Where to stay

What to see if you have two hours

A walk along the riverside is a great way to spend a couple of hours and really get a good feel for the city. Start at the main park, Park Kultury, and head south toward the Dynamo stadium. Look out for the golden onion domes of the Orthodox churches and enjoy a cup of coffee or even a serving of shashlik at one of the numerous cafes along the way.

Finding the park is easy. Buses travel directly to the park and to the Dynamo stadium from virtually every part of the city, including the train station and the airport. A one-way bus ticket costs about 10 rubles ($0.30).

What to do if you have two days

Art galleries, museums, concerts, shopping or a picnic in the forest — the choice is yours.

The Tambov Regional Museum (3 Derzhavinskaya Ulitsa; [phone]; tambovmuseum.ru), which traces the history of the city, has an interesting history of its own. The museum occupied the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral, the oldest Orthodox church in the region, from 1929 through 1991. But with the Soviet collapse, it moved to its current location, an attractive pre-revolutionary building with columns. Some of the exhibits feel crowded for lack of space, but the museum boasts an impressive collection of artifacts and taxidermy, all historically related to places in and around Tambov.

For paintings, check out the Art Gallery (97 Sovietskaya Ulitsa; [phone]; tambovart.ru), which has a collection of original works by Russian painters such as Ivan Aivazovsky and Semyon Shchedrin.

Don’t miss the central market (21 Kommunalnaya Ulitsa; [phone]; bazar-tambov.narod.ru), where you can pick up a local bargain, toys for the kids or other gifts for people at home. Most prices are clearly marked, but be mindful of pickpockets because the place is usually extremely busy. Walk east along the Kommunalnaya mall toward Lenin Square. This is where the most popular souvenir and jewelry shops are.

If you have time for a picnic, take a taxi to the prigorodny les (suburban forest). It’s only a 10-minute drive from the city center, and you can relax in an idyllic clearing where the forest meets the river.

What to do with the family

If you are traveling with the family and don’t know any locals, it is best to stay in town. Visit Park Kultury, which offers rides and attractions for all ages.

The Tambov Puppet Theater (15 Internatsionalnaya Ulitsa; [phone]; kukla-tambov.ru) is popular with local children. Founded in 1930, the theater has an amazing collection of puppets.

To really fit in with the locals, check out fishing spots along the Tsna River in the city limits and in the rural areas. However, it is advisable to go fishing with a local acquaintance or at least with someone who speaks Russian. The inability to carry on a conversation with a fellow fisherman may lead to disaster, spoiling a perfect evening. Some people may see a foreigner as an easy target and an opportunity to express their nationalistic views in colorful and somewhat salty language.

Nightlife

ALEXEI VYGUZOV The embankment along the Tsna river is a popular place for residents to take walks at any time of year.

Classical music concerts, theater and movies are the most common types of recreation in Tambov. The city also has clubs and nightclubs, of course, but many of them are associated with excessive drinking and are generally considered unsafe.

Check a local newspaper for the day’s concerts at the Rachmaninov Institute (59 Sovietskaya Ulitsa; [phone]; rachmaninov.ru). The concert hall at the institute has amazing acoustics and is popular with prominent pianists and chamber orchestras.

The Tambov State Drama Theater (15 Internatsionalnaya Ulitsa; [phone]; tambovdrama.ru) is one of the oldest theaters in Russia and is renowned for its rich entertainment program every season. Check its website to see what is playing during the current theater season.

TambovConcert, also known as Filarmonia (5 Derzhavinskaya Ulitsa; + 7 475 272 0010; tambovconcert.ru), is the main venue for classical music and Russian pop shows. Concerts are performed nearly every weekend, so there are good opportunities to see a classical performance in a charming setting.

Where to eat

In Tambov, people love spending time outside, but not many of them go out to eat. In the past, the few local restaurants were associated with the rich, excessive drinking and substandard food. Now, new restaurateurs and owners of cafes and bars are trying to win people’s trust by presenting safe establishments. The new restaurants are family-friendly and often smoke-free.

Restaurant Ultra (164 Sovietskaya Ulitsa; [phone]) has a great atmosphere, an enticing menu and polite staff. It’s one of the restaurants that the local elite dine in with their families or use for business meetings. In the words of one local businessman, “You can eat anything here.” This is a good place for a night out. A dinner of Arizona chicken, a succulent chicken breast with mushrooms, or steak in red wine sauce will cost between 400 and 1,000 rubles per person without alcohol.

Going out with locals? Be prepared to give up your right to choose your meal. It is not uncommon for everyone around the table to order the same dish. A common restaurant-table discussion revolves around the question “What are we going to eat?” Having agreed on a dish, everyone orders the same thing.

Cafe Italiansky Dvorik (Italian Quarter) is a popular Western-style cafe-restaurant on the upper floor of the Festival Park shopping mall (1 Bulvar Entuziastov; [phone]). With formal dining tables and comfortable leather couches, it is a great venue for a light lunch of caesar salad or gourmet pizza or a cup of coffee. Free, unrestricted Wi-Fi is available.

There are more great places to eat. Make sure to ask locals for a recommendation, or check a list online.

Where to stay

Good hotels are not something Tambov is known for. Just as there have been multiple attempts to fix the roads, the pressure is also growing on the hospitality industry to improve the city’s image.

Hotel Derzhavinskaya (4 Ploshchad Lva Tolstogo; [phone]; tambov-hotel.ru) is situated along the main city street, Sovietskaya Ulitsa, and is the most popular place among foreigners. Prices range from 1,600 rubles ($51.60) for a single to 7,600 rubles ($245) a night for a VIP room. The hotel also offers a visa support service — a formal invitation document that is required to obtain a tourist visa from overseas.

If you like to go for bike rides in natural surroundings, try Hotel Spartak (13 Lunnaya, prigorodny les; [phone]; hotel-spartak-tambov.ru), which is in the forest near the city. The hotel, with rooms ranging from 1,500 to 2,500 rubles ($48-80) per night, offers bicycles for rent and a cafe with some of the best shashlik in town.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-31