Listvyanka

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.

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

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.

Gem museum

Музей самоцветов

A private museum of gemstones by an enthusiastic collector who also conducts tours of the museum.

11-19, during winter 11-17

Large solar vacuum telescope

Большой солнечный вакуумный телескоп

At the end of the road there's a telescope used for observing solar activity. It can be visited by guided tour, otherwise you can look at the structure from the outside.

Nerpinary

Нерпинарий

There are marine mammal parks all over the world, but only two have Baikal seals, one in Irkutsk and this one. Photography and video shooting is allowed only in one pool and for a fee. Great to visit with children, but if you want to see them in a more scientific and less theatralical setting, it's better to see the seals in the Baikal museum.

11-18, sessions every hour·1000 ₽

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 ₽

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.

Siberian zoo

Сибирский зоопарк

Petting zoo opened in 2017 where you could earlier even pet wolf cubs but as they have grown up, visitors are nowadays just allowed to get close with herbivores. On Facebook.

Closed · opens 10 am·450 ₽

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.