The first and only indoor water park in the city, located on Gagarin Avenue next to the Switzerland Park. The aquapark’s huge territory features various areas with water activities, including 17 water slides, half of which are for children. To take an example, here you can ride the extreme Royal Cobra, unique among indoor water parks in Europe, on a giant funnel with a water vortex, or a street slide with a space shuttle, or a twisted spiral. You can relax with the whole family in the wave pool, which has «storms» every hour, or take it easy in the calmer Lazy River. For the youngest visitors, there is the Frog House, a play area with slides, while for older children there is the Jungle Water Play complex, with a crocodile at its centre on which a barrel of water overturns. Nor do you have to be able to swim: almost all slides go into run-off channels rather than the pool, plus you can always borrow life jackets and buoyancy rings for free.
First opened in 1996, the Ariel factory inherited the traditions of the Gorky Children’s Toy factory, which was founded in 1936. A festive atmosphere is felt here all year round, but especially on the eve of New Year. If you take a factory tour, you will get to see the glassblowing workshop and the production of these amazingly beautiful toys, and you can also take part in a painting master class and even take the finished product home with you. The factory features a museum of the history of Nizhny Novgorod Christmas tree decorations, a factory shop where you can buy a Nutcracker or a product symbolising the year, and there is also a spectacular retro Christmas tree with nostalgic toys on clothespins, pioneers and corn.
On the city’s main pedestrian street you will find a toy museum which was created and is being constantly updated by Nizhny Novgorod artist Alexander Lavrov. Here you can see an extensive collection of toys from the Soviet period, which is aimed more at adults. Being here is like returning to the forgotten world of childhood: There are trucks from the 60s, plastic dolls, teddy bears, retro cameras and school uniforms familiar to every child who grew up in the USSR. It will also be interesting for modern children here: toys are toys, after all, and they will always be relevant. Besides, this is a great opportunity to see what their parents and grandparents played with once upon a time! Be sure to take a photo in the Soviet surroundings, and also send a postcard to your loved ones using museum mail.
The Nizhny Novgorod Puppet Theatre was founded in 1929 by the actors Tatiana and Georgy Yavorovsky. At first it was called the Petrushka Theatre, and the first performances included Stepka-Rastrepka, Little Black Tom, and Petrushka’s Exit. For many years, the theater did not have its own «home», so performances took place at different venues: in the House of Culture, the Theatre, the House of Arts. Since 1979, the theater has had its own building, with a facade stylized as a stage and curtain. On its central facade there is a composition with the figures of an organ grinder and a petrushechnik, while to the side there is the former name of the institution, the Gorky Puppet Theatre. An equally impressive setting awaits you inside: a fountain, bas-reliefs, and glazed ceramic vases.
The theatre’s repertoire includes classic productions for children, who start coming here from the age of three. Youngsters will love Kolobok, Teremok, Masha and the Bear, while schoolchildren will equally love The Golden Key, All Mice Love Cheese, and Flint.
The Puppet Theatre also has performances for adults. For example, the Divine Comedy tells the story of the creation of the world in an irreverent manner, while the colourful vaudeville Khanuma is dedicated to old Georgia, with its traditions, dances and songs. In addition to the theatre’s extensive repertoire, there is also a museum featuring puppet-stars of past productions and information about the theatre’s history, as well as creative meetings, excursions, and master classes where you can make a doll and even put on a small performance yourself.
The Technical Museum is a unique collection of antique equipment and tools curated by the Nizhny Novgorod collector Vyacheslav Khurtin. The museum has been held in private hands for many years, and now has more than two thousand exhibits dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries, including antique factory machinery, musical instruments, tricycles, clocks, oil lanterns and more. The peculiarity and charm of the museum is that most of the items in its collection can be touched with your hands. If you want to get to know their history, it is best to choose one of the many excursions that are held at the museum. For example, during the tour entitled The Art of Captured Sound, you will be shown the work of a musical organ and a gramophone, while the cinema lecture will show you unique films and tell you how slide projectors and stereoscopes with 3D pictures work.
The first private zoo in Russia, and one of the favourite places for children and adults alike to visit, the Limpopo Zoo has existed in Nizhny Novgorod for 20 years. It is always well-attended, and hosts a whole range of different events, including interactive exhibitions and workshops. Today, approximately 270 species of animals live there, including rare fish, birds and reptiles, and exotic flowers and trees grow on the territory of the Amazonia complex, which is a real jungle. Many animals — goats, sheep, rabbits and birds — can be hand-fed and even handled. There are also other attractions at the zoo: you can go to the retro car exhibition, or to the Back to the USSR museum of history and everyday life, which boasts over 10 000 exhibits! The zoo often holds promotions for visitors: for example, discounts in honour of the birthday of animals, or for those who dress all in white, as well as fun events like giraffe weddings!
The largest, and one of the most popular, forest parks in Nizhny Novgorod was founded 120 years ago by high school students and teachers. Back then it spread across only 2 hectares, but today it occupies around 170 hectares, a third of which is landscaped. For the city’s 800th anniversary, the park has been significantly updated: park pavilions, landscaped paths, children’s and sports grounds, an arboretum, and a food court have all appeared, as well as Planetarium No.1, with its huge dome, where you can work in a coworking space, read books in the library, or go to a great concert.
Children will definitely be interested in the wooden feeders where you can leave nuts, apples and seeds, and hand-feed the squirrels, or the insect hotels where insects can overwinter in safety.
Switzerland is a magnet for the whole family, a place where you can have a countryside picnic without ever leaving the city, go paragliding, listen to birdsong, see rare animals, and admire the wooded slopes of the Oka coast, while in winter you can also ride on the slopes or on an ice rink.
The Ferris Wheel on Sennaya Square is an affordable and spectacular attraction that has become one of the city’s newest places to go. From fifty metres up, you can enjoy a breathtaking view of the city: the broad expanses of the Volga, the cable car, the ski-jump, and the Kazan Вуысуте. There are 18 closed cabins, a VIP cabin where you can have a romantic dinner, and a brightly decorated cabin provided by VK Clips, which will appeal to young bloggers — here you can take cool shots for social networks! There is also a Roastberry coffee shop at the foot of the wheel, where you can buy popcorn, candyfloss and coffee, and recently Nizhny Novgorod’s first cyber cafe opened its doors, with sales robot Dunyasha, who will tell children a fairy tale, put on a song, and then take a selfie with you.
Central urban locations, whether they be the Kremlin or the Pokrovka, continue to be key public spaces where, in addition to entertainment for adults, there will also be interesting activities for children. Playgrounds are always available, free and crowded, and this is the best place to make new friends and get to know the city. Many of the most popular and unique playgrounds are located in the city centre, such as the detinets in the Kremlin near the Spruce Square, which resembles a fortress, the Krucha in the 800th Anniversary Park on the Fedorovsky Embankment, a real climbing centre, or on the bustling Markin Square. You will also find interesting sites in the city’s riverside districts, for example a game complex made of pipes and ropes at the Nizhny Novgorod Fair, or a ship platform on Strelka. In the Switzerland Park you will find as many as 11 playgrounds (including an inclusive one for children with special needs) with a variety of tunnels, hills, pipes and swings — a real adventure space for children!
