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Yekaterinburg straddles the line between Europe and Asia on the eastern slopes of the Ural Mountains, an industrial powerhouse that has become one of Russia's liveliest cities for art, architecture and food. Founded in 1723 around an ironworks dam on the Iset River and named after Empress Catherine I, it was known as Sverdlovsk throughout the Soviet era.
The city is forever linked to the last Romanovs, who were shot here in July 1918. The Church on the Blood now stands on the site, and the monastery at Ganina Yama in the forest outside town marks where their remains were taken. Elsewhere you find merchant mansions, bold Constructivist buildings from the 1920s and 1930s, and the Yeltsin Center, a museum devoted to Russia's first president.
The old dam, known as Plotinka, is still the city's favourite meeting place, and Weiner Street is its busiest pedestrian street. Short trips lead to the Europe-Asia border markers on the outskirts.
Plotinka is the dam on the Iset River around which Yekaterinburg was founded in 1723 as an ironworks town. Today it is the city's favourite meeting spot, with riverside steps, a historic square and summer street musicians. Continue along the City Pond embankment for an easy evening stroll.
Opened in 2011 and named after the singer Vladimir Vysotsky, this 188-metre tower is one of the tallest buildings in Russia outside Moscow. Its observation deck on the 52nd floor gives a sweeping view over the city, and a small Vysotsky museum sits inside. Go up near sunset for the best light.
Built around 1930 for the Uralmash workers' district, this round white water tower is a celebrated work of Soviet Constructivism, with a slim shaft carrying a wide drum-shaped tank. After years of neglect it was restored and now hosts exhibitions and events, so check what is on first.
West of the city on the Novo-Moskovsky highway, a steel spire on a granite base marks the conventional line between Europe and Asia across the Ural ridge. Visitors pose with one foot on each continent, and wedding parties stop here for photos. Taxis and tour vans make the short trip easily.
Completed in 2003 on the site of the Ipatiev House, where Nicholas II and his family were shot in July 1918, this gold-domed church is Yekaterinburg's most visited shrine. The upper church glows with icons, and a museum nearby covers the Romanov story. Dress modestly to enter.
In a pine forest north of the city, the Monastery of the Holy Royal Martyrs stands at the abandoned mine shaft where the Romanovs' bodies were taken in 1918. Seven wooden churches, one for each member of the royal family, surround the site. Boardwalks link them; dress modestly.
On the City Pond embankment, this 19th-century merchant mansion wears a facade crowded with Gothic, Moorish and Baroque details, making it one of the city's most photographed buildings. It was restored as a presidential residence, so it is rarely open inside. Admire it from across the avenue.
Crowning Voznesenskaya Hill opposite the Church on the Blood, this grand neoclassical merchant estate from around 1800 combines mansions, colonnaded galleries and a landscaped park. The house now serves as a children's creative centre, but the shady park behind it is open for walks.
Opened in 2015 on the bank of the Iset River, the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Center houses a museum about Russia's first president and the turbulent 1990s, told through films and reconstructed rooms. The building also holds galleries, a bookshop and cafes. Allow two hours for the museum.
The city's main art museum shows Russian painting, icons and decorative arts, and its star exhibit is the Kasli cast-iron pavilion, an openwork showpiece that won acclaim at the Paris World's Fair of 1900. The Ural tradition of art iron casting is shown in detail. Allow about two hours.
Opened in 1912 in an ornate building on Lenin Avenue, Yekaterinburg's opera house stages classic Russian opera and ballet alongside bold modern productions. The gilded auditorium is a pleasure in itself. Book ahead for weekend performances, as good seats sell out quickly.
Weiner Street is Yekaterinburg's busiest pedestrian street, lined with restored merchant houses, shops, cafes and playful bronze sculptures recalling the city's past. Locals often call it their own Arbat. Walk it at an easy pace, stop for coffee, and return after dark when the lights come on.
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Photo: Vyacheslav Bukharov, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Vyacheslav Bukharov, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Photo: Vyacheslav Bukharov, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Vyacheslav Bukharov, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Vyacheslav Bukharov, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Vyacheslav Bukharov, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Photo: Владислав Фальшивомонетчик, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
