Tatarstan · Russia
Where to stay in Kazan
Kazan is a city in Tatarstan, Russia, home to about 1,330,000 people.
- Best months
- May to August
- Nearest airport
- KZN23 km · Kazan International Airport
- Currency
- RUBRussian ruble
- Time zone
- Europe/Moscow
- Language
- Abaza, Adyghe, Aghul
About
About Kazan
Kazan is the capital and largest city of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering an area of 425.3 square kilometres (164.2 square miles), with a population of over 1.3 million residents, and up to nearly 2 million residents in the greater metropolitan area.
With a population of about 1.3 million (2011 census), rich history, deep culture and strong economic influence. Kazan holds the title of "The Third Capital of Russia" (after Moscow and Saint Petersburg), taking this title from the competing Nizhny Novgorod. By many measures, Kazan has one of the highest standards of living in Russia only after Moscow and St. Petersburg. In the 2010s, Kazan earned the reputation of a sports city due to its investments in this domain. In 2018 it staged several games in the FIFA World Cup Finals.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Kazan
See
- Kazan Kremlin
- Church of St Nicholas-Ratny
- Natural History Museum
- Kul-Sharif Mosque
- Kazan Hermitage
- Warrior Spirit
- "Hazine" National Gallery of Art
- Annunciation Cathedral
- Church of All Saints
- Suyumbike Tower
- Moonshine Museum
- National Museum of the Republic of Tatarstan
Do
Kazan offers a lot of various events you can visit during your stay here - international opera and ballet festival, different types of music festivals, popular singers concerts and many other interesting things to do. A must-see event in Tatarstan is a national holiday Sabantuy - Tatar summer festival, which is celebrated in the beginning of June. In summer 2013 four double-decker buses began circulating along their routes in Kazan by "City Sightseeing" company.
- Kazan Arena
- Kyrlay
- Victory Park
- Chernoe Ozero
- Galiaskar Kamal Theatre
- Drama Theatre
- Opera and Ballet Theatre
- Puppet Theatre
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Hotels in Kazan
36 hotels within 25 km of the centre, as recorded in Wikidata. Each name links to its encyclopedia article where there is one.
| Hotel | Opened | From centre |
|---|---|---|
| Korston | 2.2 km | |
| Riviera (hotel, Kazan) | 2.9 km | |
| Melnikov Apartment House, Kazan | 1843 | 0.3 km |
| Shalyapin Palace Hotel | 1869 | 0.5 km |
| Amaks Safar Hotel | 2.7 km | |
| Armenia Hotel | 4.8 km | |
| Bilyar Palace | 1.0 km | |
| Bon Ami Hotel | 0.4 km | |
| Business Hotel IT Park | 1.6 km | |
| Club Hotel Corona | 1.6 km | |
| Courtyard by Marriott Kazan Kremlin | 0.7 km | |
| Crystal Hotel | 0.8 km | |
| DoubleTree by Hilton Kazan City Center | 0.3 km | |
| Europa Hotel | 0.9 km | |
| Giuseppe Hotel | 0.4 km | |
| Grand Hotel Kazan | 0.9 km | |
| Hostel Like on Suleymanovoy | 2.9 km | |
| Hotel Art | 0.4 km | |
| Hotel Hayal | 0.6 km | |
| Hotel Imereti | 0.4 km | |
| Hotel Nogai | 0.1 km | |
| Ibis Kazan Hotel | 0.3 km | |
| Kolvi Hotel | 0.8 km | |
| Maksim Gorkiy Hotel | 0.9 km | |
| Mirage Hotel | 0.8 km | |
| Novinka Hotel | 4.9 km | |
| Osobnyak na Teatralnoy | 0.8 km | |
| Park Inn by Radisson Kazan | 1.8 km | |
| Regina na Peterburgskoy | 1.0 km | |
| Relita-Kazan Hotel | 3.5 km | |
| Suleiman Palace Hotel | 1.6 km | |
| TatarInn Hotel | 1.1 km | |
| Tatarskaya Usadba | 1.1 km | |
| Tatarstan Hotel | 0.7 km | |
| Volga Hotel | 1.2 km | |
| Wings Hostel | 0.4 km |
When to go
The best time to visit Kazan
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Kazan are May to August. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 26 °C; August is the wettest, with about 64 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Kazan: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Kazan International Airport (KZN), about 23 km from the city centre in a straight line; Cheboksary Airport (CSY, 115 km) is also within reach.
Getting in
The airport is southeast of the city and quite far from the city center. It is served by Aeroexpress trains that depart from the main station (Kazan-1) with a 2-hr interval.
Getting around
Much of the city centre is walk-able, and the main attractions for tourists - the Kremlin and Bauman Street - are only for pedestrians. Public buses are abundant and cheap, but you need basic Russian to read the signs or ask where the buses are headed. Bus system maps are hard to find. Taxis are available and operate mostly an on-call service, rather than plying the streets for fares. They also congregate at taxi stands in obvious places such as the railway stations. A great option is to install the "Yandex-Taxi" app. It is an easy way to get a reliable taxi for a fixed price.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
KZN · Kazan International Airport
CSY · Cheboksary Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Kazan
Eat
Self-caterers can find a large supermarket (one of the Bakhetle chain) in the TsUM building across from the Mirage Hotel. Please note that the Tartarian cuisine has a lot of meat to offer. It is not always easy to find fish or vegetarian food.
Stay safe
Since the '70s, Kazan has long the reputation of being one of the least safe city of Russia. The "Kazan phenomenon" of street gangs even became a journalistic and sociological concept. However, since the late 1990s, situation change fundamentally. Kazan has become host city for a lot of large international events. As a result, there was a modernization of police, so crime rate decreased significantly. For example, during the World Summer Universiade in 2013, a lot of citizens and guests shared their impressions, that they felt safe like never before, even walking in the city centre in the night.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Kazan: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Kazan?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Kazan are May to August. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 26 °C; August is the wettest, with about 64 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Kazan?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Kazan International Airport (KZN), about 23 km from the city centre in a straight line; Cheboksary Airport (CSY, 115 km) is also within reach.
What currency is used in Kazan?
Russian ruble (RUB).
Nearby
Destinations near Kazan
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.