In the last couple of years, Nizhny Novgorod has become one of the most popular weekend travel destinations in central Russia: a charming city with an interesting history and noteworthy architecture. In addition, you can easily and inexpensively get here from both Moscow and St. Petersburg, and from Kazan. More and more tourists come to Nizhny Novgorod every year.
Where is it better to stay in Nizhny Novgorod and how not to make a mistake in choosing a good area? We found out which parts of the city tourists like the most, where it is worth living in Nizhny and how to save money without sacrificing the quality of housing. Personal experience is attached – where would it be without it!
Nizhny Novgorod districts – which one is better for a tourist to choose?
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Where is it better for a tourist to stay in Nizhny Novgorod? Although there are 8 districts in the city, experience shows that the most obvious option is to settle in the historical center. In addition to the center, Nizhny has more affordable places to stop with good infrastructure.
Let's figure out which areas in Nizhny Novgorod are best suited if you come to see the local beauties. Conventionally, the city can be divided into 2 parts.
- Nagornaya (upper city), which includes: Nizhegorodsky district (historical center, where the main attractions are located), Prioksky district, Sovetsky district
- Zarechnaya (lower town), which includes: Avtozavodsky district, Kanavinsky district, Leninsky district, Moskovsky district, Sormovsky district
In general, when asked which district of Nizhny Novgorod is better for tourists, I always advise choosing the Nagorny part. There are many sleeping areas and industrial zones in Zarechnaya.
If you plan to walk a lot and actively explore Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod regionis the first option for you. From here it is easy and quick to get to the main attractions, because almost all of them are located in this part of the city. As Nizhny Novgorod residents themselves say, choosing accommodation closer to the center is the number one rule for city guests.
If you want to lay down as little expenses as possible on a hotel/apartment, but still live in the center, pay attention to Prioksky District. Almost always it appears in the lists of where it is better to stay in Nizhny Novgorod, right after the city center.
But Sovetsky district is not recommended: it is dirty, noisy and problematic in terms of transport. And the roads are bad, getting to the center is inconvenient and tiring.
If you can’t find a place in the Upland part, keep in mind that there are good options in the Zarechnaya part. But here you need to select housing as close as possible to the center or within walking distance from metro stations. Below I will make a selection with well-located apartments in all parts of the city, you can choose something from there.
Despite the obvious advice about the center, I stayed in Nizhny Novgorod in Kanavinsky district. She lived in the private sector near the station. The budget, as is often the case with students, was limited – and therefore I did not consider options in the Nagornaya part. Despite the mixed reviews of tourists about the area, there is a normal infrastructure here: many different shops, a couple of shopping centers and a Gordeevsky department store, and a 15-minute walk from the Nizhny Novgorod Fair in a beautiful building of the 19th century made of red stone. It was only a 10-minute walk to the train station, and from there you can easily go to anywhere in the city. True, clogged buses and minibuses invigorate in the morning no worse than coffee. In general, the vicinity of the station and the arrow (next to the fair) in the Kanavinsky district is a completely normal option where you can stay inexpensively in Nizhny Novgorod.
But the rest of the districts of the Zarechnaya part, based on the reviews of tourists about Nizhny Novgorod , are not suitable for tourist life at all – there are few shops, parks and cafes, poor lighting at night.
Where to stay in Nizhny Novgorod? Apartments
It is better to rent an apartment in advance: this way you can quickly and easily find not only comfortable, but also budget options for living in Nizhny Novgorod. With a thorough search, you can even pick up fairly cheap options in close proximity to the center.
Reserving an apartment or a room for a few days used to be strongly associated with the foreign Airbnb service, and now with the Russian Sutochno.ru.
And let's go over the prices for renting apartments in Nizhny Novgorod:
- 1050 rubles – the minimum cost of an apartment in the low season (November-April)
- 2000 rubles – the initial mark for apartments in high season (May-October)
- 3500-5000 rubles is the average daily cost of a pretty apartment in summer
And now to the selection!
№1. TWO-ROOM APARTMENT NEAR THE KREMLIN
Here is a link to the apartment
Spacious, 50 square meters apartment with a stylish renovation and bright, but harmonious touches in the interior. A good option for living in the heart of the city. I opened the entrance door – in front of you is Minin and Pozharsky Square, and from there it’s only a couple of minutes walk to the Kremlin walls. The apartment has all the necessary household items – from a washing machine to an electric heater and a shoe dryer. Plus, a parking space under the window.
Like all apartments in the central district of Nizhny Novgorod, a stop will cost a pretty penny. It is more profitable to live in this apartment with a company of 3-4 people. Another nuance is that the apartment is located on the third floor, but there is no elevator.
Contactless check-in is a separate advantage. Personally, I really like this: there is no extra communication, to which we are not always located after the road, and you can call at any time of the day or night. And this kopeck piece also has a “Good Apartment Indicator” invented by me: this is when some summer dates are already closed in the booking calendar in winter.
Designed for 4 people
180+ reviews with a rating of 9.8 (out of 10)
Price for two per season: 5000 rubles per day
№ 2. STUDIO CENTER
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Here is a link to the apartment
A more budgetary housing option in the center of Nizhny Novgorod is a studio with a loft renovation (“bare” walls, brickwork, restrained colors). This is part of an apart-hotel, so the apartment has everything for a comfortable stay – for example, a clothes dryer. On the ground floor, guests are welcomed by the reception (in case there are problems with the “smart” entrance system to the apartment), a relaxation area for guests and a restaurant.
Inexpensive, small (24 sq.m) and, according to tourists, a very cozy apartment for both a solo traveler and a family. The center of Nizhny Novgorod is a 20-minute walk, there are several tram stops near the house, so you can easily get to anywhere in the city.
Designed for 4 people
105+ reviews with a rating of 9.8 (out of 10)
Price for two per season: 2500 rubles per day
№3. FAMILY APARTMENT
Here is a link to the apartment
Perhaps the most spacious option in the selection – 7 beds per 68 square meters – and the most accurate match to the request, where to stay inexpensively with children in Nizhny Novgorod.
This is an apartment with a modern renovation and new furniture. A bonus is a loggia from where you can admire the view of the lower part of the city and see off the sun in the evenings, a crib and toys. In the reviews, “feeling like you came home” often flashes.
The apartment is far from the center, 15 minutes by taxi, but there is an opportunity to explore local attractions: walk to the popular Swiss park, museum-reserve “Shchelokovsky farm” or water park “Oceanis”.
Designed for 7 people
95+ reviews with a rating of 9.9 (out of 10)
Price for four per season: 5000 rubles per day
№4. STUDIO IN ILYINSKAYA SLOBODA
Here is a link to the apartment
The type of housing where it is not annoying to return (we all value travel time and do not want to spend it on four walls). Because the apartment has a pleasant atmosphere and a cool view of the city from the panoramic window – right on the “arrow”, the confluence of the Volga and the Oka.
A good choice for two is such a spacious odnushka in Ilyinskaya Sloboda. The renovation is fresh, minimalistic, in the style of a boutique hotel. Inside there are all the hotel “goodies”: shampoos, shower gels, disposable toothbrushes and razors (but most importantly – a comfortable king-size bed).
Of the minuses – a terrible entrance, a dilapidated house, but, Wait a minute, the apartment is located in the old part of the historic city center. A lot of ancient cultural heritage sites have been preserved in Zapochainye: from a historical point of view, it is even more interesting than the surroundings of the Kremlin. One of the atypical districts of Nizhny Novgorod, where it is better for a tourist to stay, what expanse for a productive walk!
Designed for 2 people
255+ reviews with a rating of 9.8 (out of 10)
Price for two per season: 5300 rubles per day
№5. THE APARTMENT I WOULD CHOOSE FOR MYSELF!
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Here is the link to the apartment
Disclaimer: I love everything strange, interesting, encouraging to look at and admire. I love the visual noise in the apartment, the wear and tear and compatibility of the incongruous and I oppose minimalism.
This apartment literally made my jaw drop! Firstly, it is located in the estate of the Vyakhirevs, built back in imperial times. Secondly, how great it is here to combine modern and vintage, preserving the original brickwork, wood and decorating it with household amenities, art, painting and extravagant details!
There are solid “dozens” in the reviews, and this is rare phenomenon. See the photos, try it on yourself, do you like it 🙂
The apartment has its own separate entrance and a “smart” lock. Is the location good? Quite, on Chernigovskaya street, which is a 30-minute walk from the Kremlin, people come to look at the old mansions with a tour, and in this apartment you can live right in the center of events.
Designed for 4 people
55+ reviews rated 10 (out of 10)
Price for two per season: 5000 rubles per day
№6. STUDIO “SCANDINAVIA” FOR TWO
Here is a link to the apartment
Perhaps the most budget option for two people in terms of price/quality ratio. Nice odnushka in European style, bright and clean. You can go out to the loggia with panoramic windows, relax in comfortable bean bags, enjoying the view of the city and have a cup of tea or a glass of wine.
The area itself has excellent infrastructure: within walking distance there is a park, shopping centers, several cafes and restaurants. True, the apartment is not located close to the center: it takes too long to get to the sights on your own, it is most convenient to take a taxi. A direct bus ride will take about half an hour.
Designed for 2 people
145+ reviews with a rating of 9.8 (out of 10)
Price for two per season: 2900 rubles per day
#7. APARTMENT FOR FIVE
Here is the link to the apartment
An excellent apartment for those who plan to regularly walk around the center and get acquainted with key sights, but do not want to overpay for the location. From here you can quickly get there (7-10 minutes) or walk for half an hour to the most interesting places in Nizhny Novgorod.
High ceilings, panoramic windows, comfortable beds, nice design — almost all conditions for a comfortable stay have been created. There is enough space in a spacious kopeck piece for 5 people (as an option – for 4 adults and 2 children). Of the minuses, guests note the lack of a washing machine and microwave.
Designed for 5 people
48 reviews with a rating of 9.2 (out of 10)
Price for four per season: 5000 rubles per day
№8. DOUBLE ROOM NEAR THE EMBANK
Here is a link to the apartment
Apartment in a quiet and peaceful part of the city center. The apartment overlooks the Volga, a 5-minute walk from the Fedorovsky embankment, one of the favorite walking places for both city residents and tourists.
Guests praise the apartment for thoughtfulness in small things like new bedding, shoehorns and paper towels. Free parking near the house.
Designed for 4 people
225 reviews with a rating of 9.9 (out of 10)
Price for two per season: 5800 rubles per day
Good hotels and hostels in Nizhny Novgorod
Now in the city there are more and more hotels, hotels and hostels – so that any tourist can find something for himself. I'll tell you about the most popular hotels in Nizhny Novgorod – with good reviews and reasonable prices.
For those who stay in hotels on trips and like to explore the classy hotels of the city at their leisure, Ostrovok and Yandex.Travel services will help — they successfully replace Booking, which left Russia.
- 3* Ibis Nizhny Novgorod — a very decent chain hotel in the heart of the city: the Kremlin is a 10-minute walk, close to bus stops and the Gorkovskaya metro station to get to any point in the city. The rooms are small, quite comfortable, although without much glamor. Guests really praise the dishes at the local restaurant.
Price per day: from 4000 rubles
Hotel rating 7.7 (1200+ reviews) - 4* Azimut is another popular chain hotel. The rooms are not new, but clean and bright, with beautiful views and all the necessary equipment such as an iron or hair dryer. Azimuth is very advantageously located: only 200 meters from the Fedorovsky embankment, from where you can go down to the pier; to the Kremlin walls a little more than a kilometer. The only “but”: guests do not advise taking a rate with dinner – the restaurant menu leaves much to be desired.
Price per day: from 4800 rubles
Hotel rating: 8 (750 reviews) - 2* Peshkov is a quiet and comfortable place for a couple of nights. The rooms are simple, clean, no frills. Ideal for those who are looking for a comfortable, but budget option in the center. The hotel itself is located on a quiet street, but all the main attractions are nearby: in 5 minutes you can reach the Chkalov Stairs, in 10 – to the Kremlin. There are many shops and cafes nearby.
Price per night: from 2300 rubles
Hotel rating: 8.4 (38 reviews) - 3 * JOY – a hotel a minute's walk from Pokrovskaya Street – the local Arbat. Also nearby are the Academic Drama Theater and the Nizhny Novgorod Exotarium. At the entrance to the hotel there is a small terrace where you can relax, have breakfast or work during the warm season. The rooms are no longer new, but well-equipped: each has a microwave, hair dryer, refrigerator. Not bad for a budget stay for a couple of days.
Price per night: from 2700 rubles
Hotel rating: 8.2 (170+ reviews) - 2* Hills is a modern and beautiful hotel, according to travelers, one of the best in the city in terms of price/quality ratio. Next to the hotel is the Middle Market, where you can buy fresh local products, and tram tracks. You can get to the center by taxi (in Nizhny it is inexpensive compared to Moscow and St. Petersburg) or by metro from the Gorkovskaya station. They praise home-style tasty and hearty breakfasts – cereals, cheesecakes and donuts.
Price per day: from 2500 rubles
Hotel rating: 8.6 (40+ reviews) - 2 * Gorkiy Hotel – perhaps the most inexpensive option in the selection. And this despite the fact that the building is located almost opposite the Kremlin, on the most central street of the city – Bolshaya Pokrovskaya. The mini-hotel is located in a beautiful historic building with gabled roofs and bay windows. The number of rooms is small – only 6 rooms; therefore, if you like the place, I advise you to book a room in advance.
Price per night: from 2000 rubles
Hotel rating: 8.1 (90+ reviews)
The cheapest option to stay in the city is, as always, hostels. As I said, Nizhny is a fairly popular destination, so places in the best hostels fly apart very quickly: it’s better to take care of searching and booking options at least a month in advance.
- Smile is the most popular hostel in Nizhny Novgorod: modern, stylish and bright. It is praised for its cleanliness and comfort, the novelty of the premises and convenience: all beds are equipped with shelves, storage cabinets and curtains. The location is also pleasant: it is located right on Pokrovskaya Street, and from there it is within easy reach of the most interesting places in the city.
Price per night in a dormitory room: from 650 rubles
Rating: 9.2 (150+ reviews) ) - SHATO Plaza — 5 minutes from the Kremlin, loved for its novelty and friendly atmosphere. The room fund includes both hostel-type common rooms and double deluxe rooms.
Price per night in a shared room: from 840 rubles; in deluxe: from 2230 rubles
Rating: 9.9 (only 2 reviews, but the hostel is new and only gaining popularity) - The Rest Home also has rooms for 2-4 people with a shared bathroom (judging by most reviews , quite comfortable and cozy), as well as separate, more well-groomed rooms. A good option to stay inexpensively in the center, and for an additional fee you can purchase a rate with breakfast, as in hotels of a higher level.
Price per night in a dormitory room: from 760 rubles; in a suite: from 3500 rubles
Rating: 7 (50+ reviews)
My tips for Nizhny Novgorod and reviews of tourists
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Accommodation, of course, is an important part of the trip – it sets the general tone for the entire trip. You rejoice both from the fact that you have discovered something incredibly profitable, and from the fact that you have chosen a beautiful one.
What else do you need to know about Nizhny Novgorod? First things first, if you don't have a plan for the best places in the city, check out this article about attractions. In addition to that, here are some tips for making the most of your trip to this beautiful ancient city:
- On the territory of the ancient Kremlin there are a couple of museums related to art. First of all, I would like to note the Arsenal – the center of contemporary art. Many tourists have not even heard of it: a local friend told us, and I pass on the knowledge to you. Paintings, sculptures and various installations of the authorship of both Nizhny Novgorod and Russian, as well as European masters. Although I am not a big connoisseur of contemporary art, the visit turned out to be very educational: I was interested to learn about modern artistic techniques and concepts. Something “Arsenal” reminded St. Petersburg Museum “Erarta”. I recommend!
Entrance ticket costs 400 rubles - Even on the territory of the Kremlin there is one of the buildings of the Nizhny Novgorod Art Museum, dedicated to Russian painting. We were pleasantly surprised that there were a lot of originals by Russian masters in the collection – Shishkin, Grabar, Aivazovsky, Petrov-Vodkin, Levitan, Serov … Each room is dedicated to a separate movement: ancient Russian painting and icons from the collections of Nizhny Novgorod merchants, impressionists, socialist realists. We spent more than three hours in the museum: the permanent exhibition turned out to be unexpectedly rich.
Entrance ticket to the exhibition costs 300 rubles - A small observation on the Lower. Bolshaya Pokrovskaya Street is located in the very center, so there are a lot of souvenir stalls there, but the prices for them, like everything else in the centers of attraction for tourists, are highly inflated. At the same time, some museums have kiosks where magnets and small souvenirs can be bought one and a half times cheaper. However, for the statuette I liked, I had to return to Baumanskaya: I did not find anything like it in other places. So I advise you to postpone the visit for souvenirs to the main street until the last day of the trip, so as not to go broke on things that you can buy cheaper elsewhere, but also not to miss out on unique souvenirs if you want to buy them.
- On dessert is a recommendation for those with a sweet tooth like me. At the very beginning of Bolshaya Pokrovskaya Street there is a confectionery “Mishka”, do not miss the opportunity to take profiteroles. Tastier than there, I have not tried (at least in Moscow).
The best excursions in Nizhny Novgorod
You can get around all the most interesting places in Nizhny Novgorod in a day and a half at a fast pace. You can make a route in advance, what to see on your own, and follow it.
But in order to better feel the atmosphere of the city and immerse yourself in its history, I recommend taking an excursion: walking around Nizhny Novgorod, while learning various facts about it from local residents , it seems to me, much more interesting and productive!
You can find such excursions-walks with local residents in any city in Russia and in a corner of the world – Tripster or Sputnik services will help.
Popular excursions in Nizhny Novgorod:
Sightseeing tours in the center | Maximum capacious and interesting: you will have time to see a lot and decide where you would like to return | Individual — from 4000 rubles per group
Group — from 800 rubles per person |
Walks around the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin | Dive into milestones of ancient history | 3000 rubles per group up to 6 people |
Tour to the mystical places of the city | For those who like to tickle their nerves and listen to chilling city tales | 3900 rubles per group up to 10 people |
Sin City | To find out the “frivolous”, spicy part of the history of Nizhny Novgorod through the revelry and romantic places of the city of the XIX-XX centuries | 5200 rubles per group up to 6 people |
Immersive evening walk with Farolero lamplighter | A hit in any city in Russia: one of the best, atmospheric and magical group tours | 1700 rubles per person |
For those who are interested What to see in Nizhny Novgorod in 2 days, on the second day I recommend paying attention to not the most hyped sights – go to explore the Dyatlovy Mountains, where, according to legend, the city was founded almost 800 years ago. Or take a walk along the literary and graphic points of the city or Gorky places.
Map of Nizhny Novgorod regions
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- Nizhny Novgorod District – the Kremlin, the Chkalov Stairs, the Pechersky Monastery and the most popular street in Nizhny, Bolshaya Pokrovskaya (good because you can easily buy souvenirs there, drink coffee and have lunch, or just take a walk with pleasure). The only, albeit predictable, “but”: the closer to the center you choose housing, the higher the price
- Prioksky district – the infrastructure is well developed, there are many shops, pharmacies. It is especially good to live here in the warm season: it is here that the largest Swiss park in the city is located, where both tourists and locals like to spend time. And also – the city botanical garden and the Shchelokovsky Khutor forest park with linden trees and oak forests. You can get to the center by metro for 30-35 rubles (20-25 minutes), and a taxi ride will not be so expensive – about 250 rubles
- Sovetsky district is not the best place to stay for a trip for several days
- Avtozavodsky district — locals say that conditions in the Avtozavodsky district are as close as possible to those in the Upper Mountains: the air is clean, the streets are green, the roads are good, and the infrastructure is decent. Far from the center, but thanks to good transport links, this is not a problem
- Kanavinsky district
- Leninsky district
- Moskovsky district
- Sormovsky district
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