Ekaterinburg is the fourth largest city in Russia and the capital of the Urals. It is rapidly expanding and attracting more and more visitors who seek to enjoy its cozy parks, architectural masterpieces, and fascinating museums.
Start your walk on the rather short pedestrian Vainera Street (about 1 km long), the local promenade, which has a multitude of shops, cafes, and amusing sculptures that depict all types of characters: the inventor of the two-wheeled bicycle, Yefim Artamonov, riding his invention, a banker, two lovers, and a street merchant. Following a local custom, tourists gladly rub different parts of the statues for good luck.
Ekaterinburg has many interesting churches and monasteries. The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral at the Novo-Tikhvin Women's Monastery is sure to catch your eye; be sure to visit it. The cathedral has recently been restored, so you can admire the exquisite decoration and the mosaic marble floors. The baroque Church of the Ascension of the Lord, the monumental Church on the Blood, erected on the site of the execution of the Romanov royal family, and the complex of wooden churches of the Ganina Yama Men’s Monastery in the picturesque Ural forest are also worth visiting.
If the weather isn’t that welcoming, there is quite a list of Ekaterinburg museums. The Yeltsin Center is one of the new museums that are definitely worth seeing. Even if you have mixed feelings about the first Russian president and his personality, take the time to stop by, anyway. This place is a movie theater as well as a museum of modern Russian history and an oratory platform for contemporary publicists, public figures, and politicians. Plus, the building’s architecture is impressive.
Aeroflot operates ten daily flights from Moscow – Ekaterinburg – Moscow.