Book Olympic Air Flights to Samara

The best things to do in Samara

Take a walk along the famous Samara waterfront, which runs for 5 kilometres alongside the cold waters of the River Volga and the sandy beaches that are bustling with life, especially in the summer.

Visit the celebrated Iversky Women’s Monastery (1850) to admire its beautiful architecture, with its redbrick façade, golden domes and several chapels.

Enjoy a fantastic tour of the legendary Zhiguli Brewery (19th century), which has given the city the title of Russian “beer capital”. Take a seat at one of its outdoor benches and enjoy fresh beer direct from the barrel, accompanied by some smoked fish.

Descend into the famous subterranean Stalin’s Bunker to learn all about the strategic role of Samara during the Second World War. Five floors beneath Samara State University of Culture, you can wander through the maze of operations rooms, facilities and the convention hall, with an eerie atmosphere.

For a glimpse into the rare cultural heritage of the city take a visit to the Samara Regional Art Museum. Discover the unknown stories of Tolstoy, Gorky, Lenin, Shostakovich and many other Russian artists and intellectuals who lived and worked in the city. The stunning 19th-century neoclassical building also houses a wonderful collection of works belonging to the Russian Avant-Garde.

A trip to the Samara Space Museum is a must. The exhibition unravels the evolution of Russian space technology from the Soviet period until today. The legendary manned Soyuz carrier rocket in life-size form is remarkable.

Ideas for excursions from Samara

Opposite Samara, on the right bank of the Volga, lie the Zhiguli Hills, a unique natural ecosystem of beautiful forests, boundless steppes, rich grazing areas, lakes and little islands. Visit the beautiful peninsula of Samarskaya Luka, with its rare flora and fauna, medicinal springs and parks.

In the picturesque village of Shiryaevo you will find the house and museum of the painter Ilya Repin, who once lived and painted some of his most famous works here. The village is a good point from where to start your tour.

Food and Εntertainment in Samara

The food scene of Samara is dominated by authentic Russian cuisine as well as international flavours, especially Italian and Japanese (sushi in particular).

The city centre offers a wide choice of establishments, from old-style diners with traditional decoration to the elegant hotel restaurants, for more luxury outings. Here you can enjoy popular Russian dishes and many fish dishes, thanks to Samara’s connection to the Volga River.

Try a classic borsch soup, chicken stuffed with marrow and pickles, lamb cooked in a casserole dish, traditional pork dishes with lemon, fish soup with lemon and grilled fish.

Have a glass of the popular local vodka (Vektor or Rodnik) as well as of the traditional kvass (a soft drink made from rye).

In the summer, the beaches of the Volga are transformed into the ideal setting for street food, where you can enjoy shashlik kebabs and a cool local beer beneath the tents of the outdoor bars.

Samara has a diverse and vibrant nightlife. Classical dance and opera always have a place on the cultural map of the city’s residents as the local Opera House is one of the most famous in the country. Afterwards, the action shifts – with a formal dress code – to one of the city’s many luxury dance-clubs and cocktail bars.

For a more relaxed time, there are many bars and Irish pubs, as well as places with live music, from rock to jazz and folk.

Shopping in Samara

Take a walk along pedestrianised Leningradskaya Street and the central Kuibysheva Street, along which you will find well-known clothes shops, pricey boutiques, jewellers, restaurants, cafes and specialist shops stocking photographic equipment and electronics.

On the stalls of the busy open-air Troitsky Market, on Galaktionovskaya, you can find fresh food as well as many souvenirs of the Soviet period.

In the city’s large shopping malls, you can find all the international luxury brands and chain stores. The most popular are the Megacity Mall on Novo-Sadovaya Street and the Park House Centre (Moscow Highway 81A), in both of which there are many restaurants, cinemas and other recreational activities.

Getting from the airport to Samara

Take public transport bus #78 from Bereza stop (200 metres from the airport terminal) to the city centre (Barboshina Polyana stop).Buses depart approximately every 60 minutes.

Alternatively, you can take shuttle bus #392, which connects the airport with the city centre every 60 minutes.

Regional bus #652 departs from Samara for the airport every 60-80 minutes.

The best season to visit Samara is the summer. In June, the city is transformed into a Russian Woodstock, thanks to its annual Rock over the Volga festival, with over 600,000 visitors and performances by world-famous rock stars. Book your flights to Samara through the Olympic Air site and discover a unique Russian city with a myriad of enticing secrets.