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Yekaterinburg (Russian: Екатеринбу́рг yee-kuh-tee-reen-BOORG) is the capital of the Urals region of Russia.

Understand

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With a population of 1.4 million people, Yekaterinburg is the 4th most populous city in Russia after Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Novosibirsk. The city was founded in 1723 by the order of Peter the Great as a metallurgical factory. It was named after the wife of Peter the Great, Yekaterina. In 1918, the last czar family was imprisoned, and later executed, in a house in Yekaterinburg which was later demolished. During World War II, the city grew rapidly as industries and people were relocated east to escape the war. Between 1924 and 1991, the city was known as Sverdlovsk (Свердловск), named after Communist Party leader Yakov Sverdlov and signs with this name still abound, particularly at the train station.

The city retains its metallurgical roots and the metal industry is the largest contributor to the economy.

The city is next to the Ural Mountains, which divide Europe from Asia. This border is marked by several symbolic monuments.

Get in

By plane

Koltsovo International Airport

By train

Yekaterinburg (Sverdlovsk) Station

See Russia#By train 2 for general advice on travelling in Russia by train.

  • 2 Central Railway station (Железнодорожный вокзал ст. Екатеринбург-Пассажирский), Ulitsa Vokzalnaya (Вокзальная), 22. (Metro: Uralskaya (Уральская)). All Trans-Siberian trains stop at Yekaterinburg-Sverdlovsk Railway Station. There is also an extensive network of local trains serving the Sverdlovsk Oblast. 

By bus

  • 3 Northern Bus Station (Северный автовокзал), Ulitsa Vokzalnaya (Вокзальная), 15a. (Metro: Uralskaya (Уральская), Next to the Central Railway station). 
  • 4 Southern Bus Station (Южный автовокзал), 8th Marta (8 Марта), 145 (Metro: Chkalovskaya (Чкаловская)). 

Get around

Tourist information and maps

Information stand.

You can either buy a street map from one of the many newsstands and shops in the train stations, print out a street map of Yekaterinburg, or pick up a free detailed street map from the Ekaterinburg Tourist Information Service at 8 Marta St. #21, office #2, in the city centre.

By public transport

By metro

Yekaterinburg has 1 underground metro line, connecting the city centre (the stop is near the Circus) to Uralmash, a large industrial and residential area, with a stop near the main railway station. The metro is popular with locals because it is quick and inexpensive, costing 23 руб per journey. The stations are impressive, decorated with native Ural stones, granite and marble.

All stations are open between 06:00 and 24:00. Train frequency on weekdays in rush hour is 4-5 minutes; all other times and weekends it is 8-11 minutes.

Metro stations from north to south:

  • 1 Prospekt Kosmonavtov (Проспект Космонавтов). 
  • 2 Uralmash (Уралмаш) (Cinema Zarya, marshrutka to Verkhnyuyu Pyshmu). 
  • 3 Mashinostroiteley (Машиностроителей). 
  • 4 Uralskaya (Уральская), Ulitsa Sverdlova (ул. Свердлова) (Northern Bus Station, Central Railway station). 
  • 5 Dinamo (Sportcomplex Dynamo, the promenade of the city pond, - 10 minutes walk: Theatre for Youth (ТЮЗ), Church on the Blood (Храм на Крови), Literary quarter (Литературный квартал)). 
  • 6 Ploshchad 1905 Goda (Площадь 1905 года) (downtown, Ul. Vaynera (ул. Вайнера), Theatre Estrady (Театр Эстрады)). 
  • 7 Geologicheskaya (Геологическая) (Circus, Arboretum). 
  • 8 Chkalovskaya (Чкаловская) (Southern Bus Station). 
  • 9 Botanicheskaya (Ботаническая) (Dyryzhabl shopping centre). 

Suburban rail

Stations from North to South

  • 10 Pervomayskaya (ОП Первомайская). 
  • 11 Shartash (ст. Шарташ). 
  • 12 Ploschadka VIZ (ОП ВИЗ). 
  • 13 Yekaterinburg-Sortirovochnyy ( ст. Екатеринбург-Сортировочный). 
  • 14 Lesotekhnicheskaya (ОП Лесотехническая  ). 
  • 15 Botanicheskaya (ОП Ботаническая). 
  • 16 Uktus (Уктус) (Bus 37, marshrutka 012 to stop 'Шинный Завод'). 
  • 17 Vtorchermet (Вторчермет) (Tram 1, 15 terminates here). 

By Koltsovo Express

  • 18 [dead link] Aeroport Koltsovo (ОП Аэропорт «Кольцово»). An express train to/from the airport that runs twice per day. 

See

Embankment of the City Pond

  • 1 Ekaterinburg Museum of Fine Arts, 5, Voevodina str (just south of the Gorodskoy Prud, on the west bank of the river). Some fine works by Russian 18th- and 19th-century artists, minor artists of the 16th- to 18th-century European Schools and some lovely small sculptures and jewellery. 50 руб. Ekaterinburg Museum of Fine Arts (Q4174318) on Wikidata Yekaterinburg Museum of Fine Arts on Wikipedia (updated Mar 2019)
  • 2 Dam on the River Iset (Плотина Городского пруда на реке Исеть, «Плотинка») (Metro: Ploshchad 1905 Goda (Площадь 1905 года) cca. 300 m). 
  • 3 House of the Merchant Pshenichnikova (Дом купца Пшеничникова), Naberezhnaya. Rabochey Molodezhi (наб. Рабочей Молодежи), 2. 1830 
  • 4 Building of the HQ of Mining plants (Дом Главного начальника горных заводов), Nab. Rabochey Molodezhi (наб. Рабочей Молодёжи), 3. 
QWERTY Monument.
  • 5 QWERTY Monument (On the river bank near metro station Ploshad' 1905 goda). Easily one of Russia's weirdest attractions is the gargantuan keyboard monument in this city. Big white stones rise from the earth, and as you approach, you see engraved upon them, words such as "Q" and "SHIFT." Keyboard monument (Q2037145) on Wikidata Keyboard Monument on Wikipedia 
Sevastjanov House
  • 6 Sevastjanov House (District Court, House of Trade Unions, Дом Севастьянова, Окружной суд, Дом профсоюзов), Prospekt Lenina (пр. Ленина), 3. 
  • 7 Building of the Sverdlovsk Region Railways (Здание Управления Свердловской железной дороги), Ul. Chelyuskintsev (ул. Челюскинцев), 11. 1925-28 
  • 8 Zotova-Tarasova Manor (Усадьба Зотова-Тарасова), Ul. Gorkovo (ул. Горького), 21. 

Prospekt Lenina

  • 9 Central Military District (Здание штаба Центральный Военный Округ, штаб Приволжско-Уральского военного округа), Prospekt Lenina (пр. Ленина), 71. (City train: Pervomayskaya (ОП Первомайская) 500m; tram 4, 8, 13, 15, 18 to stop 'Восточная улица'). Headquarters of the Volga Ural Region Military district. The district includes the territories of the former Siberian Military District. Units of its: the 2nd Army in Samara, the 41st Army in Novosibirsk, Special Forces (Spetsnaz Brigades) and Russian Air Force 2nd Command. Built in 1929. 
  • 10 Town of Chekists and Hotel "Iset" (Городок чекистов и гостиница "Исеть"), Prospekt Lenina (пр. Ленина), 69. An architectural complex in the neighbourhood of Streets Lenina—Lunacharskogo—Pervomayskaya—Kuznechnaya (1929-1936). 
  • 11 Opera and Ballet Theatres, Prospekt Lenina (пр. Ленина), 46А (Tram 2, 6, 13, 15, 18 to stop 'Оперный Театр'). There are many theatres in the inner city around Square of 1905. 

Other areas

The Church on the Blood.
"Mafia Cemetery".
  • 12 Church on the Blood (Храм на Крови) (Near the metro station Dinamo). Church on the Blood built in 2003 at the site of the execution of Tsar Nicholas II and his family. Church of All Saints (Q631979) on Wikidata Church of All Saints, Yekaterinburg on Wikipedia 
  • Ural State University (to the east from 1905 Square along Lenin Avenue). It's a wonderful building situated in an area full of beautiful old buildings. Makes for a pleasant stroll in the direction of Square of 1905. 
  • Ural State Technical University (take trams 4, 8, 13, 15, 18, 22, 23 or buses 5, 10, 50, 50a to UGTU (УГТУ)). Another wonderful building. Alma mater of Boris Yeltsin. 

Do

  • Cross-country skiing: the trails stretch away for miles. There are some downhill skiing resorts as well. It will take you approximately 25 minutes to get to the nearest of them from the centre of the city.
  • Watch football at Yekaterinburg Arena, which hosted matches in the 2018 World Cup. The home team are FC Ural who play in the Russian Premier League, the top tier of Russian football - in 2018 they narrowly avoided relegation. The stadium dates back to 1957; it was upgraded and expanded for the World Cup but its capacity has now reduced to 23,000. The Arena is 3 km southwest of city centre, take tram or bus to Kommunarov Square.
  • 1 Aquapark Limpopo (Аквапарк Лимпопо) (take City train to Botanicheskaya (ОП Ботаническая) and walk toward east 5 min). The largest water leisure park in Europe. 
  • 2 Circus (Екатеринбургский Государственный Цирк им. В.И.Филатова), Ul. 8 Marta (ул. 8 Марта), 43 (Near the metro station Geologicheskaya (Геологическая)). Richly ornamented building which hosts all sorts of circus shows. Nearby is the abandoned television tower. 
  • Yekaterinburg For You English Club. Every Wednesday at 20:30 at Havana Club. Great place to meet other foreigners and local Russians who speak English. 300 руб minimum purchase required. 

Parks

  • 3 Arboretum (дендрарий) (Metro: Geologicheskaya (Геологическая)). Yekaterinburg Dendrarium (Q16648019) on Wikidata 
  • Ledovyj Gorodok (Ice Town, Ледовый Городок) (right on Ploshad' 1905 goda). During New Year's. A whole city block under the eyes of Lenin made out of ice. On the central Square of 1905. 
  • 4 Shirokorechenskoye Kladbishche Cemetery (Широкореченское Кладбище) (take buses 14, 22, 24, 37к, 048, 69 to Kontrol'naya (Контрольная)). This is the infamous "Mafia cemetery" where there are dozens of ornate graves with big life-size images in stone of former Mafia members. Shirokorechenskoe Cemetery (Q2972516) on Wikidata 

Learn

Buy

Markets

  • Chinese Market (Bazaar). The market consists of many hundreds of small outdoor stalls, selling everything from toilet paper to fur coats, all at the best prices in the city. This type of market is not really the right place to buy souvenirs. 
  • Vaynera Street (Urals Arbat) (in the centre). A lot of shops with a wide range of small things to buy. Usually this street (it's pedestrian only) is called the Urals Arbat, after the famous Arbat in Moscow. 

Leather in Russia is considered some of the best in Europe; handbags and wallets are of especially high quality. Gold jewellery, while expensive, is also very good. Markets, such as the Chinese market, are good for cheap bargains.

Malls

  • Grinvich shopping centre (торговый центр "Гринвич") (Metro: Geologicheskaya (Геологическая)). 
  • Dyryzhabl shopping centre (торговый центр "Дирижабль") (Metro: Botanicheskaya (Ботаническая)). 
  • [dead link] MEGA Mall (there is a free, bright yellow bus that picks up 'Ulitsa Kuybysheva, 57' near the centre every 15 min; return trips leave from in front of the OBI store at the mall). A huge mall on the outskirts of the city owned by the IKEA group with many Western/international stores including a decent food court. 

Eat

Many cafés and restaurants provide the usual mix of Russian, Japanese and Italian food, but the level of international cuisine is not that high.

Budget

  • Uralskiye Pelmeny (Ural Pelmens), prospekt Lenina 69, ☏ +7 343 350-71-50. This restaurant serves Russian, Georgian and Uzbek cuisine. The Georgian and Uzbek meals are done in a separate part of the restaurant. The Russian food is served canteen style, where you choose the dishes you want from a smörgåsbord, and pay at the end of the buffet. The Russian food is nothing special but it is filling, the ingredients are fresh and it's cheap. 
  • Pizza Mia, Vaynera St 12. A cheap Italian fast-food place. 

Mid-range

  • Dacha (Дача), At the corner of Prospect Lenina 20 and Khokhryakova St, ☏ +7 343 379-3569. This restaurant is vaguely reminiscent of the Mari Vanna restaurant of Moscow for its decor and its cozy atmosphere. Good Russian food is available with the usual European and Asian alternatives. Perfect for a date, a discrete business meeting or for lunch with colleagues. 
  • CCCP (USSR), Pervomayskaya St 27, ☏ +7 343 350-5246. A restaurant full of Soviet-era kitsch, which was more popular some time ago. Nowadays it lacks atmosphere. 
  • [dead link] Paparazzi, Prospekt Lenina 23 (At the 3rd floor of the Europa commercial centre), ☏ +7 343 253-7080. Offers Italian cuisine. If you are Italian you will probably prefer to try something else but for all others it should be ok. Decor of the restaurant is nice, food is good, not too many people. 
  • Il Patio/Friday's/Planeta Sushi. A franchise found across all Russia. They offer respectively Italian, American, and Japanese accessible cooking. Food is reasonably priced and always ok. 
  • 1 Manilov (Манилов), Ulitsa Gagarina, 18 (trams No 5, 8, 13, 15, 23, 32 till Uralski Federalni Universitet - UrFU st. (Уральский федеральный университет - УрФУ)), ☏ +7 343 375 8793. 12:00–00:00. Far off from the main tourist routes, this restaurant offers a dishes of traditional Russian cuisine with the once common but now largely forgotten Ural flavour. Pelmeni, pirogi, borsch, salo, holodets, local fish and mushrooms, all that goes well with vodka, at prices that are not as expensive as they usually would be in Russia. Menu in Russian, English and Chinese. (updated Jun 2018)

Splurge

  • Noble House, 8 Borisa Yeltsina St (At the 2nd floor of the Hyatt Hotel), ☏ +7 343 253 1234, . Offering Southeast Asian cuisine. Sunday brunch every two weeks from 12:00 to 15:00. Sophisticated environment, good to impress a date or to quiet conversations. It is the only place in the city for spicy food. Portions are generous, contrary to what you might expect. Not the best oriental food, but it's the best in Ekaterinburg. 
  • La Cucina, 8 Borisa Yeltsina St (At the 2nd floor of the Hyatt Hotel), ☏ +7 343 253 1234, . Mediterranean-style and Russian favourite dishes in a modern and colourful setting. Excellent view on the river. Very good place for business lunch. 
  • Triakurov (Троекуровъ), Malysheva St 137, ☏ +7 343 378-8118. This place of Russian cuisine is very similar to the Puskin cafe in Moscow, but without its atmosphere, its location or its clientele. This is the restaurant for a big closing dinner, for official situations (Medvedev and Angela Merkel were guests at this restaurant). Unfortunately you will find it empty most of the time, which gives you a sense of exclusivity but suggests that maybe you are overpaying for your food. 

Drink

Bars

  • Doctor Scotch, Malysheva St 54a, ☏ +7 343 371-4363. Very large pub attracting crowds at weekends. After the midnight there are a lot of drunk people, music, a little dance floor near the bar. Worth a visit. 
  • Jame's Pub, Mamina Sibiryaka St 58. 
  • Old Dublin Irish Pub (Stariy Dublin), Khokhryakova St 23 (in the city centre near 1905 Square between Lenina St. and Malisheva St), ☏ +7 343 3765173. Daily 12:00-02:00. A popular Irish pub on two floors. Good food and a very friendly, cosy atmosphere. Helpful, English-speaking staff. Seems to be 'the' place to go, to chat and get to know the locals. 
  • [dead link] Rosy Jane, Prospekt Lenina 32-34, ☏ +7 343 371-0607. 

Clubs

  • Havana Club, Mamina Sibiryaka St 36, ☏ +7 343 355-9414. An extremely popular place in the city and among the foreign visitors. 
  • Hills 18/36, Bazhova st, 193. A little disco in the ground floor of a hotel. It's some sort of elegant place. 
  • [dead link] Gold Club, Tkachey st, 9, ☏ +7 343 254-8585. 
  • Alibi, Malysheva st, 74, ☏ +7 343 350-0690. It's a pub very busy after midnight. Better book a table if you are not alone. There is a small dance floor. It's impossible to avoid rubbing others. 

Sleep

Budget

You can pay hourly rates at the resting rooms (Komnaty Otdykha) at the main train station. To get there, walk to the eastern end of the station to the last and small set of glass doors. First door on the right should lead you to a set of stairs which will take you there.

  • Europe Asia Yekaterinburg Hostel, Tchaikovskogo 75/216 (10-minute walk from Metro Station «Chkalovskaya»"). Check-in: 14:00, check-out: 12:00. 2 kitchens with all the necessary utensils. 500 руб. 
  • Omnomnom Hostel (Omnomnom Хостел Екатеринбург), Vaynera 60, Apartment 26 (from Metro station Geologicheskaya, walk east on Lubishevsky street and then north on Vaynera. It's at the end of the street, in a big apartment building on the 8th floor. The entrance door is behind the restaurants, and isn't marked), ☏ +7 982 6737477, . Check-in: 14:00, check-out: 12:00. Best to call in advance and make reservations as there isn't always someone to open the door. Beautiful dorms overlooking the Circus. 6-bed dorm: 500 руб. 

Mid-range

Splurge

  • Hyatt Regency Ekaterinburg, 8, Borisa Yeltsina St (Ekaterinburg City district), . 296 rooms & suites with views of Cathedral-on-the-Blood and Iset River. Amenities: ergonomic work area, open bath concept, wireless internet access, tea and coffee making facilities. Regency Club Lounge for free continental breakfast, cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. 

Connect

Consulates

Visa centres

Nearby

  • 19 Ganina Yama (Ганина Яма). You can visit this wooden monastery semi daily by bus tours offered right in front of the main train station building. It is situated in the north direction from the city, near the village Shuvakish (Шувакиш). You can get there by train from the main station in the direction Nizhni Tagil (Нижний Тагил). When you get off the train, go to the bridge over the railway and turn right (not to the station). From the bridge turn to the right again and after a while you will get to the asphalt road. There turn left and go some two kilometres. Ganina Yama (Q126847) on Wikidata Ganina Yama on Wikipedia 
Monument "Europe-Asia".
  • 20 Europe & Asia border monument (take a tour or buses 150 or 180). There are semi-daily offered tours from the main trains station. If you can't make the tour, you might take the bus 150 from the northern bus terminal (Северный Автовокзал) near the metro station Uralskaya (Уральская). Ask the driver to let you get off at the border. This is common practice. When you get off the bus, there is a small, somewhat historic looking stone monument that has a red brick line where the border is. Go up a bit through the patch of wood and you will be at the big monument where the tour buses go on the big tour. It is a spot for weddings, so usually you will find a bride or two. After you are done taking pictures, go back the way you came, go on the other side of the highway and signal a bus driver to pick you up. Buses 150 or 180 take you back, however 180 takes you only near metro station Tsirk (Цирк). If no bus driver is willing to pick you up outside of a station (though this is common practice), you can walk into Pervoural'sk up to the second bus stop you encounter (buses 150 and 180 do not regularly stop at the outermost bus stops) and then get on a bus. From the outermost bus stop there is a little marshrutka going to the next one for 10 руб. 50 руб (bus 180) or 55 руб (bus 150) one-way, or 300 руб and upwards with a tour. Monument on the border of Europe and Asia in Pervouralsk (Q6022925) on Wikidata 
  • Deer Streams National Park (Prirodniy Park Olenji Ruchji), Nizhnie-Serginskiy rayon, posyolok Bazhukovo (150 km W from Ekaterinburg, take tour or by bus/train), ☏ +7 902 2550062, . A hiking tour in a national park "Deer Streams". A picturesque river, cliffs, deepest cave of Sverdlovkaya Oblsat region, beautiful forest. A very popular place to go among Russians in summer and in winter. Several different routes to choose from, depending on difficulty. To get by bus: take any bus that goes to Mikhailovsk (Михайловск), Arty (Арти), Urmikeevo (Урмикеево), Tulgash (Тюльгаш). Leave at the "prirodniy park Olenji Ruchji" stop. Then walk 2 km according to sign directions. By train: from the central train station take a suburban train to Druzhinino (Дружинино). From Druzhinino take another train to Bazhukovo (Бажуково). From Bazhukovo station it is a 5-minute walk to the park. The train goes 3 times/day. The road by bus takes 2½ hours. By train: 4 hours. entry ticket 100 руб. 

Go next

Routes through Yekaterinburg
Moscow ← Perm ←  W  E  → Tyumen → Novosibirsk


This city travel guide to Yekaterinburg is a usable article. It has information on how to get there and on restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please feel free to improve it by editing the page.
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