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Samara has made the most of these beaches, backed by pleasant parks and embankment gardens, and with temperatures in the summer months averaging over 26°C (80°F) - as warm as southern Spain - it is not surprising that this has become a popular tourist destination. Young people flock here from all over Russia to sunbathe on the beaches, take a dip in the cool waters of the Volga, hang out by the letny kafe (summer cafes) or go for a wild night out in one of the city's many night-clubs.
In summer, too, there is host of activities going on in this lively, vibrant city, with a string of carnivals and festivals culminating in the famous Samara Carnival in honour of the Mighty Volga that weaves its jolly way along Volzhskiy Prospect. If you come here on the first Saturday of July, you will catch the famous Grushinsky Festival, with its lively mix of mainly acoustic music. In what is Russia's equivalent of Woodstock or Glastonbury, as many as 200,000 people come here to sit on the 'spectators' hill' above the stage by the lake in the Samara Bend National Park. The Grushinsky Festival began in the 1960s and is named after the Samara hippie Valery Grushin, who tragically drowned in 1967 trying to rescue children in a river in Siberia.
If all this activity proves too much, you can always catch the hydrofoil up the river to the pleasant, atmospheric village of Shiryaevo, where Russia's greatest painter Ilya Repin painted his famous Barge Haulers on the Volga. Or maybe you will cross the river to go hiking in the woods of the beautiful Samara Bend National Park. Or you could even take one of Samara's famous raft trips zhigulyovskaya krugosvetka (around the world) which take you on an exciting 10-day camping trip through the park's backwaters.
Samara's origins date back to the 16th century, but legend has it that its great future was foretold two centuries earlier by St. Aleksiy, when he was on his way to meet the Golden Horde of Genghis Khan. Since then it has had a turbulent history, ravaged both by Stepan Razin in the 16th century and Pugachev's rebellion in the next, and then proving the starting point of the Russian Civil War in the 1920s. During World War 2, Samara became Russia's second capital, and you can still visit the extraordinary bunker Stalin built there, with 9 stories underground, able to accommodate up to 600 people. It was at this time, too, that Samara became a major center for the oil and aviation business, and was briefly during the Soviet era renamed Kuybyshev.
Samara's turbulent past means that it has few historic sites of interest, though it boasts Europe's biggest square -- Kuybyshev Square. On summer weekends, people often go to watch the newly married couples who leave their flowers on the war heroes monument by the St. Martyr George Cathedral, and there is plenty of cultural activity in the city's various museums, concert halls, and theatres. But for most people visiting Samara, is a place for simply chilling out on the beach, or just having fun.
Browse Russian cruises that dock in Samara.
Samara
Where do you go if you're looking for some of the best beaches - and the most beautiful girls (and boys) in Russia? Surprisingly, the answer is not the Black Sea coast but hundreds of miles inland, at Samara. Samara is Russia's sixth largest city and a major industrial center, but it is also located on the broad waters of the River Volga. The bend in the river here has blessed Samara with a long fringe of sandy beaches.Samara has made the most of these beaches, backed by pleasant parks and embankment gardens, and with temperatures in the summer months averaging over 26°C (80°F) - as warm as southern Spain - it is not surprising that this has become a popular tourist destination. Young people flock here from all over Russia to sunbathe on the beaches, take a dip in the cool waters of the Volga, hang out by the letny kafe (summer cafes) or go for a wild night out in one of the city's many night-clubs.
In summer, too, there is host of activities going on in this lively, vibrant city, with a string of carnivals and festivals culminating in the famous Samara Carnival in honour of the Mighty Volga that weaves its jolly way along Volzhskiy Prospect. If you come here on the first Saturday of July, you will catch the famous Grushinsky Festival, with its lively mix of mainly acoustic music. In what is Russia's equivalent of Woodstock or Glastonbury, as many as 200,000 people come here to sit on the 'spectators' hill' above the stage by the lake in the Samara Bend National Park. The Grushinsky Festival began in the 1960s and is named after the Samara hippie Valery Grushin, who tragically drowned in 1967 trying to rescue children in a river in Siberia.
If all this activity proves too much, you can always catch the hydrofoil up the river to the pleasant, atmospheric village of Shiryaevo, where Russia's greatest painter Ilya Repin painted his famous Barge Haulers on the Volga. Or maybe you will cross the river to go hiking in the woods of the beautiful Samara Bend National Park. Or you could even take one of Samara's famous raft trips zhigulyovskaya krugosvetka (around the world) which take you on an exciting 10-day camping trip through the park's backwaters.
Samara's origins date back to the 16th century, but legend has it that its great future was foretold two centuries earlier by St. Aleksiy, when he was on his way to meet the Golden Horde of Genghis Khan. Since then it has had a turbulent history, ravaged both by Stepan Razin in the 16th century and Pugachev's rebellion in the next, and then proving the starting point of the Russian Civil War in the 1920s. During World War 2, Samara became Russia's second capital, and you can still visit the extraordinary bunker Stalin built there, with 9 stories underground, able to accommodate up to 600 people. It was at this time, too, that Samara became a major center for the oil and aviation business, and was briefly during the Soviet era renamed Kuybyshev.
Samara's turbulent past means that it has few historic sites of interest, though it boasts Europe's biggest square -- Kuybyshev Square. On summer weekends, people often go to watch the newly married couples who leave their flowers on the war heroes monument by the St. Martyr George Cathedral, and there is plenty of cultural activity in the city's various museums, concert halls, and theatres. But for most people visiting Samara, is a place for simply chilling out on the beach, or just having fun.
Browse Russian cruises that dock in Samara.
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