What to see

Completed during the Second World War, and with its first performance three days after peace in Europe on 12 May 1945, it is arguably the most extraordinary building in all Siberia.

Located on Lenin Square, it includes a vast dome some 60 metres wide and 35 metres high supported by neither columns nor girders. The dome is some 8cm thick, meaning that the ratio to its radius is less than that of a hen's egg.

The theatre has a capacity of just under 1,800, with a total area of 11,837 square metres and a volume of 294,340 cubic metres.

What to see

Novosibirsk - the unofficial capital of Siberia - is an excellent stopover for train travellers in search of rest and relaxation as they cross the continent.

Below are a few ideas, both within the city and also on a trip out to the satellite town of Akademgorodok, in the heart of pine forests

In summers - when it can be very hot - or in the extremely cold but sunny winters, the city is good for strolling, with plenty of pubs and cafes to wander into for those in need of a cooling, or warming, drink.

You’ll be pleased to see how many people speak good English.

Pervomaisky Park

A splash of green in the middle of the bustling city, at least in summer, with fountains and pleasant cafes.

Horse rides at weekends, with live music concerts.

Right opposite Novosibirsk City Hall at Lenin square.

Beaches

You may be bang smack in the middle of old Imperial Russia, and so about as far from the sea as you can get, but Novosibirsk boasts several notable beaches.

One is in the city, called Nautilus, on the west bank of the Ob River near the Tube Bridge - and gets crowded on hot summer days.

Or venture to the Ob Sea, a vast artificial lake created in 1957, and filled in 1959 near Akademgorodok, where university students chill out between lectures.

Novosibirsk Zoo

With more than 11,000 animals from 702 species - about 150 of them are from them World Red Book - Novosibirsk Zoo is a popular tourist attraction with almost a million visitors annually, and a noted scientific institution.

One of the largest in Russia, it boasts a world record in captive breeding programmes for endangered species.

Rostislav Shilo, Zoo’s Director since 1969, says that there are only two other self-supporting zoos in the world - in Singapore and in San Diego.

Akademgorodok, or Novosibirsk Scientific City

This is a satellite town, some 20 km to the south from the centre of Novosibirsk, amid enchanting woodland close to the Ob Sea. Accessible by local train or minibus from the city, too.

Set up in Soviet times by one of Russia’s greatest minds, mathematician Mikhail Lavrentyev, it allowed the young forward-thinking scientists who moved East from Moscow and St Petersburg a pleasant lifestyle, enabling them to work successfully.

It is home to 32 institutes and researching centres, the Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Novosibirsk State University.

Novosibirsk Railway Station

Reputed to be the largest train station in Russia, it takes an area of almost 30,000 m2, and can simultaneously host 4,000 passengers.

Novosibirsk Glavniy Train Station is designed like a steam engine, heading East, with interiors which one of the visitors described like: ‘Huge and decorated like a concert hall in Vienna...high ceiling, big chandeliers, the architecture - it is unique!’

Railway Locomotive Museum

This exceptional collection of brightly coloured historic engines and carriages, dating from pre-revolutionary times, is fascinating as much for the casual visitor as the railway fanatic.

You can climb into many of the old exhibits, and get a sense of the extraordinary Soviet locomotives that opened up Siberia in the age of steam.

From the city, you can get here by local train, perhaps combining a visit with sightseeing in Akademgorodok and at the Ob Sea.