Wooden Arkhangelsk
Wooden buildings are being gradually moved out of the city, but still Arkhangelsk contains many sections of such 1-2 floor houses. Some of them look beautiful, others are more like slums, but anyway wooden Arkhangelsk is a certain point of interest and worth a walking visit. Even some sidewalks are still made of wood, crunching under feet. Most beautiful and well-maintained wooden buildings are concentrated at Chumbarova-Luchinskogo street улица Чумбарова-Лучинского which is planned as a "museum street" by the city authorities.
City Center:
Arkhangelsk had been founded in 1584, but until 20th century nearly all buildings were wooden. That is why there are not so many examples of old architecture here. Outside of the center buildings become very typical, but the core part of the city has some diversity.
Orientation is easy from Lenin Square, where the only Arkhangelsk's skyscraper is built. This 24-floor administrative building is seen from many parts of the city and can act as a lighthouse for a traveller. Streets called ulitsa улица are positioned perpendicularly to the river, those are called prospekt проспект are parallel to the river. Area of interest is limited by Dvina's embankment Naberezhnaya in the west, Kuznechevsky Bridge in the north, Obvodny Kanal prospekt in the east, and the Sea and River Station Морской и Речной Вокзал in the south. Most of attractions e.g. views, buildings, museums, restaurants, theatres etc are located within this shape.
Northern Dvina's embankment and around
Arkhangelsk is the theme of Russian 500 roubles banknote, and walking through the embankment you can find all the sites printed on it. For example, the monument of Peter The Great photo below. Other monuments are generally belong to Soviet period, including the canonical Lenin's monument at the relevant square. There is also a couple of interesting churches around Naberezhnaya, including the former German Kirche now used as city concert hall. River views and ships also compensate Arkhangelsk's architectural scarsity. Most of Arkhangelsk's street events are organized at Naberezhnaya, in summer the embankment is the favorite place of walking for locals. To find places for eating / drinking go to Troitsky prospekt. Natural history museum and the gallery of arts are located at Lenin Square.
Outside of center:
Solombala Island (Соломбала)
Northern Dvina's delta is full of flat islands, several of them form parts of Arkhangelsk, and Solombala is the most known of such parts. Traditional port district, it's filled with the mixture of old wooden houses and modern blocks, unkempt, but colorful. Arkhangelsk competes with Veliky_Ustyug to be called the home of Ded Moroz Farther Frost, Russian version of Santa, and in Solombala you can find "Ded Moroz's village": a kind of entertainment area with Russian traditional facilities for family leisure like winter snow-coasts for kids.
Malye Korely (Малые Корелы)
An open-air museum of Russian North's wooden architecture. The museum area is situated on the high bank of a small picturesque river and is filled with impressive wooden houses, churches etc. Malye Korely is claimed to be the European-largest open-air architectural museum. Located in a village just outside the city, it's an easy target for a day or a half-day trip. You can also stay there for a night or two in a recently built hotel complex performed in traditional Russian style. Winter gives the opportunity of skiing and sledging in Malye Korely rent of equipment is possible. The easiest way to reach Malye Karely is to catch a taxi, but you can also try to go by a local bus No. 104 from Sea and River Station Морской и Речной Вокзал.