You can take advantage of multiple motor ship tours to cruise to other cities on the river (such as Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Volgograd, Tolyatti) – or you can catch the coach if you prefer.
The 4km river embankment is the main recreational centre venue for both tourists and locals and caters for everyone, from revellers and sportsmen to families. For commanding views of the river head up to the signposted observation point.
Football aficionados may want to visit the municipal museum to learn about the city’s history of football and the famous national football club Krylya Sovetov.
As the football stadium name ‘Cosmos’ pays homage to, Samara is a renowned centre of the Russian aerospace industry and home to several renowned engineering institutions. Enthusiasts will enjoy the Samara in Space Museum; exhibits include the Yantar-4K1 and Resurs F-1 spaceship landing sections, model rocket engines and a life-size monument of the famed Soyuz carrier rocket.
The Galileo Park of Wonders is a free interactive science exhibition area comprising various science workshops and a Maze of Illusions.
Architectural highlights include the Kirillo-Mefodiyevsky Cathedral, Intercession Cathedral, The Temple of Samara Saints Cathedral and Church of the Holy Martyrs Faith.
There are plenty of statues to see (Chapaev, Grigoriy Zasekin and Fyodor Sukhov) and various monuments of interest: The Rook (Ladya), the Sculptural Composition of Barge Haulers on the Volga and a monument to the invention of the heating battery!
Kubychev Square and the Leningradskaya pedestrianised area host various street cafes for al fresco dining and people watching.
If gardens are more your thing, consider visiting Strukovskiy Garden, Square Aleksandra Pushkina or the Botanical Garden of Samara State University.
The Yu. Gagarin Park of Culture and Leisure is also a nice location for a stroll by the lake and also offers bicycle hire. For outdoor adventurous types, the Zhiguli Mountains are close by, as is the Chaika Ski Lodge (cross-country skiing as well as mountain skiin and snowboarding in winter).
The Mediterranean climate of this region lends itself to hosting large open-air music events such as rock festivals during the summer.
Other cultural highlights include Stalin’s Bunker, built in 1942, the Modernist Style Museum, the Volga Region Museum of Railway Machinery and the Museum of Photography (Samara was the centre of Russian photographic art throughout the 1940s, 50s and 60s).
Several theatres are dotted throughout the city, including the Samara Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, The Samara Academic Gorkiy Drama Theater and City Theater.
Your visit to Samara for the World Cup 2018 will be unforgettable!
