Belarus Tour Guide: Ideas for Your Trip!

What to see in Polotsk: Majestic St Sophia, the treasures of St Euphrosyne, the book printing legacy of Francysk Skaryna and other sights of the oldest town of Belarus
Polotsk is worth visiting to feel the atmosphere of one of the first major towns of the Eastern Slavs, to stroll down the streets that keep secrets of centuries-old history, to see the legendary temples and listen to the organ of the famous St Sophia Cathedral… Polotsk has been included in the list of the main cultural, religious and tourist routes of the country...

What to see in Orsha: The city of monasteries, the college/prison and Korotkevich’s house
Dubbed as the eastern gate of Belarus, Orsha was first mentioned in The Tale of Bygone Years in 1067 under the name Rsha. Back then the Yaroslavich Triumvirate (the descendants of Yaroslav the Wise) invited Polotsk Prince Vseslav the Sorcerer and his sons for peace talks ‘to Rsha at Smolensk’. As soon as Vseslav crossed the Dnieper, he was treacherously captured, taken to Kiev and imprisoned…

What to see in Pinsk: Jesuit college, the oldest pipe organ and other attractions
Pinsk, one of the largest towns in southern Belarus, an ancient cultural, spiritual and historical center, has been known for more than nine centuries. It was first mentioned in chronicles on 5 November 1097. Pinsk was an influential town and always fascinated visitors by its beauty and uniqueness. Today the unofficial capital of the Polesie region is home to more than 160 historical sites which make up a unique urban ensemble. Pinsk yields only to the ‘royal city’ of Grodno in terms of the number of architectural monuments...

What to see in Borisov: Legendary battlefields of 1812, beautiful temples and the stadium of Belarus’ most decorated football club
This town is known far beyond Belarus. Football fans know it for Borisov BATE, the country’s most successful club, while history and travel lovers know it for the epochal events of 1812. Nearby there is a site of the decisive battle between the French army of Napoleon and the Russian army. The legendary crossing over the Berezina River claimed thousands of lives and became synonymous with disaster in the French language…

A must-see! “Outer space” landscapes of the Yelnya swamp
Bogs are called the “lungs of Europe”, “space on earth”, and even the “time machine” capable of carrying anyone thousands of years back...

What to see in Lida: Grand Duke Hiedymin’s castle, King Jahajla’s wedding, old brewery and open air festival
Lida’s most cherished heritage is the castle laid in 1323 by Grand Duke Hiedymin, the forefather of the legendary dynasty and the founder of Vilna, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Lida bastion is rightly considered unique because it was the first stone castle of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in Belarus. It also served as a prototype of another famous castle, which was built later in the town of Mir by Duke Yuri Ilyinich, the governor of Lida...

What to see in Nesvizh: A UNESCO World Heritage site and many other attractions
The legendary Nesvizh is worth seeing just for its magnificent 16th-century palace: a UNESCO World Heritage site, a former residence of the Radziwills, one of Europe's largest and most powerful families...

What to see in Gomel: Main tourist attractions and unsolved mysteries
At the end of the 18th century, the area around Gomel became part of the Russian Empire, and Catherine II awarded them to Count Piotr Rumyantsev. The Empress even earmarked money from the treasury to build a palace for him. The beautiful residence, which is the city’s architectural gem today, was built on the site of a wooden castle of the Czartoryski family, the former owner of the city. Over the years, the palace was rebuilt many times. With more new buildings added, the estate turned into one of the most impressive architectural ensembles of Eastern Europe. A great contribution to the development of the city and the residence was made by well-known diplomat and philanthropist Nikolai Rumyantsev, the renowned commander Ivan Paskevich and other representatives of the family…

What to see in Mogilev: Landmarks in the city over the Dnieper
The city on the banks of the Dnieper River, which received the mysterious name of Mogilev, holds a special place in the history of Belarus. Centuries ago it was a border fortress, a land of honorable dynasties, a major trading hub of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, a gubernatorial center. During the First World War it hosted the Supreme Commander's HQ (stavka) and the residence of Emperor Nicholas II. In the run-up to the Second World War, Mogilev nearly became the capital of Belarus...

History in open-air: Belarusian skansen museums that are worth visiting
They recreate either a nobility manor estate or a village with authentic buildings. Folk-museum artists wearing period costumes imitate villagers and teach tourists some crafts skills. And of course, here you can take part in an ethnic fest or a big festival and taste something delicious from the Belarusian cuisine...