Parks and the outdoors in Listvyanka

Parks and the outdoors in Listvyanka

1. See

   Arboretum

   Дендропарк

   Arboretum, or rather a park as it has several flowerbeds, part of the Baikal museum but free to visit. It has a viewing tower.

2. See

   Baikal Museum

   Байкальский музей

   At the former Limnological Institute, this museum describes many aspects of the lake in a scientific manner. There's information and statistics about the flora, fauna and geology, but also aquariums with seals and other sea life, a model of an icebreaker, the Paisis-11 - a submersible that has been used for lake exploration and a simulator where visitors can experience a dive with that submersible.

   400 ₽, diving simulation has a separate fee

3. See

   Cherskov's rock

   Камень Черского

   Viewpoint, 270 m above the lake with great views of the surroundings. If you have a car, drive to the Eastland ski resort and hike (15-20 minutes) or take the chairlift (400 ₽, 2021) up. Without a car, walk for 2.2 km from the Baikal museum to get to the same ski resort. As it's easily accessible, in the summer it's often as crowded as Listvyanka downtown.

4. Do

   Diving center "New dimension"

   Дайвинг-центр «Новое измерение»

   Diving courses and tours from one day trips to longer trips far out on the lake.

5. Do

   Eastland ski resort

   Горнолыжный комплекс «Истлэнд»

   Yes, in the winter you can ski downhill in Listvyanka, at Eastland - the Cyrillic name really reads "Istlend". This is small and simple ski resort, in the summer the chairlift can be used to access the Chersky's rock (see above). For serious downhill skiing, head to the slopes above Baikalsk, at the southern shore of the lake.

6. Eat

   Lyubovnoye Café

   Любовное кафе former Кафе «Шуры-Муры»

   Café-restaurant with great views to the lake and good food, though with high prices.

   Closed · opens 11 am

7. See

   Retro-Park/Osipov Museum

   Ретро-парк/музей Осиповых

   A museum of old cars, that's where the "retro" part comes from. But unlike what most people expect from a car museum, these cars are rusty and in a shabby state. The highlight of the museum isn't even the cars, but artworks made of rusty metal (you can find such artworks in town as well, all made by the owner of the museum).

   100 ₽

8. See

   Shaman's stone

   Шаман-камень

   The tip of a rock in the middle of the Angara, best seen from a viewing platform just north of Listvyanka. It used to be higher (and more impressive) but when the Irkutsk hydroelectric plant was built across the river in the 1950s the water level rose. According to a legend, Baikal threw a big rock after his daughter Angara who refused to marry Irkut (whom Baikal had chosen as her groom) and instead fled to Yenisey - this rock now is the shaman's rock peeking out from the water. There's a more famous similarly named rock on Olkhon island.

9. See

   St. Nicholas church

   Церковь Николая Чудотворца

   This 19th century wooden church is the oldest building around the lake. It has been modified over time, and only the round windows gives a hint of the original classicist architecture.

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Listvyanka (CC BY-SA 4.0).