Nizhny Novgorod walking tour & city guide

The Kremlin and the stairs

The red-brick Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin has walls and towers you can walk along. The Chkalov Stairs, a monumental staircase, lead down to the Volga embankment.

The city

Bolshaya Pokrovskaya is the main pedestrian street. A cable car crosses the Volga to the town of Bor, with wide river views. The Strelka, where the rivers meet, has a stadium and a large cathedral.

A day in Nizhny Novgorod

Walk the walls of the Kremlin, then go down the Chkalov Staircase toward the Volga. Bolshaya Pokrovskaya Street is the pedestrian heart of the city.

Take the cable car across the Volga for a view of the confluence with the Oka.

Good to know

Nizhny Novgorod is at the meeting of the Volga and Oka rivers. River cruises leave from here in summer.

The city has many Art Nouveau buildings.

Why it is worth the trip

Nizhny Novgorod was once the center of Russian trade, home to a huge annual fair, and its old merchant houses show that wealth. The red-brick Kremlin sits on a high hill above the river confluence, and the view from its walls at sunset is one of the best in Russia. The Fedorovsky Embankment and the Upper Volga Embankment are favorite places for evening walks, and a modern cable car crossing the Volga gives a different view of the city.