In Penza, public green spaces meet museums, a theatre and a pedestrian street with a history of its own. You can choose different focal points for your stay: from Belinsky Central Park to collections on the city’s history and art, and the Sura riverside promenade. If you plan to take a guided tour or visit a particular exhibition, check the latest information in advance.
Parks, zoo and riverside promenade
Belinsky Central Park dates back to a public garden established in 1821. The park has a health trail designed for relaxation and exercise, as well as the landscaped Olympic Alley. This gives you a choice of different park areas for spending time outdoors.
In Penza Zoo, avenues and paths connect the landscaped areas and are suitable for walks. The avenues are also used for horseback riding and outdoor games. The zoo preserves and breeds rare and endangered animal species. Animals visitors may see there include lions, tigers, jaguars, wolves, polar and brown bears, and fennec foxes. The selection of animals may change.
On the left bank of the Sura is a landscaped public riverside promenade, used both as a recreational space and for large events. The “Rostok” monument occupies a central place there and is considered one of the city’s symbols. The park, zoo and promenade offer different perspectives on Penza: green spaces and paths, wildlife viewing, or a public space by the river.
Art, city history and theatre
The Governor’s House is a historical and architectural monument. Before the Revolution, it served as the seat of the highest-ranking official in the governorate and his chancery. Since 18 May 2011, it has housed the second location of the K. A. Savitsky Art Gallery. The second floor displays paintings, graphic art, sculpture and applied art from the gallery’s collections, including works by the Penza art school. On the first floor, there is a hall about Penza created by the local history museum and a hall about Penza folk crafts created by the Museum of Folk Art. Exhibition details may change; check in advance what will be on display during your visit.
The preserved Meyerhold family estate also tells the story of the city: Vsevolod Meyerhold’s father, a well-known local merchant and wine trader, built it in 1881. The V. O. Klyuchevsky Museum offers a different perspective on a scientist’s life. Its exhibition is housed in two small wooden houses; Vasily Klyuchevsky lived in one of them from 1851 to 1861. The interiors illustrate the surroundings in which the future scientist’s worldview developed. The exhibition includes family keepsakes, documents about family relationships, autographs, editions of his works published during his lifetime, and books from his reading circle. The museum opened in 1991 to mark the historian’s 150th birthday.
The Museum of One Painting offers another exhibition format: after a film about the artist, the subject, the figures and the culture of their time, the painting is unveiled. Theatre enthusiasts can visit the “Teatr doktora Dapertutto” at the Meyerhold House Centre for Theatre Arts. It draws on Meyerhold’s experiments in the style of Commedia dell’arte; the auditorium has 60 seats. All the roles are performed by men. Check in advance which performances are currently on the programme.
Historic routes through the city
Moskovskaya Street was connected with the expansion of the trade and craft centre. At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, “Moskovskaya” became a street name in its own right. Today it is a pedestrian street with squares, green spaces, urban sculptures and a light-and-music fountain; it is also included in guided tours. Check in advance whether the tour is currently available and whether the fountain is operating.
A guided tour of the historic centre follows the boundary of the Penza fortress and includes, among other sights, the Monument to the First Settler, the Museum of One Painting, the Penza Art Gallery, Lermontov Square, Cathedral Square and the Spassky Cathedral. The route links places connected with the city’s history and art, without specifying how long a visit should take.
Another link to the fortress is the “Oboronitelny val Penzy XVII veka” memorial complex. It was built in 1980 on the remains of the earthen rampart that surrounded the wooden fortress from the 17th century. The rampart protected the fortress until the first third of the 18th century. During the complex’s reconstruction in 2020, a walking area was added, with steps leading from Kirov Street to the Spassky Cathedral.
Discover more destinations: Zarechny, Zasechnoye, Lopatino, Ramzay, Mastinovka, Beketovka, Dubasovo, Gorodishche.
For the regional travel overview: Penza Oblast.
