of Nizhny Novgorod and other Russian artists, open workshops, thematic excursions and master classes are regularly held here. Recently, it was possible to immerse yourself in the anthology of Htoni in the gallery, and until April 19, 2024, the exhibition “System Assembly. Kazan” — the exhibition presents the image of a city street with its random meetings, stops and unexpected acquaintances.
Visit the Intervals 2024 Media Art Festival
- Where: various venues around the city, including the Nizhny Novgorod Fair.
- How to get there: free admission to the exhibition and educational program.
- Website
From April 27 to May 1, Nizhny Novgorod will host a vibrant international festival of media art Intervals. An exhibition program, audiovisual performances, concerts and an educational program are being prepared for the guests. The organizers expect the arrival of Russian and foreign artists: Playmodes Studio (Spain), CLAUDE & Shin Hyejin (Korea), Jeremie Bellot (France), Ferran Belmon (Spain). One of the festival’s venues will be the Nizhny Novgorod Fair Exhibition Center, a monument to the greatness of merchant Novgorod.
From April 27 to May 1, a bright international festival of media art Intervals will be held in NiNo. Photo: Zyabich/Shutterstock.com
It remains to book a cool hotel and give up on a warm weekend in Nizhny Novgorod — do not forget to register in advance for interesting events and write down some free entertainment in the city!
Cover photo: Tishchenko Dmitrii/Shutterstock.com
