Hotels in Tver

Tver's historic center follows a rare three-avenue plan that fans out from the Imperial Travel Palace — the layout that earned the city its nickname, "Little Petersburg". Stay on Simeonovskaya, Novotorzhskaya or close to Tverskoy Prospekt and the entire walking program — the palace, the Art Gallery, the city garden, the embankment — fits into a 5–15 minute stroll. It is the logical base for a first visit or a short weekend, when you would rather not spend half a day getting to the sights.

Stepan Razin Embankment runs along the south bank of the Volga a couple of minutes from the center: it looks out onto the Old Volga Bridge, and the city garden and the travel palace are a few minutes away on foot. People choose this stretch for the water outside the window and evening walks along the river, and it works equally well for a couple and for a family. Keep in mind that the Volga freezes in winter and boat trips stop running, though the embankment itself remains the city's main walking route in any season.

From Tver station the Sapsan takes about an hour to Moscow and roughly three hours to Saint Petersburg, which is why Kominterna, Zheleznodorozhnikov and Alexandra Popova streets come in handy on a business trip, on a late arrival and before an early departure. The center is around 15 minutes away by minibus, and the M-10/M-11 interchange is a five-minute drive. Sleeping in these blocks is quieter than you would expect: a strip of greenery separates the apartment buildings from the platforms and muffles the trains well.

The north bank means Mikhail Yaroslavich Embankment with its views of the Old Volga Bridge, and just beyond the levee the quiet blocks around Musorgskogo and Chekhova streets begin. The Imperial Travel Palace is a 10–15 minute walk away across the bridge, yet there are noticeably fewer tourists and far less noise, and rooms here are on average more affordable than in the center. A good choice for a second or third trip to Tver, once you have seen the main sights and want unhurried walks by the water.

If your trip runs longer than two or three nights, or you are traveling with a child, an apartment with a kitchen and a washing machine usually beats a hotel room of comparable size: there is somewhere to heat up food, feed a toddler and do the laundry. Look for options like these in the Yuzhny district — a calm residential neighborhood with a park and shops on the doorstep — and in the center on Radishcheva Boulevard, about ten minutes' walk from Tverskoy Prospekt.

There are no five-star hotels in Tver, so the top of the local market means four stars plus a few three-star properties with premium finishes. What people expect from them is an in-house restaurant, a sauna or a pool, a conference room and competent service at the desk — exactly what a business trip, a wedding or an anniversary calls for. Almost all of these addresses are in the center, within walking distance of the palace and the embankment.

Alongside conventional hotels, Tver has plenty of mini-hotels, guest rooms and hostels, and some of them sit right in the center, a couple of blocks from Tverskoy Prospekt. It is a sensible option when Tver is a stopover on the way to Saint Petersburg or a walking weekend out of Moscow and the room is really just somewhere to sleep. Look out for a 24-hour reception desk and luggage storage if you arrive on a late train or leave on an early one.