A must visit immediate goal

It is the largest of the declassified bunkers nowadays. In the center of Samara, in the yard of an ordinary house, which are quite numerous not only in Samara, but in other cities as well, on the depth of 37 meters, an object that used to be secret one, is located. The object is unique by its characteristics, it was built in amazingly short period (in nine months only) and it surpasses all its international analogues: the depth of Hitler’s bunker is 16 meters, the ones of Churchill and Roosevelt are approximately 7 meters. In 1991 the object was declassified, opened for visitors and included into the list of places of interest in Samara. What is interesting, this monumental construction was never used for the purpose intended.

This museum is very easy to find. The monument epitomizing the Cosmic Samara, created from the real launch vehicle Soyuz, is located on prospect Lenina. Earlier the rocket was used in spaceport Plesetsk as simulator for cosmonauts. But nevertheless the engines, the hull and all the equipment are real. The height of the monument is 68 meters, and the weight is 73 tons. Here you will also find museum and exposition complex, but it is not really worth visiting. The most interesting thing here is the launch vehicle itself.

It will not be easy to get to Upravlencheskiy posiolok (settlement), but the view on the picturesque Volga and Zhigulevskiye mountains, that one will have from the observation deck, is really worth it. The ride by public transport from the center of Samara will take around one hour; by car it will definitely take less. Don’t forget to take something to eat with you, as it will hardly be possible to find a good place to eat there.

A very good option of combining a long walk in fresh air and breathtaking views of the Volga is a bike ride. There are many bike rental stations on the embankment of Samara. The list of the stations can be viewed here: https://velomesto.com/ru/samara/bike-rental/. In case you are hungry, you can quickly go to Coffee cake (Volzhskiy prospect, 41) and take away some sandwiches.

For breakfast it is worth going to Komod. The bar list surprises with its variety and in case you don’t have any preferences it might take long to make a choice. If you feel like experimenting, try latte Singapore with lemongrass or hot chocolate with chili. For dessert it’s worth trying pistachios cake with raspberries and pastry Baltazar with praline and hazelnut. The café does not have a full-value kitchen, but the traditional breakfast with omelet, porridge, cottage cheese and sandwiches is really decent. In the café you will also find board games and books; if it would be hard to tear yourself from reading (and there are more than 1000 books), you can take the book home after informing barista on that.

Seems that every city had, has or will soon have a place with such a name. It is not a place to go for sophisticated dishes, but for close, friendly and cheerful company, for evening cocktail – definitely yes. The old-timers of Samara cocktail culture work in the bar. There is a vast selection of Belgian and German beer. For those who would like to support local brewers a decent barley and dark sorts, brewed by order by local artisans, are presented. And in case you still want to have a meal – choose Japanese noodles.

In case on Friday night you want to find yourself in an English pub inside tempestuous and drunk crowd – head to Harat’s. In this place it is cheerful every day. And though it is a pub, the food is not bad here at all.