

| Flights to Novosibirsk | |
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After Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk is Russia’s third largest city and is the largest city in Siberia. It’s on the Trans-Siberian Railway and has several tourist attractions including its world renowned zoo.
The airport for flights to Novosibirsk is the Novosibirsk Tolmachevo Airport (airport code: OVB), located in the nearby town of Ob. It's approximately 16 kilometres away from Novosibirsk. You can get a flight to Novosibirsk from South Africa with either Emirates Airlines or South African Airways that has 2 stops, first in Dubai and then again in Moscow. Turkish Airlines makes transfers in Istanbul and then Moscow. The average flight to Novosibirsk will take around 26 hours, when coming from Johannesburg. |
| Novosibirsk was founded in 1893 as a terminal for the Trans-Siberian Railway as a new bridge was being built over the River Ob at this site. Once the bridge was opened in 1897 the city began to grow as more and more people and businesses were attracted here. Novosibirsk again had another boost when the Turkestan-Siberian Railway was completed in the early 20th century as this connected Novosibirsk with Central Asia and the Caspian Sea. The city was originally named Novonikolayevsk but renamed Novosibirsk in 1926. The name translated into English means New Siberian City.
When visiting Novosibirsk you’ll find there’s plenty of public transport here as the city has a well developed infrastructure. It was the first in Siberia for example to build a metro system, and the Novosibirsk Metro has been open since 1985. The Metro is an affordable and fast way of getting around the city centre, though doesn’t spread out from the centre too far. The Novosibirsk Zoo The Novosibirsk Zoo is by far the biggest attraction of the city as well as being a world renowned scientific institution. The zoo expanded considerably after the turn of the century to become one of the biggest in Russia and is popular with tourists and locals. There are over 4,000 species of living creatures here and the zoo is actively working to help protect 32 different endangered species. The Centre of Novosibirsk In the city centre of Novosibirsk there are several landmarks and cultural attractions. Lenin’s Square is a prominent landmark with its statue of Lenin, while bordering the square are two cultural institutions; the Opera and Ballet House where you might catch a performance. A short distance from Lenin Square is the point that marks the exact centre of the former Soviet Union; of course now this has changed as the Soviet Union broke up but the point is marked with the small and attractive Nikolai Chapel (St Nicholas Chapel) all the same. Novosibirsk has several museums to visit too including the Novosibirsk Art Museum and the Local Studies Museum. |