We spent two days in the capital, Minsk on our Belarus road Trip, visiting some of the city’s top attractions. Here is my pick of the Top 10 Things to do in Minsk.
Note: From Minsk, we continued to the spectacular castles of Mir and Nesvizh, which are 60 and 68 miles south west of Minsk respectively. If you don’t plan to travel further afield, I recommend staying an extra night in Minsk and visit the castles as a day excursion.
How to get to Minsk
We flew from London to Minsk with Belavia Belarusian Airline, which is not currently an option. There are no direct connections between Belarus and Western Europe. Most flights are to Russia and Eastern Europe plus Turkey, Dubai, India and China.
National Airport Minsk is 25 miles to the east of the city centre. We took a taxi, which was relatively cheap (around £10). There is also an hourly bus service to Minsk Central Bus Station.
Getting around Minsk
Minsk is a fairly compact city, so we did all our sightseeing on foot.
Where to stay in Minsk
We stayed at the Hotel Minsk, the hotel of choice back in the day; built in 1959 in Stalinist classical style. The lobby is festooned with old photos – it’s rather like staying in a museum. The hotel is a bit jaded, but very clean and staff are friendly. The hotel is built on top of an underground shopping centre, which is useful, especially if yo visit in winter, as you can leave the hotel and go shopping or for dinner without actually going outside in the cold.
Minsk: Top 10 Things to do
| 1 | Visit The Holy Spirit Cathedral in lively Svabody Square |
| 2 | Take a peek at the Bolshoi Theatre |
| 3 | Reflect on the Island of Tears |
| 4 | Admire the Socialist Realist façade at KFC |
| 5 | Visit Hero City |
| 6 | Learn some history at the Museum of the Great Patriotic War |
| 7 | Enter through the City Gates |
| 8 | Stroll up Independence Avenue |
| 9 | Admire the architecture of Dinamo Stadium |
| 10 | See some art at the National Art Museum |
No 1 – Visit The Holy Spirit Cathedral in lively Svabody Square
Svabody Square is a pretty square decorated with flowers and silver sculptures.
The focal point of the square is the Holy Spirit Cathedral. There aren’t many buildings of age in Minsk – the city was pretty much destroyed during WW2 and rebuilt according to Stalin’s taste in the 1950s. The white 17th Century cathedral is one of very few old buildings to have survived.
No 2 – Take a peek at the Bolshoi Theatre
The National Opera and Ballet Theatre of Belarus, also know as the Bolshoi Theatre, is a grand concert venue in a park with fountains and statues.
No 3 – Reflect on the Island of Tears
The Island of Tears is an Afghan War Memorial on a small island. It depicts the sorrowful mothers and sisters of Belarusian soldiers who died in the war.
No 4 – Admire the Socialist Realist façade at KFC
My absolute favourite of all the buildings we pass is KFC, which has a spectacularly carved socialist realist façade – ironic juxtaposition at its finest.
No 5 – Visit Hero City
Hero City is home to the war museum. The focal point of this large complex is a 45 metre tall obelisk guarded by a trumpet wielding angel. Socialist realist art at its finest.
No 6 – Learn some history at the Museum of the Great Patriotic War
The succinctly named Belarusian State Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War documents World War II from a Belarusian perspective. It’s a fascinating place with plenty of original artifacts. It tells the story not only of the war in general, but with more personal stories – like a tank crewed by 3 Belarusian brothers who were all killed together.
You follow the exhibits up several floors until you reach a huge glass dome at the top; The Dome of Victory is designed to replicate the dome of Reichstag and remembers the almost 3 million Belarusians (a third of the population) who died during the war.
The museum is open daily except Monday from 10 am until 7 pm. Entry costs 11BYN (around £2.70).
No 7 – Enter through the City Gates
Opposite the railway station, you will find the City Gates. They’re not really gates, rather, identical tower blocks either side of the road. The only difference to their structure is that one houses a clock and the other a Coat of Arms. Also, one of them is now a KFC. Another of Stalin’s iconic buildings now home to a American fast food outlet – he must be turning in his grave!
No 8 – Stroll up Independence Avenue
Independence Avenue is the wide Stalinist boulevard (obviously during Stalin’s time it wasn’t called Independence Avenue) which runs the length of the city and contains most of Minsk’s main buildings. We start at the bottom of Independence Avenue at Independence Square, with its enormous Lenin statue, and work our way up.
No 9 – Admire the architecture of Dinamo Stadium
Just off Independence Avenue is the home of football team Dinamo Minsk, Dinamo Stadium. The stadium is a strange building, which looks like someone dropped a spaceship on top of an amphitheatre.
No 10 – See some art at the National Arts Museum
Next, the National Art Museum.
It’s not the best art I’ve ever seen.
To be honest, it reminds me of the art display put on at school each summer ready for the GCSE examiner – and not all those kids passed!
The museum is open daily except Tuesday from 11 am until 7 pm (1 pm until 9 pm on Thursday). Entry costs 10BYN (around £2.50).
- Trip taken: October 2019
- Updated: January 2025
I hope you found the above information useful. For more top picks from other destinations in the 50+ countries we have visited, check out my full Top 10 Things To Do list here.
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