10 best sights of Pyatigorsk

At first glance, it seems that there are a lot of attractions in Pyatigorsk, and it is quite difficult to decide what to see during the first trip. We present to your attention our list of top 10 attractions in Pyatigorsk which we recommend to visit in the first place if you are going to visit this resort for the first time:

1. Tsvetnik Park

This is the oldest park in the city, one of the main tourist attractions of Pyatigorsk and a place for walks for vacationers and tourists. Although the park is small, in addition to beautiful flower beds and alleys, there are several other iconic sights in it: Diana's grotto, Lermontov gallery, Gukasov's coffee house, bronze eagle statue, Ermolov and Lermontov baths, drinking gallery with mineral waters, fountain. Learn more learn more about Tsvetnik park here.

2. Lake Sinkhole

This is perhaps the most famous and visited attraction of the resort. The fame of this place was brought by the film "Twelve Chairs": remember, Ostap Bender sold tickets for the entrance to this attraction. As for the lake itself, this is a rather interesting natural formation. It is located at the bottom of a deep karst crater, and a cave 58 meters long leads to it. The lake is filled with healing water of blue color, saturated with hydrogen sulfide, i.e. you will feel here the typical smell of this gas – rotten eggs. Learn more about Lake Proval here.

3. Lermontov gallery

It is one of the most famous and iconic architectural landmarks of the resort. A unique building made of glass and metal appeared here in 1901 on July 15, the anniversary of the death of Mikhail Lermontov. It was commissioned on the initiative of the director of Caucasian resorts to develop the resort potential of the city, namely, to hold concerts, exhibitions and performances for vacationers. The peculiarity of the building is that it was designed and cast entirely from metal at the factory, and then already delivered to the site for assembly and installation. Today, the gallery building is decorated with the most beautiful floral part of the Park Flower Garden, and inside is a concert and Exhibition Complex. Learn more about the lermontovskaya gallery here.

4. Mount Mashuk, signs and viewing platforms

Mount Mashuk rises near the city to a height of about 470 meters, and its peak is located at an altitude of 993 meters above sea level. There are several hiking trails, a car road and a cable car leading up.

This is one of the iconic places in the city, where all vacationers and tourists try to get. Upstairs is the famous group of wooden signposts, several viewing platforms and a cafe. Learn more about Mount Mashuk here.

5. Pyatigorsk cable car

The cable car leads to the top of Mount Mashuk at an altitude of 993 meters above sea level, from the level of the cable car station the difference is about 400 meters. The Climb takes a few minutes. At the top you will discover wonderful views from one of several viewing platforms. Here is the famous site with pointers to the cities of Russia and the world. And upstairs you can eat in a cafe. You can also go back down by cable car, or on foot along the trail, which will take you directly to the tourist area of the city. Learn more about Pyatigorsk cable car here.

6. drinking pump rooms of mineral water

Public Pump Rooms in Pyatigorsk are made in the form of separate buildings. They have no names but are simply numbered: №19, №24, №7, №4, №1. anyone can visit them, the use of therapeutic mineral water is not limited, no prescriptions and sanitary books are required. ie, you can simply come during working hours to any of the galleries, and drink fresh mineral water. However, it is still recommended to treat mineral waters only by prescription and under the supervision of a specialist, since water from springs is much more active than table mineral water, which is sold in bottles in the supermarket. Learn more about Pump Rooms here.

7. Gazebo "Aeolian Harp"

This is one of the architectural and historical symbols of the city, an architectural monument, and almost a must-visit place in Pyatigorsk. Usually it is visited together with the grotto of Lermontov, which is located just below the gazebo on the stairs. From here you can enjoy some of the best views of the resort part of the city, and the gazebo itself is musical, you can sit and listen to the chime of bells. Its author was one of the brothers Bernardazzi, a Swiss architect who designed with his brother most of the resort in the XIX century. An automatic musical instrument called the "Aeolian Harp" was installed in the gazebo, very modern for that time (1831), so that vacationers could enjoy the views and music. Learn more about the Aeolian Harp here.

8. academic gallery

It is a historical monument and one of the iconic architectural landmarks of the city. Its image flaunts on postcards and tourist souvenirs, but, unfortunately, as of 2019, it is under restoration, the approximate completion date is the end of 2019. Previously, there was a museum of insects (moved to another place), and now there is only a cafe. From the platform in front of the gallery there is a view of Emanuelevsky Park. Learn more about the academic gallery here.

9. Pyatigorsk Museum of local lore

This museum is the largest and oldest in the resorts of the Caucasian mineral waters. The building itself is a historical site, the former first hotel in the resort. The museum has a huge collection of exhibits, including archaeological finds, books, documents, photographs, household items and decorative and Applied Arts. In our opinion, this is a must-visit place to start exploring the city. Ideally, the museum should be visited with excursion support, which is offered when buying tickets.

10. The place of Lermontov's duel

In Pyatigorsk, there are many places associated with the life of the poet, because he met the city as a child, and here his life was tragically cut short. There was his last deadly duel on the northwestern slope of Mount Mashuk in 1841. At this place they equipped a small square and installed an obelisk. Pay attention to the fence of the monument, it is made of stone pillars in the form of cartridges. Read more about the place of Lermontov's duel here.