Volgograd city, Russia

The description is based on data from November 2017.

Contents

How To Choose Accommodation For FIFA World Cup 2018
What If I Cannot Book Accommodation In Volgograd?
Food
   Cafeterias
   Restaurants with table d'hôte
   Restaurants

How To Choose Accommodation For FIFA World Cup 2018 ↑

Volgograd is among the cities hosting FIFA World Cup in 2018. The games will be held at Volgograd Arena stadium which is under construction now.

 

I want to tell about factors that should be taken into account when choosing accommodation. They are city length and traffic congestion. Volgograd is one of the world's longest cities and it becomes congested during rush hour. Its Krasnoarmeyskiy district is the most distant from the city center and can be regarded as a separate town from which getting to the stadium may take a considerable amount of time. Therefore, in order not to be late for the matches, you need to choose the right place to stay.

Booking a hotel or an apartment within walking distance of the football venue would be your best bet. Of all the hotels that I know there are two near Volgograd Arena: Hilton Garden Inn and Turist. Both are about 1 km 200 m from the stadium and 10 minutes to walk to but Hilton is preferable for other reasons. It is closer to the city center. A stone's throw from it is Europa City Mall where you can buy food including ready meals and many other useful things. Proximity to the city center and the mall will give you more freedom in choosing where to go for food, be it fast food kiosks or restaurants. Nearby there is Volgograd – Baku Friendship Park which I consider a good place to walk. Your way to the stadium will be through this park. There are no such amenities near Turist, at least now. At 600 meters from Hilton, there is a good Pervoe, Vtoroe i Kompot cafeteria, in which they prepare delicious food and in which I often have dinner. Average cost for complete dinner in this cafeteria is 160 – 200 rubles. A little further there is another cafeteria called Cafeteria #1. I also many times had dinner in it and recommend visiting it.

 

Now let us consider hotels that are not within walking distance of the stadium. There is some ambiguity because people have different preferences, some like to walk, others do not. Just in case, I will provide distances from hotels to the stadium. It is better to begin our consideration with the hotels located near the Volgograd Metrotram line. The advantage is that Volgograd Arena is also located on this line and the streetcar system is not affected by traffic congestion. But there is a catch: the streetcars will for sure be crowded so you will have to go out in advance.

There are three hotels in the center of the city near Komsomol'skaya station: Park Inn By Radisson (4.5 km to the stadium, 850 m to the station), Intourist (4.15 km to the stadium, 380 m to the station) and Volgograd (4.32 km to the stadium, 630 m to the station). Radisson is the nearest to the Railway Terminal but it is further than the others from the Metrotram station and stores. In this respect, Intourist and Volgograd are more convenient. Not far from these three hotels there are City Garden Amusement Park and Komsomol Garden Park.

 

Oktyabrskaya hotel is located next to City Garden Amusement Park and Komsomol Garden Park which means you will be able to sit on a bench among trees or in a restaurant or go on rides. The hotel is 4.7 km from the stadium and 970 m from Pionerskaya station.

 

Yuzhniy hotel is 6 km from the stadium and 390 m from Profsoyuznaya station.

 

What If I Cannot Book Accommodation In Volgograd? ↑

It may happen that because of great demand all rooms will be already booked before you apply for the accommodation. Don't get upset – you can try several inhabited localities near Volgograd. Here is a list of them:

Volzhsky (Volzhskiy). The city is located close northeast of Volgograd. It has good transport links with Volgograd. The distance from Volzhsky's bus station to Volgograd Arena is about 22 km.

Svetly Yar (Svetlyy Yar) is an urban locality 6 km east of Krasnoarmeyskiy district of Volgograd. The distance to the stadium is about 52 km. (Do you remember that Volgograd is very long?)

Novyy Rogachik is an urban locality west of Volgograd. The distance to the stadium is about 40 km.

Food ↑

I think that breakfasts will be included in the price of the hotel room but having dinner and supper in the hotel is not a good idea because of too high prices. So it is better to have other meals somewhere else. Luckily, there are many places in Volgograd where you can have food. Further in the text, there is a list of such places. I have eaten in all of them and recommend visiting them. The cheapest food you can find in cafeterias. Low prices do not mean poor quality of the food. On the contrary, their food is as it is cooked at home. All cafeterias are self-service that means that you have to get food at the counter. Some of them allow leaving dishes on the table after the meal. Cafeterias usually close at 17:00 so don't go there close before this time because there is already not much choice. The average cost for a dinner for one person is 150 – 230 rubles.

Cafeterias ↑

Of all the cafeterias I have been to, Ostrovok Vkusa is the one I would recommend in the first place. Why? It is open 7 days a week from 8:00 (10:00 on Sundays) to 21:30 (21:00 on Sundays). Their food is good. There is a pastry department. In the mornings and evenings a discount of 10% and 20% respectively is applied to the pastry. A dinner for one person will cost about 230 rubles.

 

Vkuslyandiya Cafeteria is the nearest to the Volgograd Arena stadium. It is open every day from 10 to 18. The only disadvantage is that it is located far from crosswalks.

Pervoe, Vtoroe i Kompot Cafeteria and Cafeteria #1 are located near to each other and within walking distance of Hilton Garden Inn. I often have dinner in the first.

 

Volgograd State Technical University's Cafeteria. This is a student cafeteria but everyone can come and eat there. The place is controversial because of sometimes dirty flatware, rarely wiped tables, but the food is delicious there.

Restaurants with table d'hôte ↑

Dinners in restaurants are more expensive than in cafeterias but at dinner time some of them suggest table d'hôte at lower prices.

Chaikhana Baklazhan.This is a Tajik cuisine restaurant in which every day from 12 to 15 table d'hôte is served for 199 rubles. You may choose from the menu two dishes, tea, and a flatbread.

Restaurants ↑

Meals in restaurants may be 1.5 – 4 times more expensive than in cafeterias depending on the restaurant. The cheapest one I have visited is Chaikhana Baklazhan. A dinner for one person is not as expensive even if eaten not during table d'hote time. Remember only, that it is a Tajik cuisine restaurant and some of you may want something more traditional.

 

Another establishment named Art Cafe Zhaba Dushit is located in the center of Volgograd on one side of its main street Prospect Lenina (Lenin Avenue) which leads to the stadium. It is very close to the Komsomol'skaya station and 3.5 km from the stadium. The Cafe is very atmospheric with good food and service. The average cost of a dinner is 500 – 1000 rubles for one person.

Mamayev Kurgan memorial complex may be the most famous city object built to commemorate The Battle of Stalingrad. The interior of Blindage Restaurant, which is located on Mamayev Kurgan, its flatware, waitress clothes recreate the atmosphere of the Battle. A dinner for one person will cost about 1300 rubles.