Veliky Novgorod - a guide to how to get there, where to stay and what to see

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In my opinion, Veliky Novgorod is an ideal tourist city, not to visit which is not so much a shame, but somehow strange. In other words, if you have not been to Novgorod yet, you urgently need to eliminate this misunderstanding. And this is not an exaggeration.

Judge for yourself. Novgorod is one of the oldest cities in Russia

and, as is commonly believed, the very first capital of the Russian state with a rich history and an abundance of objects to see.
There is a picturesque river with an embankment
and a marvelous pedestrian bridge, and a huge perfectly preserved
fortress
, and
a beach
right at the foot of this fortress, and
a fair number of examples of ancient Russian architecture
, frescoes and other historical artifacts.
convenient to get
to Novgorod (at least from Moscow and St. Petersburg), and in the city itself they try to organize all sorts of
interesting events
: from forays onto the fortress wall of Detinets with a guide in ancient attire to pottery and printing master classes.
Novgorod has one of the first (and, at the same time, extremely intelligent) tourist information centers in Russia, where you can turn to for any question. For lovers of Russian history, this is complete freedom. Where else can you visit a real archaeological site
and see multi-meter cultural layers with your own eyes? Well, how exactly do you come across another birch bark document?

Besides, it’s just nice to walk around Novgorod

. And this applies not only to the city center. If you like long walks, you can easily go to the countryside for the whole day - to the Yuriev Monastery, Perynsky Skete and Vitoslavlitsy. The places are completely idyllic, even if formally within the city limits. At the same time, the route can be laid through several ancient churches on the outskirts of Novgorod, which will give the walk additional research interest.

Route along the Sofia side

Tourists coming to Veliky Novgorod usually begin their acquaintance with the Kremlin. The first thing that attracts attention is the slender St. Sophia Cathedral, which can be examined from the outside for a long time. You can visit the cathedral on your own or with a guided tour.

Hanseatic fountain

There are many museums in the Kremlin: the Chamber of Facets, the Belfry, an exhibition dedicated to bells. It is simply impossible to pass by the monument to the Millennium of Russia. There are always a lot of tourists around it, looking at the figures.

In the southern part of the Kremlin, the tiny Church of St. Andrew Stratelates always attracts attention. It is so small that it was built in just one day.

A wide arch leads from the Kremlin to Volkhov, and there a wide asphalt path invites you to walk along the beach towards the only equestrian monument in Veliky Novgorod - the Victory Monument.

If you walk along Trinity Proboynaya Street a little further, you can reach the Church of the Holy Trinity . To the right of it on Telegina-Redyatina Street there is another one - the Church of St. Blaise .

Next, you should take a walk along the ancient streets around the Kremlin, and first turn onto Desyatinnaya. On it you can see several surviving buildings of the courtyard of the ancient Desyatinny Monastery and the ruins of the former main church - the Nativity of the Virgin Mary . The Museum of Artistic Culture of the Novgorod Land operates in one of the former monastery buildings. Here you can not only see, but even buy paintings by local artists.

Former Desyatinny Monastery

Having reached the beginning of Desyatinnaya Street, turn right and exit onto Sofiyskaya and Sennaya squares . There is a Tourist Information Center, the Museum of Fine Arts, many cafes and souvenir stalls. If you wish, you can take a walk through the Kremlin Park or head along Lawn Street and to the left on Novo-Luchanskaya in search of another temple - the Church of St. Theodore Stratilates . To the right along Stratilatovskaya Street you can see an unusual temple for Veliky Novgorod - the Roman Catholic Church of Saints Peter and Paul.

If you walk along Bolshaya St. Petersburgskaya from the center, you can reach the ancient earthen rampart. Nowadays Chernyakhovsky-Zavalnaya-Koltsevaya street runs here. Behind it there is a guardhouse, where documents of those entering Veliky Novgorod used to be checked. Behind it, you should turn right onto Musa Jalil-Dukhovskaya Street to see the temples of the former Monastery of the Holy Spirit . Their Moscow architecture is unusual for these places. Finally, having reached Bredova-Zverinaya Street, you need to turn left and walk to the large Zverin Monastery. There are two functioning temples on its territory.

In which area of Novgorod is it better to stay?

Novgorod is a fairly compact city, and most tourist accommodation facilities (hotels, apartments, hostels, etc.) gravitate towards its main attraction - Detinets (aka Novgorod Kremlin), which is located on the left bank of the Volkhov River. This left bank part of the city is called the Sofia Side (after the Hagia Sophia). Here, on the Sofia side, there is a railway station and a bus station

, from where it’s only a 15-20 minute walk to Detinets. Therefore, if you are going to Novgorod by train or bus, the most obvious choice will be the area between the railway station and the Kremlin. Living here is very convenient: transport, catering, shops, and main attractions are all within walking distance.

At the same time, the attractions of Novgorod are by no means limited to Detinets or the Hagia Sophia Cathedral located on its territory. The right bank of the Volkhov, or the Trade Side, as this part of Novgorod is called, is also of considerable interest.

There is also a lot of interesting things in the immediate vicinity of Novgorod and on the city outskirts. And if you plan to go to Novgorod by car, then you don’t have to be attached to the center at all. And no one has canceled public transport and taxis.

Therefore, we will further pay attention not only to the immediate surroundings of Detinets (Novgorod Kremlin), but also to other areas of Novgorod, where, if desired, you can also stop during the trip:

Sofia side Surrounding areas of Detinets
South of Detinets

Trade side

Sofia side

Hotels on the map

See also a list of hotels in the area

For many years, the main option for tourists in the center of Novgorod was the Volkhov Hotel, located opposite the city administration. Now in the immediate vicinity of Detinets

there are other no less, and perhaps even more interesting hotels: for example, the cozy apart-hotel Sofia (across the road from the Kremlin Park that surrounds Detinets) or the small History Hotel (directly in the park, a few steps from the fountain “Sadko and Princess Volkhova” ).
The place is really convenient.
The railway station and bus station are a 15-minute walk away, and Detinets is just a stone's throw away. To the Trade Side from this area is about the same 15 minutes of a leisurely walk through the Kremlin and the pedestrian bridge. There are a large number of shops and the majority of city cafes around. It is especially good to live here on holidays, when city festivities take place on the central streets and squares.

All three hotels mentioned are suitable, by the way, for road travelers, since each of them has its own parking lot. True, there may not be enough places for everyone (it is better to discuss this issue in advance during the booking process). The same applies to other hotels located in the center of Novgorod. Parking lots here are usually small

and spaces need to be booked in advance, and sometimes there are no other options other than public parking nearby.

The disadvantage of these hotels can be street noise.

(read the reviews carefully!), and
inflated prices
(especially in the summer, when the tourist season is in full swing).
You also need to take into account that historical buildings often do not have an elevator
.

Speaking of apartments

, then there are a lot of them in the Detinets area.
You can either rent an entire apartment or stay in an apart-hotel.
Both are usually cheaper than staying in a classic hotel. In addition to the above-mentioned apart-hotel Sofia, in the immediate vicinity of the Novgorod Kremlin, it is worth paying attention to the brand new apart-hotel Nerevsky. However, it is located on the fourth floor of a building without an elevator, which for some may be a significant limitation. But around the corner there is a nice monument that you definitely won’t miss: the boy Onfim and the birch bark letter. Here in the 1950s the famous Nerevsky excavation was carried out and the first Novgorod birch bark letter was found.

Among the apartments for daily rent, we can note, for example, Style and Comfort or Central Apart, which are also located near Detinets. If you are traveling to Novgorod with friends or children, good accommodation options are Apartment on Novoluchanskaya st.3 and Beresta Apartments. And if you are attracted to options with remote check-in (without direct communication with the owner), then the Kremlin also has those: for example, Meretskova Central Apartment.

On the same Sofia side it is also worth considering the area located behind the earthen rampart south of Detinets

.
There are no classic hotels, like Volkhov, but there are apartments, guest houses, and small family mini-hotels. Pay attention, in particular, to the Berloga-house with a barbecue area in the yard and a sauna in the house or the Sweet Home House with a sauna, as well as the guest houses Three Cats and 65Home. This entire area is private sector. quieter and calmer
here than in the city blocks between the station and Detinets, and
it is easier to park
.
At the same time, the advantages of living in the center remain
: all the necessary infrastructure (including shops and cafes) is nearby, and the same Detinets is a 15-minute walk away. Even the railway station and bus station can still be reached on foot from here. True, it will take about half an hour to walk.

There are also plenty of attractions nearby. This is the Trinity excavation site

next to the church of the same name (you can get to the excavations with a guide by booking an excursion through the excursion department of the Novgorod Museum-Reserve), and the
White Tower
, and
the earthen rampart of the Okolny City
.
From here it is convenient to start that very same walking tour for the whole day
- through the Church of Peter and Paul on Sinichya Hill to the picturesque 15th century churches of John the Merciful on Myachina and the Assurance of Thomas, and then to the
St. George's Monastery, the Perynsky Skete and the Vitoslavlitsy Museum of Wooden Architecture
. The churches stand among water meadows, and a wonderful authentic road with wooden buildings leads to them, which will probably soon not remain.

Actually, in the Vitoslavlice area

You can also stay
, fortunately that literally across the road from the museum there is a hotel complex Yuryevskoye Podvorye. The option is not the cheapest, but the places around are special. Vitoslavlitsy is always nearby, and the St. George's Monastery, as well as the Perynsky monastery, are within walking distance. There is also a yacht club
, where you can arrange a walk on Lake Ilmen and the Volkhov River (both on a yacht and on a boat).
Children can be entertained with a mini zoo
, and for adults there is a wonderful
bathhouse
with specially trained bath attendants.
At the same time, it is not so far from the center of Novgorod. You can even walk along the route described above. And by car it’s just a 10-minute drive to the same Detinets
.
There is also public transport: buses No. 7 and 7a
, with which you can get to both Detinets and the railway station (the journey takes 15–25 minutes).

Trade side

Hotels on the map

Route along the Trade Side

Returning to the Kremlin walls, cross to the other side of the Volkhov along the Great Bridge. It will lead to Yaroslav's Courtyard, where there are seven temples at once, each of which is worthy of attention. Part can be viewed from the outside. There are exhibitions in the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Torg and the Church of St. Paraskeva Pyatnitsa. The largest Cathedral of St. Nicholas in Yaroslav's Courtyard is still operational.

Church of the Myrrh-Bearing Women at Yaroslav's Courtyard

If you go through Yaroslav's Courtyard and turn right onto Bolshaya Moskovskaya, you can see another temple - St. Michael the Archangel and the Annunciation at Torg. Having returned a little, you need to turn right onto Nikolskaya Street. It will lead to the Church of St. Philip the Apostle .

Nearby is the large Znamensky Cathedral, which was previously part of the monastery. A little further away from it is the Church of the Transfiguration on Ilyin, famous for its partially preserved frescoes by Theophanes the Greek.

After visiting this temple, it is worth returning to Bolshaya Moskovskaya and going towards increasing house numbers. On the left side on Ivanskaya Street there will be the former house of the Novgorod governor . Further along Bolshaya Moskovskaya there are two more churches: St. Clement and St. Demetrius of Thessalonica . This street will lead to the 30th Anniversary of October Park on the banks of the Volkhov. Behind it stands the Anthony Monastery and one of the largest in Veliky Novgorod, the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin.

It is better to return to the center along the Alexander Nevsky embankment. It pleases tourists not only with beautiful views of Volkhov, but also with several modern sculptures. The most famous is “ The Tired Tourist” at the Great Bridge.

Neighborhoods of Veliky Novgorod

Church of the Savior on Kovalevo

The historical and architectural monuments of Veliky Novgorod are not limited to the center. There are many of them on the outskirts of the city. The most famous: Yuriev Monastery and Vitoslavitsy. They are actually the only ones that can be reached without interference by public transport. Those traveling by private car should visit the ancient Settlement and the Church of the Savior on Nereditsa on the opposite bank of the Volkhov.

Near Novgorod you can also see the ruins of the Church of the Transfiguration on Kovalevo, the Derevyanitsky, Khutynsky, Syrkovsky, Vyazhishchi and Klopsky monasteries. Currently operating are the Vyazhishchi and Khutyn monasteries. Many surrounding monasteries were heavily damaged during the war.