Why go to minsk

These buildings are present in almost every city block. In fact, the city is rapidly becoming one of the top places in Europe for luxury entertainment.

This is due to the growing casino industry in Europe, which has had to evolve to reach new customers in recent years. With the Malta gaming authority empowering the online casino industry across Europe, this has forced local brick-and-mortar gaming establishments to adapt in order to provide a heightened and unique experience for visitors. And the cities of Belarus have stepped up to the challenge, as many of the casinos have paired up with luxury hotels to offer visitors the complete entertainment experience.

Alongside the luxury casinos and mids architecture, there are plenty of other things you can see and do in Minsk.

The main international airport in Belarus is the Minsk National Airport, which is about 40km from the city center of Minsk itself. From the Kastrychnitski District where the airport is located, the bus or shuttle ride to the city center can take around 40 to 50 minutes. Check out the official website of the Minsk National Airport for the updated schedules of the buses and shuttles that can take you to different locations in or near the city center.

While there are many private taxis outside the airport, you might end up paying more than you have to if you use these services. So if you want to use a taxi or rent a car , approach the transfer desk at the airport to arrange for more private transportation or do it online in advance here or here.

Check our separate article about getting from the airport to Minsk. The public transport options in Minsk are quite well organized, comfortable, and relatively easy to navigate.

For the minimum price of BYN 0. In terms of getting taxis , the best way would be to use one of the many ride-hailing apps available in Minsk today, such as NextApp, Yandex Taxi, and Uber which has partnered with Yandex to operate in the city.

Also learn how to travel around Belarus to see the real country. In our Minsk hotels guide , you can find a detailed overview of the different places where travelers can stay in the city. Using its common area where you can mingle and cook food is a good way to get to know your fellow travelers. Hotel Sport Time for instance is a great place for catching the local and European sports broadcasts, given that it has a sociable sports bar with Belarusian beers on tap.

Meanwhile, Hotel Yubileiny not only has three different bars but also its own casino. For those who are looking for a truly luxurious time , more extravagant places like the Renaissance Hotel and Hotel Europe not only have their own spas, but are also serviced by multilingual staff which can make your stay significantly easier.

The best way to compare accommodation options in Bleraus is by using Booking. Generally speaking, the prices for goods and services in the city are relatively lower compared to the rest of Europe. Check our guide to tourist prices in Minsk. So while the average price for meals is about BYN 15 , prepare to spend upwards of BYN 40 to BYN 50 for your daily food budget, depending on how much you prefer restaurants over fast or street food. Check our other articles about Minsk to learn more about the city before you visit it!

First of all, you should visit the heart of Minsk — the Old Town, walk along its streets, drink coffee in authentic restaurants of the Upper Town. The truth is that the capital of Belarus feels like a distant and weird place to visit but, since I do feel a special attraction to barely visited places, I was pretty excited about this trip.

I traveled to Minsk from Odesa by plane, after spending nearly two months traveling in Moldova and Ukraine , so what I expected to find was a very Soviet city, full of gray concrete, similar to other Ukrainian cities such as Kharkiv or Dnipro, but less developed and decadent. Minsk is indeed a very Soviet city, perhaps the most Soviet place that remains on Earth. However, I was completely wrong about thinking that Minsk would be a sort of decadent city because, despite being very Soviet, Minsk is a majestic capital that was built precisely to convey the superpower of the Soviet Union to the West.

In fact, this used to be one of the finest and most impressive cities in the entire USSR and, today, visiting Minsk is a trip full of surprises that can satisfy both the intrepid traveler, seeker of offbeat stuff, and the one interested in history and sightseeing in an Eastern capital. This guide contains everything you need to know to visit Minsk , including transportation and accommodation tips, things to do in Minsk, best day trips, and a special mention of all the offbeat stuff to visit in the city.

Interested in Kiev, as well? Read my Kiev travel guide. Introduction Visa Where to stay Moving around Things to do. Best day trips More information. After WWII, Stalin had something in mind, and that was for Minsk to become a monumental and grandiose city, aimed at showing the world that the Soviet Union was a global force, and the end result is an imposing city composed of expansive boulevards and mind-blowing classical architecture.

This is the best example of post-war Soviet urban planning and you need to come here and see it for yourself. Minsk downtown is full of fancy Stalinist buildings like you would have never expected, but what surprised me the most was that its wide streets were impeccably clean, super calm, relaxed and overall, I felt it was much more modern and developed than Kiev itself, in physical appearance at least.

Nevertheless, what shocked me the most was the balance between being an apparently modern city and the amount they worship Communism and the Soviet Union, because the hammer, sickle, Red Star and Lenin were present in pretty much every important building and metro station and, for offbeat lovers, this was one of the most amazing things to see in Minsk.

Want to visit Minsk and surroundings on an organized tour? Belarus used to be a difficult country to get to but the Government has finally waived visa restrictions and, today, traveling to Minsk is much easier.

Most nationalities can get a free day visa on arrival and you can see the country list here. Check my 3-week itinerary for Ukraine. Some travelers are asked for the above, whereas others are not. For getting the right travel insurance, I recommend you read the following tutorial: How to find the best travel insurance for backpackers.

Budget Hostel — Urban Hostel Minsk — A great, super modern hostel for backpackers in the best location. Budget apartment — Center Minsk Apartments — In Minsk, there is a wide range of apartments on offer, which are great value for money for two or more people. This one is in the city center. Mid-range Hotel — Willing Hotel — Super neat and a new hotel close to bars and restaurants from Octoberskaya. A great choice for mid-range travelers.

Top-end Hotel — President Hotel — One of the best 5-star hotels in the city and the country. Remember that travel insurance is one of the visa requirements for traveling to Minsk, and I recommend World Nomads for the following reasons:.

Metro is the most convenient way to travel around Minsk. It has 2 lines which stop at pretty much all tourist attractions and one ticket costs as little as 0. It was pretty annoying. Trams are also convenient and Google Maps will tell you which one to take when giving you directions.

There is a public bus that leaves every half an hour or so, stopping in 2 different places in Minsk, Uruchye Metro Station and Central Bus Station. Train — From the main railway station, you can travel by train from Minsk to pretty much anywhere in the country.

I checked and booked my tickets on the official website. Marshrutka — Very convenient, depending on the destination. All the marshrutkas I took left from either the Central Bus Station or Druznaya, located just behind the main railway station. Each pin color refers to a different day of your Minsk itinerary. I think we spent around 5 hours visiting all the sites below and finished our day in one of the bars in the Old City. Constructed shortly after the end of WWII, these impressive and glorious twin towers were built in the style of Stalinist Classicism, and are the first thing you see when you arrive in Minsk by train and also if you arrive by plane, as this is where the airport bus stops.

But instead of rising at dawn and spending your days in sombre contemplation, you can test out the sauna and bar-hop the lively Old Town. Living like a monk never felt so decadent. A burnished dome seems to emerge from the ground, surrounded by angular mirrored shards. Inside, the museum experience is immersive, with vast dioramas of scorched earth and rubble to evoke wartime Minsk. Stories of partisan soldiers are told in a series of wooden shelters, just like the ones built by forest-dwelling Belarussian soldiers.

Biplanes and tanks are amassed in a huge atrium. The Hall of Victory, flooded with light, is a fittingly dramatic finish.

This modernist marvel looks like a cut diamond — if the diamond were rendered in Soviet slate grey and balanced on a mirrored UFO. After the reconstruction of the Bolshoi Theater of Belarus the garden was renovated too: now it has a dynamically lit fountain, the central walkway, and the opera and ballet walkways with the Opera and Ballet sculptures. The Botanical Garden of the Belarusian National Academy of Sciences is one of the largest botanical gardens in Europe around hectares in the city.

Its rich collection featurs over 10, plants from all over the world. The Chelyuskinites Park used to be called Komarovsky Les and was part of the Bolshaya Slepnya estate owned by the famous Radziwill and Vankovich families. Today there are around 22, trees in the park.

The park near Lake Komsomolskoye features the Isle of Birds wildlife reserve and beautiful illuminated fountains. People can take a walk along the shore of the lake, and those who prefer more active recreation can ride along the bikeway and swim in a usual or twin-hull boat. The old Loshitsa Estate in Minsk built in the 16th century belonged to such families as the Drutskys-Gorskys, the Tolochinskys, the Pruszynskis, and the Lyubanskys.

The last owners of the Loshitsa Estate, Eustacjusz Lubanski and his wife Jadwiga , made it even more beautiful. The picturesque park featured exotic plants and the house was transformed into an elegant mansion where the family held theater and poetry evenings and celebrated folk holidays.

Today the Loshitsa estate and park is one of the most beautiful places in Minsk where one can walk along the old alleys and visit the residence-museum. The original 19th-century interior decoration of the estate was restored in the result of a many-year reconstruction effort. The museum contains over 30, works of national and world art.

In the Vankovich family estate in the Upper Town was made a subsidiary of the museum. The National History Museum possesses the biggest collection in Belarus — about , exhibits: archeological finds, artwork and icons, manuscripts and books, musical instruments, coins and jewelry, weapons, clothes… Among the permanent exhibitions are Ancient Belarus, Ancient Heraldry of Belarus, History of Weapons, Ancient Urban Life 19th — early 20th centuries.

The museum recreates the atmosphere of the early 20th century. Tour operators have developed about 40 walking and bus tours in Minsk. Guides will tell tourists about the most interesting places in the Belarusian capital. Minsk tour operators offer audio guides in foreign languages which tourists can use when walking round the city. A double-decker Minsk City Tour is available every day: during the city tour you will visit the main sights in Minsk. The bus departs from Privokzalnaya Square at 11h00, 13h30, 16h00 and 18h Sightseeing bus No.

Information materials and audio guide are available in Russian and English. This kind of bus service is available from 10h00 to 17h00 and from 20h00 to 22h00 every day. During the rest of time this is city bus No. You can buy a map or a Minsk guidebook in Belsoyuzpechyat outlets, souvenir shops and bookstores. You can also use an electronic guide which is an interactive map containing information about museums, hotels, restaurants, ATMs and fuel stations. Many sights of the city are equipped with information boards, pointers and billboards with the map and a QR code which makes it possible to download information about the city sights to your phone.