What to do / see during a business trip to Nizhny Novgorod (and briefly Moscow)?

January 12, 2011 8:46 AM

What to do / see during a business trip to Nizhny Novgorod (and briefly Moscow)?

A colleague and I are going to fly into Nizhny on Sunday the 23rd of this month staying until the following Friday when we intend on taking a night train to Moscow for a day of sight-seeing.

We're likely to be working long days over the course of the week - so what can we do later in the evening? Good restaurants (local food a plus), interesting places that are available late in the day?

Also, for our day in Moscow (Saturday): How useful would it be to have a tour guide?

What do I need to know about that region of Russia? What's the airport (GOJ) like?

What should I bring home for my kids? (very young: daughter @ 1 yr, son @ 2).

I'm excited to go and at the same time I'm a little anxious I guess.

posted by MustardTent to travel & transportation around Nizhniy Novgorod, Russian Federation (3 answers total)

It sounds like you won't have much time in Moscow, so if you want to pack in a lot of sights and you're the kind of person who prefers to have someone arrange things for them, a tour guide might help since they can time things well and plan the best transportation routes. It's also fun to talk with a local and hear their view on the city.

Personally I wouldn't bother with one, though; you'll presumably be interacting with a lot of Russians during your business trip so you won't be lacking on the cultural experience side. Moscow is pretty easy to navigate with a good guidebook or map (just be aware that Metro signs are in cyrillic only). A tour guide certainly isn't necessary.

A Matryoshka doll is probably the most obvious Russian souvenir, but young children might really enjoy playing with one.

p.s. Don't miss the Kremlin even if it's very cold--you can go inside the churches/museums to warm up.
posted by martianna at 7:01 PM on January 12, 2011

Moscow: There's plenty to see in the small area of the Kremlin and Red Square. No matter how many times I have been to Red Square, it blows me away ever time - you must go to St. Basils and tour the Kremlin and the museums inside. You won't necessarily need a tour guide there, but having a tour guide could add a lot to your understanding of the history and culture *depending* on the quality of the tour guide.

You will have problems finding food if you don't know Russian and you will have to examine the signs on the metro very carefully and count the stops on your way from place to place if you don't know the Cyrillic alphabet.

I agree with martianna that the matryoshka is the traditional Russian gift that's most appropriate for children of that age.

Nizhnyi Novgorod: I've never been but the airport is probably tiny. Have you double-checked your flight itinerary to see if you need to change airports in Moscow? It is common to fly in on an international flight to one Moscow airport (e.g. Sheremet'evo) but have to take your domestic flight out of a different Moscow airport (e.g. Domodedevo, Vnukovo). Unfortunately the trip between airports can be quite long.
posted by scrambles at 10:00 PM on January 12, 2011

Thanks for your input guys! I'll make sure to get the kids some matryoshka dolls, and I'll do some more research on the airport front.
posted by MustardTent at 2:23 PM on January 15, 2011