Novosibirsk - Novosibirsk visitor guide showing a virtual tour of 'Novosibirsk' linked to an interactive map with local and travel information. 360° panoramas from Novosibirsk Oblast.

Novosibirsk (Новосибирск) is the third largest city in Russia and the capital of the Novosibirsk Oblast in West Siberia and the administrative center of Siberian Federal District. The city was founded in 1893, named Novonikolayevsk (Новониколаевск), in honor of both Saint Nicholas and the reigning tsar, Nicholas II. At this time the Trans-Siberian Railway was being built and this was the proposed site for a bridge crossing the River of Ob.

After the Russian Civil War, Lenin renamed the city Novosibirsk, meaning 'New Siberian City' and pushed industrialization in the region. This, and the Great Soviet Famine, lead to rapid growth of Novosibirsk and the nickname 'Chicago of Siberia'.

Novosibirsk - Tourist Attractions

• Novosibirsk Zoo - Top tourist attraction in the city, covering 131 acres / 53 hectares and housing over 4,000 different species of animals. Novosibirsk zoo is famous for big cats.
• State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre - the best theatre in the whole of Siberia, built in 1945 with a capacity of 2000 people.
• Cathedral of Ascension (Voznesensky Sobor) - built in 1914 the cathedral boasts a stunning interior, with high ceilings and beautiful decorations.
• Alexandre Nevsky Cathedral (Sobor Alexandra Nevskogo) - completed in 1898, this is one of the best known landmarks of Novosibirsk and a top tourist attraction with gilded domes, detailed stonework, and some rather special murals.
• Novosibirsk Regional Puppet Theatre - fee charging tourist attraction, the puppet theatre puts on regular shows in a manner relatively unchanged since the 1930's.
• Novosibirsk State Art Museum - opened in 1958, the museum contains over 10,000 works of art, paintings, icons and sculpture starting from the icons of the 16th century to the present day.
• Ob River - the fourth longest river in Russia, an important part of life in Novosibirsk, where the residents build an ice city in the winter.
• Chapel of St. Nicholas - built in 1915 to commemorate 300 years of Romanov rule, destroyed in 1930 and rebuilt in 1993.
• Akademgorodok - 30 km south of Novosibirsk, former elite institution with several museums and tree-lined roads.

Flight: Tolmachevo Airport, 16km outside of the city center.
Rail: Vokzal-Glavny (Вокзал-Главный) station, the largest station on the Trans-Siberian Railway with daily arrivals from Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, Beijing, Ulaan Baator and Vladivostok.