Barnaul places to go.

Altai has always attracted travelers from all over the world. According to the World Tourist Organization prognoses, adventure journeys will become priority within the next few years. People want something new and interesting, but they do not have to go to the world’s end to feel exotics. Altai rivers, the Ob, the Katun, the Biiya, will produce a great impression on tourists, mountain lakes of Altai will not yield to wild beauty of other lakes. Everybody would like to feel him/herself a traveler in ancient civilizations.

Ok, here is the confession: Barnaul is my favourite city in Siberia. Let me explain you why.
First, the city center is very compact, you get everything you could wish for (banks, airline tickets, shops, restaurants, clubs, sights) along one nice boulevard — Prospekt Lenina — itself a very pleasant street for walks planted with trees on both sides. For instance, Novosibirsk is also a nice town, but the center seems to be made for cars, not people. Barnaul, at least its central part, is definitely for people.
Secondly, Barnaul center is very clean, there's a lot of transport and taxis, lights, signs (in Russian only, though) and after a long trip to Altay mountains and kilometers of road, it feels like "yeah, I'm in the city again, enjoy!".
Third, well, the girls in Barnaul are very pretty and people in general are very friendly...

All the best restaurants are concentrated near Sovetov square, along Lenina Prospekt. There are not many of them, but the ones there are will be enough for a few days. An average meal will cost you from $5 to $15 (per person).
During summer there are a lot of open-air cafes and terraces. As the weather is usually quite sunny it is a real pleasure to sit in a cafe like this, sip a drink and look around...

Barnaul has quite good night life scene, one of the best for dance in Siberia. There are four main clubs: "Pilot", "Zebra", "House Club" and "Garage". Connoisseurs of the local clubbing say that "Pilot" is the best club for dance music and for meeting nice people, "Zebra" (Peschayana St., #84) sometimes hosts interesting concerts by Russian stars, "House Club" (Solnechnaya Polyana, #15) is a typical club for local businessmen and criminals, and "Garage" ("Granmulino" cafe) is usually empty anyway.

The main places in Barnaul are Lenina Prospekt — the main street of the city and a boulevard (people like to have a walk there in the evening), "Shpil" — a strange building left from Soviet times with a conus-like roof, and the main Sovetov square, where you can find a nice square, open-air cafes in summer and attraction park behind. By the way, "Shpil", which is also called "Chasy" (means "Clock") is a favourite spot to arrange a date in Barnaul.

The two most interesting museums are the Government Museum of History, Culture, Literature, and Art of Altay (Lva Tolstogo st., #2, opened Tue to Sat 10.00 to 17.00) and Altay Regional Studies Museum (Polzunova st., #46, opened Wed to Sun, 10.00 to 17.00). Both museums have good exhibitions dedicated to the culture of Altay region and have some interesting archeological findings and items from ethnic Altay cultures.

Barnaul Mexico Restaurant
Barnaul Granmulino Restaurant
Barnaul Stary Gorod Cafe
Barnaul Pilot Club

Useful Barnaul related links: