Yekaterinburg seems like a city close to everyone. It takes 2.5 hours to fly from Moscow, 1.5 hours from Kazan, 2 hours from Novosibirsk, 3 hours from Sochi. Even from Vladivostok – only seven hours. This makes Yekaterinburg a great weekend getaway destination. According to the national project “Tourism and Hospitality Industry”, the tourist flow of the Sverdlovsk region only during the May holidays of this year increased by 30% compared to last year. As a whole, the projected tourist flow in 2022 is 1.8 million people.
You can do a lot in 2-3 days – you can see the city, eat in restaurants, raft on the river and visit the small towns of the Sverdlovsk region on the nature trail.
what to do in the city
Many residents call Yekaterinburg a city of constructivism – many buildings in this particular architectural style were built here in the first half of the last century. About 140 objects have survived in the city, and they are easiest to spot in the center. For example, a building in the form of a tractor (Main Post Office) or a sickle (Iset Hotel).
The building of the Communication House (Main Post Office) on Lenin Street in Yekaterinburg
Donat Sorokin/TASS
But from the outside, it seems that the city does not have a distinctive architectural style – there is more than anything here, and under the roof of a building of the XIX century there can be a hotel, a church and a shop. And what really unites the city’s buildings is their green roofs. Earlier malachite was mined in the area and this became its symbol. However, St. Stone ended quickly after the construction of palaces began in St. Petersburg.
It is customary to start exploring Russian cities on the European side from the main thing – the Kremlin, but in Yekaterinburg, as in many other cities in the Urals, it is not there.
The fact is that they started not with a castle, but with a factory. And for the plant to start working three hundred years ago, it was necessary to build a dam, made in Yekaterinburg. Now Plotinka is a meeting place for local residents and the beginning of acquaintance with the city.
Donat Sorokin/TASS
For the convenience of tourists walking around the city, the volunteer project “Yekaterinburg’s Red Line” was made. This is a 9km route that will introduce you to the city’s main attractions. The Yekaterinburg City Quarter contains 39 objects, including the Yeltsin Center, the Historical Square Museums, the Sevastyanov House (residence of the President of Russia), the Temple of Blood, the Vysotsky Skyscraper and the Vysotsky Museum. Ernst Neizvestny Museum, Hermitage Ural Center “. You can sign up for this tour or go to the map yourself.
In addition to the red line in Yekaterinburg, there is a blue line for pilgrims, yellow for cyclists and a purple line for street art. Lines are literally drawn on the pavement. They have been deleted in some places, but they will tell everyone the way.
The old water tower of UZTM, which has become an unofficial symbol of the Uralmash region
Donat Sorokin/TASS
In general, the culture of travel has developed in the city: the author has trips in different parts of the city, for example, in the ex-criminal Uralmash, in constructivism, in modernism, in factories or in the old Yekaterinburg of the 18th century. 19th century, in street art. Many are free.
Street art is a particular pride of the city. Every summer Yekaterinburg hosts the Stenograffia street art festival and the Carte Blanche partisan festival. Thanks to them, the works of Tim Rad, Slava Ptrk, Pokras Lampas appeared in the city. In total there are about 600 objects in the city, so it’s worth looking around. Perhaps most striking are the Spanish artist Zesar’s Amor painting, which depicts two women embracing, and the inscription on the Kursk embankment that can only be seen when it rains.
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Well, for those who do not understand modern street art, you can go to an understandable museum. By the way, few people know that the world’s oldest surviving wooden sculpture of the Shigir idol is in the Yekaterinburg Museum of Local Culture.
Where to eat and how to have fun
Yekaterinburg does not fall asleep after nine in the evening. There are no seats in restaurants and bars. Locals especially respect the cocktail bar without the “Collective” sign. But if there is no place to sit there, you can go to the bars “Shalom Shanghai”, “Gem”, “Nelson Sovin”, “Scoundrels”. Food is sent to “Citizens”, “Tours”, “Reptiles, crabs and wine”, “C”, “Hmeli Suneli”, “Lost and Found”, “Barboris” in Yeltsin Center, Double Grill & Bar, Momo.
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In general, you can make separate gastro tours around Yekaterinburg. A new restaurant opens in the city almost every week, and food bloggers are keeping an eye on it. The Ural Cuisine Festival was held for the first time this year with fly agaric and crispy nettle pies.
Locals enjoy visiting the playwright Nikolai Kolyada’s independent Kolyada Theater and the Yekaterinburg State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre. The main music event of the year is the Ural Music Night. He took part in more than 100 stages this summer, 3,000 musicians who came to see 300 thousand guests.
What to do in the area
Yekaterinburg residents complain that there is not enough parking in the city, but after a little drive, you can enjoy the Ural nature to the fullest. The Sverdlovsk region is an ideal place for rafting. For a tourist trip, the rivers head Chusovaya (the only river that flows from two main points in the world), Rezh and Iset.
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In addition, the Gora Belaya tourist cluster is actively developing in the region, which includes 16 settlements and unique natural objects, for example, the Chusovaya River natural park, the Visimsky Racecourse, the Maral Farm and the active ski resort Gora Belaya. .
There is also something to see in the cities near Yekaterinburg.
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In Sysert they ride sapsurfers and go to the Summer Factory Museum-factory, in Verkhnyaya Pyshma they visit the UMMC Museum of military equipment and Russia’s largest automobile museum, in Nevyansk they visit the Nevyansk Icon Museum House and talk about it . The legacy of the Demidov family. The region is taken by train to places related to the fate of the Romanov family. However, the places are sad, as it is in Yekaterinburg, where the royal family was shot.
Source: Gazeta
Barbara Dickson is a seasoned writer for “Social Bites”. She keeps readers informed on the latest news and trends, providing in-depth coverage and analysis on a variety of topics.