Visit Perm – The Most Eastern City in Europe!
Wander from the well visited cities of Moscow and St Petersburg and embark on an adventure to the sixth biggest city in Russia – Perm. The destination has so much to offer tourists including a spectacular history, a variety of museums and a wealth of culture.
I travelled to Perm in June 2011 during the White Nights Festival and learned so much about the history, culture and attractions. Read about my trip below…
Accommodation – The Hotel Gabriel
The Hotel Gabriel was a great place to stay. The staff at the reception all spoke English and were eager to help whenever possible. The room I was given was relatively large and very comfortable. It had both a bath and a shower, which was a nice choice to have!
The hotel is situated just behind a busy street with stalls and performers, and presumably this only occurs when the White Nights Festival is on. This meant that there was a little noise at night, but didn’t cause any problems. The hotel was (roughly) only a 25 minute drive from the airport which is a decent transfer time. On arrival I was happy of this short transfer time due to the long day of travelling before.
The restaurant was located on the sixth floor of the hotel. The food was traditional and there was a good selection of options available- this was important as two of the group were vegetarians. WIFI was available in all rooms at no extra charge.
Apart from the Gabriel I would recommend the Astor and the Eurotel to clients. These were mini/boutique hotels and they too had a lot of character. If clients would prefer to stay in a larger hotel in the centre of Perm then I would recommend the Hotel Ural, the hotel maintained to retain a Russian feel while still being modern.
Excursions – Kungur Ice Caves, Perm 36 Gulag, Open Air Museum of Wooden Architecture
The excursions were really well organised with most of them being quite far out of town.
The Kungur Ice Caves were fantastic and the guide that took us round the caves was very knowledgeable. It was also handy that warm jackets were available for use at the excursion, as you can imagine it gets very chilly inside the ice caves! The caves themselves were extraordinary, especially the first Grotto which was completely covered in ice from the previous winter. It was a truly unique excursion, the kind of excursion that suits all ages and tastes. The fact that the caves are still shaping and moulding themselves with each change of season is phenomenal and something that I don’t think you will find accessible to people in many other places in the world.
The Perm 36 Gulag was a fascinating slice of history. As soon as you walk in you feel an atmosphere of oppression and you can only begin to imagine what so many people went through. The guide took us through each section of the camp and highlighted the areas of work, sleep and the section for ‘special prisoners’. Original artefacts from the various periods of the camp along with stories of certain prisoners of the camp was shown in the Gulag’s museum. To link the stories from the days of the Gulag to specific individual made the history of the camp come alive. This was truly one of the most memorable things I have ever seen in my life- and I will never forget it. The fact that it was turned in a mental asylum (and the majority of the local in the town used to live in the asylum) makes this all the more real. We would advise taking mosquito spray on this excursion during the summer months.
The Open Air Museum of Wooden Architecture was the third and final out of town excursion. This was interesting to see all of the wooden building from different periods of time, from fire stations to wooden houses to churches, they were all there. The nice thing about this excursion is that it was only a one hour drive outside of town but the views surrounding you were so beautiful. You could see a small town and lake on one side of the park and mountains and rivers at the other- truly picturesque and worth visiting just for the scenery!
Perm White Nights Festival
The White Nights Festival was interesting, but not what I was expecting! Rather than having an abundance of traditional artists and musicians dominate, the whole festival was very contemporary. When I say contemporary I mean that the majority of acts were aimed at the younger market e.g. Russian rappers and break dancers. Out with the acts on stage a number of museums had special exhibits on during the festival and a charming variety of street performers could be found in the main square.
One of the most interesting things about the festival was the fire show, which was ideally set down beside the river. After a short delay the fire show started and ended with a bang, musicians dressed in various costumes and a performer on stilts really made the show.
Highlights?
One of the main highlights of the trip for me was the local people of Perm. Because the city is not overwhelmed by tourists they are generally happy to interact with you and eager to help. This meant that I felt perfectly safe in the centre of the city (which is very rare when being in a foreign country). The city itself is rather nice and it is easy to make your way around town using the tram service.
I cannot emphasise how great the guides were, and how open they were to our suggestions of what to do, even though we did have a pretty packed itinerary! I enjoyed getting to know everyone of them and they are all so enthusiastic about the destination.
For more information about Perm and to plan your dream trip – contact IntouristUK!
