Hotels in Barnaul

The central triangle between Lenin Avenue, Sovetov Square and Demidov Square can be covered on foot in a single day: the regional museum, the Mining Pharmacy, the merchant quarter on Malo-Tobolskaya Street and the descent to the Ob through Nagorny Park. The city's main hotels stand here as well — from Soviet-era classics right on the avenue to the local premium flagship next to the regional administration. This is the choice if you have come for a couple of days to see Barnaul itself rather than passing through on the way to the Altai.

The old part of town runs down from Demidov Square to the Ob: Polzunov Street, restored merchant mansions, and Nagorny Park with its viewing platform above the river. There are not many hotels here and nearly all of them are small, but the most interesting part of the city ends up outside your window instead of across town. A good choice for an unhurried walking trip — just bear in mind that the way back from the river is a noticeable climb uphill.

Barnaul is not a resort town, so an inexpensive room here is the norm rather than a compromise, and winter rates barely differ from summer ones. The usual format is small private hotels and guesthouses in the center and in the Zheleznodorozhny district, with breakfast, parking and a 24-hour reception. This suits you if you are in town for one or two nights and what you need is a clean bed, a shower and easy access to transport rather than a view.

Most visitors spend one or two nights in Barnaul: a train or a flight in the evening, then a morning bus to Gorno-Altaysk, Belokurikha or Lake Teletskoye. In that case it makes sense to stay near the train station and Pobedy Square — the platforms and the bus terminal are within walking distance, and you will not lose the morning stuck in traffic on Lenin Avenue. There are capsule beds right by the tracks and ordinary rooms with breakfast just across the square.

German Titov Airport sits directly on Pavlovsky Trakt, west of the city, and that road has almost no traffic lights — the drive to your flight is quick and predictable. If your flight leaves early, or you are coming back from the mountains late in the evening, a night out on the trakt is easier than one downtown: you are already on the highway, and the city can wait until the next day. There is plenty of accommodation in the new residential blocks here — mostly studios and apartments with self check-in and parking by the building.

Barnaul is the administrative center of Altai Krai, and a noticeable share of its guests arrive here to work, usually for anywhere from three nights to a week. Over a stay that long, an apartment with a kitchen and a washing machine turns out to be both more comfortable and better value than a standard hotel room, and the local aparthotel chains add a reception desk and housekeeping on top of the flat. The widest choice is along Lenin, Sotsialistichesky, Komsomolsky and Stroiteley avenues — with a place to work and parking in the courtyard.

If you are driving to Barnaul from Novosibirsk or back from the Altai, there is no need to head into the downtown traffic at all. Across the Ob, over the New Bridge, Zarechye begins: pine trees, quiet, generous parking and no busy avenues, with a short hop over the bridge to the center. On the western edge, around Pavlovsky Trakt and Severny Vlasikhinsky Passage, stand new residential complexes — convenient when you come into town off the highway and leave for the airport in the morning.