Where to go from Nizhny Novgorod by train. 3 impressive places

The navigable Volga River, birch groves, wooden merchant towns, bell ringing at sunset – Nizhny Novgorod Region has concentrated all the best associations that a traveler has at the mention of the Volga region. The recognizable atmosphere of the “Russian Riviera” has become part of the national cultural code thanks to literature and painting. But even the most talented descriptions, transferred to the pages of books and canvases of artists, will not replace the personal experience that travelers have during a trip through Nizhny Novgorod region by rail.

author of the travel community Vinogradov.story and president of Pro-Vision.

Where is the first place to travel from Nizhny Novgorod?

Diveevo

Total travel time: ~ 3 hours.

How to get there: from Nizhny Novgorod by train to Arzamas, then by bus.

The village of Diveyevo, 150 km away from Nizhny Novgorod, boasts hundreds of thousands of tourists and pilgrims who come to the Holy Trinity Serafimo-Diveyevo Monastery located here every year. This is a real place of power with an amazing history and unique artifacts. Besides, it is very picturesque: the combination of austere temple architecture, the Central Russian nature surrounding the monastery and village buildings gives birth to a feeling of peace and serenity, putting immediate problems and worries far beyond the brackets.

Boldino

Total travel time: ~ 4 hours.

How to get there: from Nizhny Novgorod to the station “Sergach” or “Uzhovka”, then by bus.

Boldinsky Autumn is considered to be one of the most intense periods in Pushkin’s work. Caught unawares by the cholera epidemic, the poet was “stuck” for three months in the secluded at that time village virtually under quarantine – without the opportunity to receive guests and see his relatives. What was Boldino in those Pushkin times is well described in his works: the village as an “obnoxious island” and the old bar house as a “sad castle”.

However, not too flattering characteristics can be attributed to the depressed state of the poet, forced to postpone his own wedding time after time. But Boldino seemed to me an exemplary representative of a manor park, where one can easily experience “life, tears and love” – depending on one’s mood.

Gorodets

Total travel time: ~ 2 hours.

How to get there: from Nizhny Novgorod to the station “Zavolzhye”, then by bus.

Gorodets, which is ironically read in the toponym, is not a “real” serious town. And everything here matches the name: neat narrow streets, and “toy” merchant houses with platbands, and cozy craft museums with a collection of Gorodets toys and whistles. And next to it there is a huge, endless Gorky reservoir and the impressive Nizhny Novgorod hydroelectric power station. The contrast is striking and requires rethinking. Preferably on the embankment with a magnificent panoramic view of the water surface and tasting of native Volga dishes: tsar’s sterlet soup, dumplings with sauerkraut and Podnovsky cucumbers.

If you like short trips and you enjoy traveling by electric train, read about other routes in this article.