Places to visit

The bronze composition shows the director in a chair on a film set and the legendary trio of Trus, Balbes and Byvaly. The monument stands here for a reason: Leonid Gaidai was born in Irkutsk, and legend says this is where he invented his famous characters. It is on Labour Square, next to a fountain, benches and flower beds.

Kirov Square is the central square of Irkutsk. The main city square appeared around 1670, just beyond the southern wall of the Irkutsk fortress. In the Soviet period a garden with a fountain and benches was laid out in the centre. In summer it is a place to rest among flower beds, and in winter it becomes the main ice town and the city Christmas tree.

Uritskogo Street is the only pedestrian street in the city centre and one of the oldest streets in Irkutsk. You can see 19th-century architecture and historic facades. The ground floors are cafes, bars and souvenir shops. At the end of the street is the Irkutsk Central Market, with local products: fish, honey, herbs and tea, pine nuts and chocolates.

One of the oldest museums in Russia after the State Hermitage and the Tretyakov Gallery. Its collection holds more than 24,000 works of fine art from different times and cultures and is the richest beyond the Urals. The museum occupies nine historic buildings and one historic park with buildings.

A fine place for a walk in the centre. On the way from Kirov Square to the Lower Embankment you can see the 17th-century Epiphany Cathedral, one of the most beautiful and oldest churches in Irkutsk, the Roman Catholic church and the Eternal Flame memorial. The Moscow Gate, a triumphal arch built in honour of Alexander I, was restored on the Lower Embankment, along with other sights.

A fine place for a walk in the centre. On the way from Kirov Square to the Lower Embankment you can see the 17th-century Epiphany Cathedral, one of the most beautiful and oldest churches in Irkutsk, the Roman Catholic church and the Eternal Flame memorial. The Moscow Gate, a triumphal arch built in honour of Alexander I, was restored on the Lower Embankment, along with other sights.

Gagarin Boulevard is another pedestrian embankment in the city centre, 2.3 kilometres long. This part of the waterfront leads to Yunost and Konny islands, with many ways to spend time. A monument to Alexander III stands on Gagarin Boulevard.

The calling card of the city is the 130th Quarter, Irkutskaya Sloboda, where wooden architecture was restored from 19th-century designs. You can see wooden buildings, visit an art gallery, a museum and a planetarium, and buy souvenirs.

In front of the entrance is the bronze Babr sculpture. This mythical animal is on the city coat of arms and is a symbol of Irkutsk and the Irkutsk region.

Viktor Bronstein Gallery is the largest art gallery in Siberia. It shows painting, graphic art and sculpture by local artists and by authors from other regions of Russia and other countries. The gallery has the only permanent exhibition in the world of sculptures by Dashi Namdakov and dolls made by his family. The collection holds about 2,000 works.

Listvyanka is the nearest place to the city to see Lake Baikal. You can visit a science museum about the wildlife of the lake, take the cable car up to the Chersky Stone viewpoint and see the source of the Angara and the Shaman Stone, watch the Baikal seal show at the nerpinarium, walk the shore, take a boat in summer or skate in winter, and buy fish and souvenirs at the local market.