Kemerovo reveals a city of many sides: industrial history in its museum, striking squares and architecture, and walks along the river and through the central pine forest. These themes can help you get a feel for the destination and choose what to focus on during your stay.

Industrial history and a city walk

The Krasnaya Gorka Museum was established in 1991 at the site where the Kuznetsk Coal Basin was discovered. Its exhibition covers the region’s industrial history, including the discovery of the basin and the founding of the Kemerovo mine. This gives the discovery site and the city’s history a concrete connection.

A guided city tour of Kemerovo includes a walk along Vesennyaya Street, one of the city’s oldest streets, as well as a visit to the architectural ensemble on Sovetsky Prospekt. Tour offerings may change; check in advance whether the tour is available on your travel dates. Soviets Square is Kemerovo’s main square and another landmark in the cityscape.

Riverside and pine forest in the city

Pritomskaya Embankment is well suited to family outings on foot. From the embankment in the city centre, you can see the central pine forest, which gives Kemerovo’s natural landscape a particularly distinctive character. The forest offers opportunities for walks in the fresh air. On a rise in this part of the forest stand a Poklonny Cross and large letters spelling “Kuzbass”.

Conservation information is also part of the picture of this urban green space: five animal species and nine plant species in the pine forest are listed in the Red Data Book of Kemerovo Oblast. The riverside views and forest walks offer different experiences, while allowing you to keep the city’s history in view.

A large park with a history of its own

The Park of Olympic Glory opened in September 2022 during the tenth international forum “Russia – A Sporting Power”. The 50-hectare site includes the Kuzbass Ice Palace, the Kuzbass Arena, a Phygital Centre, Moscow Square and a new embankment along the Tom. The park is located on the site of the Winter Cherry shopping and entertainment complex, which burned down in 2018. The place therefore brings a recent park history together with an important part of the city’s more recent past. As the status of individual facilities may change, check the latest information before your visit.

More destinations in Kemerovo Oblast

The wider destination of Kemerovo Oblast offers other, distinct experiences. Tomskaya Pisanitsa is a cultural monument of federal significance and one of the best-known and most important rock art sites in Western Siberia. The open-air museum covers 156 hectares of pine forest on the banks of the Tom River. There are 300 rock images there; the oldest depictions are 4,000 years old. Since the first years of its existence, Tomskaya Pisanitsa has also hosted historical, ethnographic and folklore events and festivals.

For a different kind of nature experience, there is Shorsky National Park, also within the wider destination of Kemerovo Oblast. Visitors can raft on mountain rivers, take motorboat trips and hike along ecological trails. The Srednyaya Mrassu route runs from Ust-Kabyrza to Ust-Anzas. Depending on the weather, it takes at least three days, is classified as Category I difficulty and is open to all age groups. Check current park rules and route conditions before setting out. This makes it easier to decide when planning your trip whether to focus on Kemerovo’s urban history and city greenery or to take a broader trip around the oblast.

Discover more destinations: Novokuznetsk, Myski, Osinniki, Yurga, Novorossiysk, Silino, Prokopyevsk, Kalinkino.

Go to the overview of the wider destination: Kemerovo Oblast.