Khabarovsk

Bonifatsiy Bar

Бонифаций Бар

Kind of like going to the bar at the circus, given the theme. Also on the premises is another establishment called Pushkin Yard.

Cathedral of the Transfiguration

Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral, Преображенский Кафедральный собор

Christianity is alive and well in Russia, as this golden domed church towering above Khabarovsk is evidence of. Only completed in 2004, at 83 meters it's the 3rd tallest church in all of Russia - inside it's not that impressive, just large. The monastery, or rather the Theological Seminary, right next to it is also worth a look a brief look from the outside. Opposite, facing the Amur is a war memorial "Вечный огонь" ("the eternal flame"), rather kitschy but has good Amur views. The whole thing is labeled as the Ploshchad Slavy or the Square of Glory.

Chocolate

A stylish, modern looking cafe-like eatery with an international menu, cappuccino, and free wireless access.

Sun-Wed 08:00-02:00, Thu-Sat 24hrs

City Beach

Хабаровский пляж

Pictured on the right, the beach on the River Promenade just below the cathedral is hugely popular with pedestrians on warm summer days and packed with sunbathers — so much so that it's easy to forget you are over 300 km away from the nearest piece of coast. It is possible to take a quick dip, but stay very close to land as the current is strong, and keep in mind there are old world Chinese and Russian industries upstream. Usually there are some inflatable slides set up for kids.

Crossroad

Dance and karaoke floors, selection of cocktails and hookah choices, snacks, middle-age crowd welcome, too.

Durminskoye Reserve

Дурминское

Home to the last Siberian Tigers left in the wild. A reserve created for the preservation of the Amur tiger population living in the area, as well as other predators and other animals.

Dynamo Park

Парк Динамо

A quite attractive park spreading over 30 hectares, immensely popular with locals on sunny days. The water ponds to the south are popular for splashing and cooling down. There are several nice, quirky statues cut from huge wooden logs dotted all over the park which can be interesting to trace down in a small treasure hunt for adults. There are also a handful of running amusements, cafés and beer gardens. Just across the street from the eastern entrance, Khabarovsk's local ice-hockey team battles it out in the premier Russian league in the Platinum arena.

Far East Regional Museum

Хабаровский краеведческий музей

One of the oldest museums in the Russian far east, laid out in 6 sections in an impressive 1894 red-brick building. For the most part it's leaps and bounds ahead of the region's other museums, and with nearly half a million artifacts in the collection, they can afford to be picky about what they display. The ethnographic section with displays of indigenous cultures from around the Amur is unusually informative, but the zoology section is also worth a look, stuffed animals galore! To top it off, it has been renovated, and they even have a few English captions here and there. May be worth considering but the price for foreigners is high for what you see.

Closed · opens 10 am·RUB 300

Far Eastern Art Museum

Дальневосточный художественный музей

Established in the 1930s and now housed in the building of a former officers' club. They seem to take most pride in their collection of Far Eastern aboriginal art, but they also have a rare collection of ancient Russian religious icons and Japanese porcelain. In the classic exhibition they have a few painters you may have heard of like Titian and Garofalo, but also some lesser known Russian masters.

Tue–Sun 10:00-17:00·Foreigners RUB 150

Far Eastern Military Museum

Военно-исторический музей ДВО

Another impressive building from the turn of the 20th century, this one was the state bank up until the 1930s. Weapons galore propped up by medals and other memorabilia. If you are not interested in these sort of things, you can probably give it a miss, but they have a few cool war propaganda posters from the Great Patriotic War and a luxury officers' railway carriage from the 1920s in the courtyard, if you need to entertain yourself for a while while any male company goes into boy mode.

Tue–Sun 10:00-17:00

Far Eastern Railway Museum

Музей истории Дальневосточной железной дороги

A small museum which houses a previously private collection of around 2000 original artifacts, documents, models and photographs telling about the history and construction of the Far Eastern Railway.

Mon–Fri 09:00-17:00

Fedotov Exposition Hall

Выставочный зал имени Федотова

Temporary exhibitions of professional painters, sculptures, designers and other artists from the far east. The exhibits changes monthly.

Gaidara Children's Park

Детский парк им. Гайдара

A small amusement park opposite the large Dynamo park to the north of the center. The amusements are mainly for kids, with a small roller-coaster, bouncy castles and swings, and a few cafés for eating. Most interesting if you have kids, but there is a gaming arcade at the north end with a bowling alley, slot machines and fusball tables for the more grown up.

Geological Museum

Геологический музей Хабаровска

Housed in a beautiful 19th-century building, which once belonged to a prominent local merchant family. True to its name, this museum has a huge collection of rocks and minerals – some even some from outer space, like a few moon fragments brought home to Earth by automatic probes and one of the world's largest iron meteorites which crashed into the Sikhot-Ailin mountains in the 1940s. If you are not into stones, you could check out the small section on tools and equipment related to prospecting in the region or the collection of prehistoric plant and animal fossils. Outside the museum there are a few large monoliths of minerals, ores and rocks.

Closed · opens 10 am

Khabarovsk Circus

Хабаровский цирк

Khabarovsk Circus had a brand new home constructed a few years back, in an impressive building in Gagerin Park. There will usually be guest performances from all over Russia or even China, as well as from a range of circus animals — including of course, bears.

Performances: Fri 16:00; Sat Sun 12:00 & 16:00·RUB 60

Khabarovsk City History Museum

Музей истории Хабаровска

The newest museum in town: it was opened in 2004. A small museum which details the history of Khabarovsk from its inception up until today. Covering the pre-revolutionary period, the October Revolution and the civil war in Khabarovsk, the city during World War II, and up until the Perestroika and modern Khabarovsk. The collection is mainly made up of everyday items, photographs and documents from private donations.

Foreigners RUB 300

Khabarovsk Philarmony

Хабаровская краевая филармония

If the language of classic music is more understandable for you than the tongue of Russian artists, this is the place you might enjoy. The whole Far Eastern Orchestra and Organ performers in the downtown are all for your pleasure. The big hall of Philarmony is just the next door to the Museum of Arts and open every day.

Museum of Archaeology

Хабаровский музей археологии

Part of the regional museum but located in an attractive separate building which, before the October revolution got him, was owned by the owner of a local brewery. Finds from the dawn of man up until the middle ages. Their collection of ancient ceramics is interesting, and the Sikachi-Alyan petroglyphs and Sheremetyevsky inscription replicas are also worth a look.

Tue–Sun 10:00-17:00

Park Severnyy

Another park/recreational area with ponds and its own orthodox church. It's probably not a do-or-die type of attraction but something pretty far down on the list. What might be even more fun is traveling west a few km to cross over the Amur River on the Amurskogo Mosta.

Platinum Arena

Платинум Арена

The major sports and concerts center, a training base of hockey team 'Amur'. Often hosts Russian and Western European music stars.

Russki Restaurant

Русский Ресторан

Russki means Russian, and that is exactly what you can expect; cozy if tacky decór – Datcha (log cabin) style, complete with a Banya (costs extra), the waiters are dressed in Russian national clothes, and one of the four halls usually has live Russian folk music. Even if that's not your thing, you can't hold anything against the food: expect tasty classic Russian fare like blinis, patties, borscht, or the good sizzling sturgeon or meat served on warm stones. All can be washed down with tea from the samovar.

Closed · opens noon

The Arboretum

Хабаровский дендрарий

Founded in 1896 as an experimental laboratory, it was transformed into a 12-hectare (27-acre) botanical garden in the 1930s. It's a nice place for a stroll among the many trees, bushes and flowers, about 800 different kinds of them gathered from nearly every continent; some exotic medical plants also grow here.

May-Oct, advance reservations required

Theatre of Musical Comedy

Хабаровский краевой музыкальный театр

The oldest theatre in Khabarovsk Krai performs classical and modern operettas as well as occasional comedies in a huge bombastic building in Dynamo park. The massive 900-seat hall is also the city's main concert venue.

Triada Pantomime Theatre

Театр пантомимы Триада

Established in the waning days of the Soviet Union, this institution has outlived communism, and is still going strong after 30 years. The name is from the Greek word for trinity, meant to signify the three purposes of Pantomime: to laugh, cry and excite, all done through simple entertaining shows that are often meant to convey a deeper philosophical idea. Besides pantomime shows, they also play comedic clown acts and traditional theatre. The hall seats around 90 people.

Utyos

кафе «Утёс»

The name means The Cliff in Russian, very appropriate as this monument is an unusual art nouveau building from the forties on top of a tall cliff dominating the waterfront, which used to be a lifeboat station. It has a large balcony with spectacular views of the Amur and beyond. Also find a statue of Muravyov Amursky on display, which just so happened to make it onto the 50 rouble note.

Vsevolod Sysoyev Far Eastern Zoo

Зоопарк имени В. Сысоева

Opened in 2002, this smallish zoo have around 40 different species, mostly regional fauna like Ussuriysk bears and tigers and the Far Eastern Leopard. The zoo is named after local nature writer.

Daily 10:00-18:00

Cabaret Saloon Harley-Davidson

Located in the historic center, this is not a biker's pub, but a full-fledged restaurant.

Hudozhestvennye Salony

Художественный салон

Means "Art salon", all Russian handicrafts slightly cheaper than its next door neighbour. Good place to get the ritual Matreshka doll purchase over and done with, since they are good quality here, though certainly not cheap. Also has a good selection of jewelery and Khokhloma items — a traditional Russian wood painting handicraft, though if you're heading west, you might want to wait for Nizhny Novgorod where they originate.

Closed · opens 10 am

Ice Fantasy Festival

Ледовая Фантазия

Annual ice sculpting competition that has been held in January every year since 2001. Attracts some of the sculptors from the much grander and more famous Harbin festival. Worth a look if you're in town.

NK City

НК Сити

A large prestigious supermarket in the city's center located at the road junction offering a good deal of cheap food, brand clothes and electronic stuff with a 3D cinema on the 5th floor and a couple of small restaurants.

Closed · opens 10 am