Day 1
Ulyanovsk stands on the banks of the Volga and Sviyaga rivers. The city was founded in 1648 by decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. The fortress was intended to become an outpost on the eastern borders of the country. The city is famous for being the birthplace of Vladimir Ulyanov in 1870, who would later take the pseudonym Lenin and become the leader of the October Revolution of 1917.
Weather in Ulyanovsk
-5°C/+23°F
09.01.2026
overcast
Humidity
94%
Wind
3 km/h
High
-3°C/+27°F
Low
-6°C/+21°F
Museum Classical gymnasium of Simbirsk
The building was constructed in 1790 according to a design by architect I.Toscani. The future revolutionary Vladimir Ulyanov studied here from the ages of 9 to 17 and graduated with a gold medal, as did his elder brother Alexander before him. During the tour, visitors learn about the formation and development of secondary education in the Russian Empire and the subjects taught at that time. The exhibition also shows how much effort was required to achieve top grades in all subjects. Visitors can see historic classrooms with original desks, the assembly hall, the physics laboratory where students conducted experiments, and the cloakroom known as the “shinelnaya.” The interiors of the educational institution are well preserved, and the elements that did not survive have been recreated with the utmost accuracy. You can sit at a desk, look through textbooks from the curriculum, and see the only surviving 1840s sundial in Russia and even boil water with a single touch of a hand using Franklin’s boiler.
Address: 18 Spasskaya Street, Ulyanovsk
Opening hours: Tuesday–Sunday 10:00 am–6:00 pm, Monday closed
Website: ulzapovednik.ru
Museum “Junk shop"
The museum is located in a manor house built in 1851. At that time, the first floor indeed housed a shop called the “General Store.” Here you will see many authentic artifacts: a traditional counter with a writing desk, scales, and flour bins. On the shelves you will find goods ranging from sweets, tea, coffee, tobacco, and sugar loaves to kerosene lamps, candles, and matches. All items date from the late 19th century, so it is easy to imagine yourself as a local resident of that era. Or imagine young Volodya stepping into the shop to buy sweets for tea.
Address: 76 Lenina Street, Ulyanovsk
Opening hours: Tuesday–Sunday 10:00 am–6:00 pm, Monday closed
Website: ulzapovednik.ru
Museum-estate of the urban life "Simbirsk of the late XIX - early XX centuries"
One of the wings of the former estate of priest I. A. Anaksagorov of the Simbirsk Trinity Cathedral now houses the Museum of Urban Life. The exhibition recreates a typical middle-class urban home of the late 19th — early 20th centuries. Walk through rooms with antique furniture and pause by shelves filled with porcelain figurines and tableware. It is easy to lose track of time here, and it feels as though the owner has stepped out briefly, leaving a cup of hot tea on an elegant table. The immersive effect is enhanced with light and sound effects — sit as if by candlelight, hear piano music, the creak of floorboards, the crackle of firewood in the stove, and the clinking of dishes. You can also learn about the city’s social news by simply “calling” on an antique telephone installed in the estate.
Address: 90 Lenina Street, Ulyanovsk
Opening hours: Tuesday–Sunday 10:00 am–6:00 pm,
Monday closed
Website: ulzapovednik.ru
V. I. Lenin House Museum
The route will lead you to the house acquired by the Ulyanov family in 1878 after many years of moving between rented apartments. Volodya was eight years old at the time. Here, on Moskovskaya Street, his younger sisters and brother Dmitry were born. And here the family experienced painful losses — their father passed away, and news arrived of the execution of the elder brother Alexander. Interestingly, the museum opened in this house during Vladimir Ilyich’s lifetime, in December 1923. Five years later the exhibition expanded: a special restoration commission was formed, and Lenin’s elder sister Anna Ulyanova-Elizarova became an honorary member. She personally advised the restorers and donated family belongings to the museum. In 1929 the house was restored to exactly the same appearance and interior it had during the Ulyanov family's residence. The exhibition was supplemented but never radically altered, preserving the spirit of the period during which Vladimir Lenin grew up. You will see only authentic objects, clothing, and documents, and perhaps feel the atmosphere of that time in his life.
Address: 68 Lenina Street, Ulyanovsk
Opening hours: Monday–Sunday 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Website: leninmemorial.ru
Lenin Memorial
Another museum connected with Vladimir Lenin — a monument of 20th-century history, culture, and architecture — is the Lenin Memorial. The building was constructed in 1970 on the former Streletskaya Street, where the Ulyanov family lived in the 19th century. Before that, for nearly three decades, the exhibition was housed in a historic mansion on Lev Tolstoy Street. The Lenin Museum holds a rich collection of objects and documents that tell in detail the story of the life of the city's famous native. Here you will learn about Lenin not only as a scholar and political figure in Russian history at the turn of the century, but also as a person. On the first floor you will see the sculptural group “Communists” and the exhibition “From Tsar to President,” dedicated to the visits of heads of state to Simbirsk and Ulyanovsk. The second floor features a diorama — a large canvas depicting the city as it appeared in the second half of the 19th century. One part recreates the same Streletskaya Street. The Ulyanovs rented several private apartments there before purchasing their house on Moskovskaya Street. Its exterior is recreated on the second canvas. The main exhibition is located on the third floor. Here you will find sculptures, paintings, mosaic panels, stained-glass artworks, and even a floor map made of ruby glass — all created by leading Soviet masters. The ceremonial hall is particularly impressive: the ceiling rises to 17 meters, and the marble walls are decorated with multicolored smalt. At the center stands Vladimir Ilyich himself. The figure, carved from white Ural marble, rises five meters high.
Address: 1 Lenina Square, Ulyanovsk
Opening hours: Monday–Sunday 10:00 am–6:00 pm
Website: leninmemorial.ru
