Holidays in Balakhna - how to get there, what to see, where to stay

General information, recreation

Balakhna City located 40 kilometers from the center Nizhny Novgorod on the banks of the Volga (Balakhna on the map. Although the first documentary mention of this ancient city is found only in documents of the 16th century, the first settlements here appeared before our era. In the 17th century, the city was the center of salt production.

Balakhna is not suitable for a long tourist stay, there is no tourist infrastructure here. But thanks to the presence of several interesting museums and architectural attractions, the city is an attractive place for a short stop on the way to Nizhny Novgorod or a day trip from Nizhny Novgorod on an excursion. It is especially convenient to combine a visit to Balakhna with a day trip from Nizhny Novgorod to Gorodets. If you travel by car, then from Nizhny to Gorodets you can get along the Left Bank of the Volga, and return on the right through Balakhna.

All interesting places in Balakhna are compactly located near the Bank of the Volga in the area of Karl Marx Street and Minin square. This is a kind of tourist center of the city, which can be bypassed on foot with a visit to museums and temples in a few hours. In addition to such a walk, an ordinary tourist has nothing more to do in a Balakhna.

Weather and tourist seasons in Balakhna

Since Balakhna is exclusively an excursion destination, the season and weather do not affect its visit in any way. However, it should be borne in mind that this is not an independent tourist place, but an attraction that is usually visited from Nizhny Novgorod, so you need to take into account the tourist seasonality and weather in Nizhny Novgorod, and here everything is a little more complicated:

• 🌞 need to go from June to August. The best time to travel to Nizhny Novgorod is in the summer, i.e. The months from June to August. It is in the summer that the high tourist season falls and most of the festive events, such as City Day (June 12), music and theater festivals, exhibitions.

• ⛅ you can go in May, September and October. Late spring and early autumn are also a good time to travel. The weather at this time, although it will not please the heat and bright sun, but at least most of the attractions and museums, cafes and restaurants work. Inconvenience can cause rain, so take an umbrella on the trip.

• 🌨 do not go from November to April. In winter it is cold here, even a little colder than in Moscow. The cold north wind blows all the time, it often snows. And everything would be fine, because you can dress warmly, but the problem is that many attractions and entertainment in Nizhny Novgorod reduce the Schedule of work or even close for reconstruction. Unpleasant surprises are also presented by the weather in the form of an abundance of snow, which is poorly cleaned from the streets, dangerous icicles on the roofs, and in the spring there is a city flood.

Current weather in Balakhna and forecast

How to get to Balakhna

Balakhna is conveniently located on the transport route from Nizhny Novgorod to the cities of Gorodets and Chkalovsk, transport here is well developed.

• By bus

  To get here by public transport is not difficult by bus from the station "Kanavinskaya" (near the railway station). Transport departs at least every hour, on the road no more than an hour, the cost of 120 rubles. Buses arrive in Balakhna at the bus station in the city center (bus station on the map), from it to the center on foot 15-20 minutes.

• By train

  Even easier and faster you can get by train. The road will take one hour, the cost of 105 rubles. From Nizhny Novgorod, trains depart from the main railway station "Moskovskaya". This station can be reached from the tourist area of Nizhny Novgorod by Metro from Gorkovskaya station to Moskovskaya station, by city buses or taxis (see more details about transport in Nizhny Novgorod and how to get around the city).

  Trains in the direction of Balakhna depart almost every hour, but during the day there are breaks in the schedule for several hours, so it is better to check the schedule before traveling:

  There are several electric train stations in Balakhna. It is best to go to the station "Balahna", because it is closest to museums and attractions (station on the map). But still, even from this station, you will either have to walk 3 kilometers or use local transport.

Attractions in Balakhna, what to see

In the city of Balakhna there is a museum historical and art complex, which includes: the Kuzma Minin Museum, the lace Museum, the museum "estate of the merchant A. A. Khudyakov", the Plotnikov House Museum, The Glass Museum (located in the village of Konevo). In addition to just visiting museums, the complex offers guided tours in museums, city tours, master classes, creative meetings. For more information, visit the museum complex's website: https://bmihk.ru

Also in the city there are several ancient churches: the Spasskaya church (Tupolev Street, 33A), Sretenskaya church (Zarechnaya Street, 8), Pokrovskaya Church, Trinity Church, etc.

Here are the most interesting places of Balakhna that are worth visiting for tourists (with indication of opening hours, cost and how to get there):

• Kuzma Minin Museum

  The Kuzma Minin museum contains unique authentic exhibits of the 17th and 20th centuries about the history of the city and the feat of the people's militia of 1612. The unique archaeological collection of the museum includes items found on the territory of the Churkin burial ground, on the banks of the Zheleznitsa river (for a long time this place was the only monument of the Mesolithic era in the Nizhny Novgorod region), on Lake Borovskoye, where fragments of pit-comb ceramics and flint tools were found. There are also fragments of Russian pottery of the 16th and 20th centuries, coins discovered during excavations on the territory of the former Pokrovsky monastery. The museum is very good for such a remote place from the center.

  🕐 Working hours: daily from 9:00 to 17:00, Saturday is a day off.

  💵 Entrance fee / tickets price: adults-50 rubles / visit with a tour - 70 / children-free of charge.

  🚶 How to get there: the museum is located in the heart of the city at 1 minIn Square (Museum on the map).

• Museum "estate of the merchant A. A. Khudyakov"

  

  The museum "estate of the merchant A. A. Khudyakov" is located in a mansion of the XIX century, which belonged to the shipbuilder Khudyakov. Inside there are several historical Expositions, the main one is dedicated to balakhna shipbuilding. A wing has been preserved on the territory of the estate, in the courtyard you can see a rickety wooden stable that separated the house from the park with hundred-year-old lime trees. And there are master classes on the manufacture of zhbannikov whistle, and the secrets of production technology are owned by the hereditary master E. F. Timofeev.

  🕐 Working hours: daily from 9:00 to 17:00, Saturday is a day off.

  💵 Entrance fee / tickets price: adults-50 rubles / visit with a tour - 70 / children-free of charge.

  🚶 How to get there: the estate is located at 32 Karl Marx Street (Museum on the map).

• Plotnikov House Museum

  

  The Plotnikov House Museum is another example of architecture of the XIX century and the main historical and Local History Museum of Balakhna. On the ground floor there are historical expositions devoted to archeology, primitive society and wildlife of the region, including those who lived on the territory of the Balakhna region before and after the ice age. A collection of unique icons has been collected, there is a section on the salt industry. On the second floor there is an exhibition hall, with rotating expositions, a lace-making workshop and an exhibition from the former lace Museum.

  🕐 Working hours: daily from 9:00 to 17:00, Saturday is a day off.

  💵 Entrance fee / tickets price: adults-50 rubles / visit with a tour - 70 / children-free of charge.

  🚶 How to get there: the museum is located at 4 Karl Marx Street (Museum on the map).

• Little country Zoo

  

  In Balakhna there is a branch of "little country" of the best zoo of Nizhny Novgorod"Limpopo". The variety of animals is not very large, however, here you can see a double-humped camel, zebra, alpaca, Yak, kangaroo, Australian EMU, mouflon, fallow deer, raccoons, Japanese macaques, Lynx, Antelope, rabbits, Owls, crane, pheasants, chickens, goats and sheep. In summer, there are simple children's attractions, festive events are held.

  🌐 Website: vk.com/zoo_malenkaya_strana

  🕐 Working hours: 10:00 – 17:00.

  💵 Entrance fee / tickets price: adults-300 rubles / children 5-14 years, pensioners – 200 / up to 5 years-free of charge. Attractions from 100 rubles.

  🚶 How to get there: the zoo is located at PL. Sovetskaya,1 (Zoo on the map).

• Museum of glass in the village of Konevo

  

  Museum of glass "Black Swan" in one of the oldest villages of the Balkhinsky district – Konevo, 30 kilometers from the city. The first mention of the village occurs in 1616. The museum is located in the former House-estate of the manager of the local glass factory Adrian Davidovich Deryugin. Five expositions are presented: "Archaeology", "manager's Office", "Glass Production", "Animal World" and "Soviet period". The exhibition is based on items made at the local glass factory "Trud". In addition, tourists will learn about the history of the village and the entire district, about the development of crafts, the history of the Lebedev noble family and Osokin miners.

  🕐 Working hours: from 09:00 to 17:00, Sunday and Monday are closed. Before visiting and to book an excursion it is better to contact in advance by Phone +7(83144)6-27-47, 8(831)-44-6-27-49 or email balamus@mail.ru.

  💵 Entrance fee / tickets price:

  🚶 How to get there: the museum is located 70 kilometers from Nizhny Novgorod and 30 kilometers from Balakhna in the village of Konevo, Sverdlov STR., 54A (Museum on the map. By bus you can get there with a transfer at the bus station in Balakhna. Bus number 104 in Konevo departs from the bus station in 05:50, 12:25, 15:00, 16:50; back 7:10, 14:00, 16:15, 18:00.

• Churches and temples of Balakhna

  

  In the tourist part, where museums are located within walking distance from each other, there are several historical temples. These are the Church of the saviour of the Uncreated image (33A Tupolev Street), The Church of the presentation of the Lord (8 Zarechnaya Street), The Church of the Most Holy Theotokos and St. Nicholas Church (17 Revolution Ave.), The Church of the life-giving Trinity (Ryazanov Street).

  🕐 Working hours: in the daytime.

  💵 Entrance fee / tickets price: free, donations are welcome.

• Lace Museum

  Currently, the museum in a separate building is closed, the collection has been moved to the Plotnikov House Museum.. The collection consists of more than 400 exhibits in the balakhna manner of weaving. There are clothes and its elements, bed linen, towels, napkins, etc. In addition to the lace itself, the museum presents a local history exposition in the form of the interior of a merchant's living room and a peasant's hut, there is a collection of icons of the 17th century.