Novosibirsk (Новосибирск) is a city in Novosibirsk Oblast, Siberia, and is the third largest city in Russia.
Get in
Take a train from Moscow, the Rossiya trains are generally the best and take about 3 days. You'll arrive at the Trans-Siberian Railway's largest station and the Metro (subway) can take you into the rest of the city. Or fly into Tolmachevo Airport, with Air Siberia (www.s7.ru) or Aeroflot. TransAero can be cheap too. Just be prepared to take a taxi after you arrive—Novosibirsk's airport is about a half-hour drive outside of the city.
Get around
Tons (and I mean tons) of public transportation or so called "marshrutkas" where you can pay 10-20 rubles (30-75 cents) to get practically anywhere in the city. Taxis are affordable too. You can also just wave at any passing car and get a ride for 50-100 and up rubles (depending on the distance).
The Metro is cheap but only runs through the city center and just past the Ob River. Still, for the visitor, you can get to many major destinations from its six major stops, including the main square, Lenin Square, on Krasny Prospekt (Red Avenue).
See
See the Lenin's square with HUGE statute of Lenin left from Soviet times standing right in front of the Opera and Ballet House which, by the way, is beautiful at night. It is also the largest opera house in Russia. There's also the exact geographical center of former Soviet Union just south of Lenin Square, marked by the Chapel of St. Nicholas, originally built in 1915 to commemorate 300 years of Romanov rule, destroyed in 1930 and rebuilt in 1993. In winter residents build an ice town on the Ob River, and in summer you can go to the beach. Near the city center on Krasny Prospekt,you can also see some excellent work in the Novosibirsk Art Museum and Local Studies Museum. You could also consider the Novosibirsk Regional Puppet Theater (over 70 years old in an interesting historic building), Novosibirsk Circus, and several other theaters.
As in every Russian city, there are multiple monuments to heroes of the Great Patriotic War (WWII), including an eternal flame guarded at special ceremonies by youths with replica Kalashnikovs. Those are standard touristic places, but you should definitely make friends with locals to see the "best" parts of the city.
Sleep
The Ob Hotel, on the bank of the Ob River, is situated close to the Metro just southeast of the city center. After being gutted by fire in the 1990s, it has been refurbished, with reasonably clean rooms, a business center, and a nice Russian restuarant on the first floor. Don't look for English-language television or air conditioners, but there are plenty of rooms with private bathrooms.
Get out
A visit to Akademgorodok, built in the 1950s as a mecca for academics but suffering from neglect in the post-Soviet years, is still pleasant as a day trip. This formerly elite institution is located about 30 KM south of the city and features several museums and nice, tree-lined streets.
While you're in the area, you might also visit one of several nice beaches on the Ob Sea, the large body of water created by a dam on the Ob River.
Also south of the city, about 2 KM north of Akademgorodok, is the open-air West Siberian Rail Museum. There are about 90 historical trains and rail cars there.
Novosibirsk (Новосиби́рск, pronounced ) is Russia's third largest city, after Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and the administrative center of Novosibirsk Oblast. It is also the largest city in Siberia and the administrative center of Siberian Federal District, in the southwest of which it is located.
History
It was founded in 1893 as the future site of the Trans-Siberian Railway bridge crossing the great Siberian river Ob. Its importance further increased early in the 20th century with the completion of the Turkestan-Siberia Railway, connecting Novosibirsk to Central Asia and the Caspian Sea.
From 1893 until 1925, Novosibirsk was called Novonikolayevsk after Tsar Nicholas II.
Geography
The city lies along the Ob River in the West Siberian Plain. To the south is the Ukok Plateau part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site entitled Golden Mountains of Altai.
Climate
The climate is sharply continental, with severely cold and snowy winters, and hot and dry summers. Temperatures in summer range from 20 to 25°C (75°F), in winter -18 to -20°C (0°F), but can reach -40°C (-40°F) in winter and 35-40°C (100°F) in summer. The difference between the highest and the lowest temperature is 88°C (158°F). Most of the time the weather is sunny, with an average of 2880 hours of sunshine per year.
Industry, education, science, and culture
Industries include machine manufacturing and metallurgy. It is the home of one of Novosibirsk State University (situated in nearby Akademgorodok), a number of institutes and a scientific research center. Novosibirsk boasts opera and ballet companies, several theaters, museums, and art galleries. The city is widely considered to be the cultural center of Siberia.
Broadcasting
Novosibirsk is home to Russia's most powerful shortwave relay station east of the Ural mountains. This relay station can reach most of South Asia, the Middle East, and China. The Magadan and Vladivostok relay stations when operated in conjunction with Novosibirsk can guarantee that the Voice of Russia or any other broadcaster renting time at Novosibirsk is heard in the intended target area.
Transport
Novosibirsk is the fourth city in Russia (after Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Nizhny Novgorod) and the first in Siberia in which a metro system was established (the Novosibirsk Metro, opened in 1986). The city is served by Novosibirsk Tolmachevo Airport with regular flights to Europe and Asia and other Russian cities. Tolmachevo is the hub for S7 Airlines. There is also the auxiliary Novosibirsk Elitsovka Airport and a smaller field for general aviation at Novosibirsk Severny Airport.
Sports
Amongst several other former Soviet Olympians, Novosibirsk has the distinction of being the hometown of Alexander Karelin, the 12-time world champion Greco-Roman wrestler (including 3 Olympic gold and 1 Olympic silver medals), voted by FILA as the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler of the 20th century.
Novosibirsk has numerous sports facilities.
Music
Two classical violinists of modern times, Vadim Repin and Maxim Vengerov, are natives of Novosibirsk.
The Zoo of Novosibirsk
The Zoo of Novosibirsk is a world renowned zoo and a popular tourist attraction to the city. The zoo has over 4000 species of animals, and actively participates in thirty-two different societies for preserving endangered species. On average, around 700,000 people visit the zoo each year.
In 2000, the zoo held the closest relative to the cape lion of South Africa. John Spence was always fascinated about the stories of these grand lions scaling the walls of General Van Rieebecks castle in the 17th century. Spence's search took thirty years, which led him to the Novosibirsk Zoo where he found the closest living resemblance to the cape lion; the zoo called him Simon. The lion and his family are kept outdoors in large, natural settings. "It is kept all the year around in the climate conditions of the West Siberia at the temperatures from to . In forty years, more than sixty cubs were born." - http://sibzoo.narod.ru/animal/lev.htm
The zoo's current curator's name is Rustislav. Simon's cubs were named after him and his wife, Olga.
Sister cities
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