Going Out, Eating Out & Sightseeing in Barnaul

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... So...


Where to Eat in Barnaul: Restaurants & Cafes:
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...
Here's a list of our favourite places to eat in Barnaul:

"Mexico" Restaurant. An authentic mexican restaunt, all meals are cooked by the chef from Mexico, William. When I saw him in Barnaul I was really surprised thinking what could bring him so far - from hot and sunny Mexico to vast Siberia where colds go down to minus 30 in winter... But I understand, Barnaul is a nice place, and William enjoys promoting his home-country cuisine into the masses.
The decor is, as you could expect, Mexican, and there's an open terrace upstairs (that is covered in winter). Downstairs it's usually calmer, while upstairs hosts daily concerts by local flamenco guitarists (feel the exotics!) and is generally more "party" mood.
A meal costs about $5, a full dinner will not be more than $15 with a drink. The waiters are very helpful and there's a menu in English. Opened 10.00 to 2.00 daily.
Address: Barnaul, Lenina Prospekt, #44a. Telephone: (3852) 36-86-88


Granmulino Restaurant. A big entertainment center hosts "Garage" nightclub, a pool bar, Japanese sushi restant, Italian pizzeria and a 24-hour coffee house. Everything is very well made and decorated, this restaurant is favourite among students of Barnaul university (which is opposite across the road) and families who want to spend a nice afternoon out. A coffeeshop can be a good place to spend a few hours before an early train.
Pizzas are very good, cost about $5-$7, there are also nice pastas and good choice of desserts.
The interesting fact is that the pizzeria is opened by a successful local pasta producer "Altan", the company that makes pasta with the same name - "Granmulino".
Address: Barnaul, Peschanaya st., #83. Telephone: (3852) 36-36-00.


Stary Gorod Cafe. An open air cafe located just next to "Mexico" restaurant. Cheap fast-food and beer, a lot of people in evenings, you won't miss this place.
Address: Barnaul, Lenina Prospekt, #44a. Telephone: 36-86-88

Where to Go Out - Clubs in Barnaul & What's On:
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.
A good website to know what's on is Barnaul.Ru, or you can always get flyers for the most important events in Barnaul in "Depo" fashion store (Lenina, #58)

New: What's On in Barnaul

Pilot Club. This club was recently opened but already gained popularity with trendy young people. The club has three dancefloors and two bars: the ground floor is occupied by house music most of the time, the second floor is a more alternative playground (features hip-hop on Saturdays), and the

Photo © Pilot club

third floor plays Russian dance hits. Surprisingly, all this diversity doesn't become a mess and you have a unique chance of seeing three different types of entertainment and hear three different types of music. There's also a lounge with a cinema screen on the second floor, but quite often it is occupied. The people all seem to be nice, friendly and opened to meet new people. The entrance for special events is usually 100R ($3), however, sometimes it is free. There's a face control at the entrance, but if they see you're a foreigner, they'll be happy to let you in. There's also a music store on the 2nd floor, where you can buy a brand-new pirate drum'n'bass, house, techno, trance CDs — stock up for your journey to Altay.
What's On: Normally, the best days to club in Pilot are Friday, Saturday, and Sunday — that's when DJ spins his favourite house music and coolest people in Barnaul come to party. Promoter of the club complained to me that all foreigners come to Pilot for some reason on Wednesday and Thursday when there's retro (80s) music, which he personally doesn't like. DVD movie shows start daily at 19.00.
Address: Barnaul, Proletarskaya st., #76 (50 meters off Lenina Prospekt, just two blocks down from Rus hotel). Telephones: 1st floor - (3852) 658554, 2nd floor - (3852) 354606, Internet: http://www.club-pilot.ru/


Sightseeing & Museums:
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.