Discovering Tula: From Gingerbreads to Leo Tolstoy
Dear readers! I believe many of you find it interesting to travel around Russia, so in this article I`d like to share my experience of visiting Tula, where I was in August 2025 with my mom. Perhaps this story will help you plan your own route and inspire you to take a weekend trip. Tula is a fairly large city with a population of almost half a million people, located just three hours away from Moscow. It`s known not only for its famous gingerbread, but also for weapon-making, samovars, accordions, and, of course, the Tula Kremlin – the oldest building in the region, an architectural monument of the XVI century. In addition to its rich history, Tula is a great place to spend the weekend: it combines old streets, cosy cafes and modern art spaces.
Day one: getting to know the city
Upon arrival, the first thing we did was go to breakfast at the literary cafe Stiva. The name refers to the character of Leo Tolstoy`s novel Anna Karenina. The menu includes dishes for every taste, and, while waiting for the order, you can watch a movie or a TV series, as a projector is installed in the hall. That day they were showing a documentary about how Tolstoy`s granddaughter transported his belongings to Siberia during the war.
After a hearty breakfast a walk along the pedestrian Metallistov Street was a great way to start the day. In the morning it`s quiet there: the shops are closed, and people are just beginning to gather, but by lunchtime a real fair unfolds, where you can buy souvenirs, jewelry, and handmade crafts for yourself or as gifts for friends and relatives. Since everything was closed in the morning, we came back there later in the afternoon.
A five-metre monument to one of the main symbols of Tula – a samovar – has been erected on Metalistov Street. On the one side the masters engaged in its creation are depicted, and on the other side there are scenes of traditional Tula tea drinking. The most interesting thing is that the monument has interior lighting, which illuminates bronze sculptures in the dark, creating a cosy atmosphere. If you look closely, you can see that the valve of the samovar is a little worn, and all because it`s often touched for good luck by both locals and tourists.
Our next stop was Lenin Square. There`s a huge monument to the Tula gingerbread, the second symbol of the city. The bronze product looks like a real gingerbread – with a pattern, inscriptions and a familiar rounded relief. Its size impressed me: the monument was even taller than my mother, and she, by the way, is 170 centimeters tall. Almost all tourists stayed here – someone took pictures or just looked at the patterns, others tried to wrap their hands around the gingerbread, we also tried it, but it didn't work out.
The Tula Historical and Architectural Museum (TIAM) works in Tula, where many permanent exhibitions are presented. One of the most interesting is «Old Tula Pharmacy». In the early 1880s Ferdinand Belyavsky's pharmacy was indeed located in this building. It was known throughout Russia not only for its rich interior, but also for its high level of service.
Inside the museum I immediately felt as if I was in a real pharmacy of the XIX century with mirrored glass cabinets and large trading halls. Each showcase is dedicated to a separate topic: pharmacy dishes, medical instruments, old packaging and even recipes that were used to prepare medicines a couple of centuries ago. You can take a guided tour of the museum, but it's especially convenient to take an audio guide, as we did. So, you can go at your own pace, stay at interesting exhibits and listen to stories about how people were treated in the XIX century: by what means, what methods and what they believed in then.
In addition to the expositions, the museum hosts master classes, for example, on making soaps and perfumes. Here you can try yourself as a pharmacist or perfumer – mix aromatic oils, choose a base and create your own smell or a piece of soap as a souvenir. But to participate, you need to enrol in advance, because there were a lot of people who wanted to attend these activities.
Lunch was held in one of the restaurants of the Iskra art quarter. It's a cosy space where citizens walk, relax and just have a good time. There`re many places for every taste – from fast food to Italian or Mediterranean restaurants. I really liked the atmosphere in this cluster: light and friendly. There was music, street art, people were talking, someone was even dancing. We also found a photo booth there, where we took a couple of funny pictures as a souvenir – a little keepsake to remember Tula by.
And then it was the perfect time to return to Metallistov Street – the fair was in full swing. There was everything you could imagine: food, accessories, handmade mittens, wooden toys, gingerbread and many other types of souvenirs. We had a wonderful time wandering around and bought presents for everyone. Mum picked up a lovely little samovar-shaped figurine to remember the trip.
Our next point of the route after a small shopping was the Tula Kremlin – a monument of Russian defence architecture of the XVI century and the oldest building in Tula and the Tula region. This historical complex makes an effect on us not only with its architecture, but also with its rich cultural heritage. On the territory of the Kremlin there is a museum where you can learn a lot about the past of the region, a weapons museum, the Assumption Cathedral, striking in its beauty, and siege yards (restored huts where the inhabitants of Tula took refuge from enemy attacks). All together creates a vivid picture of the life and defence of the city in past centuries, immersing you in the atmosphere and giving you the opportunity to feel the importance of the Tula Kremlin.
To delve deeper into the culture of Tula we took part in a master class on making Tula gingerbread at the Gingerbread Museum because if you didn`t make a gingerbread with your own hands, you can assume that you weren`t in Tula. It took us a while to find the museum, so here`s a tip: it`s located in the Kremlin`s trading rows, on the right-hand side of the Pyatnitskiye Gates when you`re inside the complex.
During the master class, while we were preparing our gingerbreads, we learned about the history of this product, were given the recipe and heard about similar gingerbreads from other Russian cities and even abroad. While our creations were baking, we were treated to tea and biscuits – a very pleasant break. The process of making the gingerbread turned out to be much more fascinating than I expected. The most fun part was knocking the gingerbread out of the mould, when everyone did it at once, the room filled with cheerful noise and laughter. I was left with only positive impressions and a deep respect for the craftsmen who once spent entire days doing all this by hand. Experiences like this help you appreciate how much effort lies behind what may seem like a simple treat – a truly important part of Tula`s cultural heritage.
If you leave the Kremlin through the Water Gate, you`ll find yourself on the embankment of the Upa river. It`s a very inviting spot for both tourists and locals – a place where you can sit quietly, enjoy the view of the river and take a break from the bustle of the city. The atmosphere there was especially cosy, the kind you simply want to linger in and savour. We spent about two hours strolling along the embankment, taking pleasure in the natural setting and the sight of the water.
A perfect way to end the day was dinner at Svetski, a restaurant located in the city centre, not far from the embankment. If you happen to visit Tula in summer, be sure to choose a spot on the enclosed terrace – it`s beautifully decorated, and the stylish interior creates a special mood. All the dishes we tried were delicious and varied. By that time, I had already eaten plenty of gingerbread, but there`s always «place» for dessert. I especially recommend trying the crispy Napoleon with custard at Svetski – it`s truly delightful.
Day two: in the footsteps of Leo Tolstoy
It just so happened that by the time we travelled to Tula, I had finished rereading the novel Anna Karenina. So, one of the aims of the trip was to become more closely acquainted with the life and work of its author, Leo Tolstoy.
The second day was devoted to places connected with the writer. He was born and lived in Yasnaya Polyana, not far from Tula, and many memorial sites associated with his name have been preserved here. One such place is the monument erected in his honour in the city center.
After breakfast at the hotel, we set off for Tolstoy Square, where a seven-meter-high sculpture of the great writer stands. However, imagine my disappointment when we arrived – the square was fenced off and closed for renovation works. But such obstacles are not for us, I thought. After all, we hadn`t woken up at six in the for nothing, just to miss the chance to take a photo with the monument. My mother found a small passage used by the workers, and we carefully slipped through it to capture a few memorable shots.
On the opposite side of the street, on the site of a former liqueur and vodka factory that went bankrupt in the 1990s, there`s another art cluster of Tula – Likerka Loft, a place where visitors can relax and spend time in an interesting way. There you can see a sculpture to the flea shod by Lefty, the character of Nikolai Leskov`s famous tale, as well as the Samovar of wishes. We quickly went there, took a picture with graffiti depicting Leo Tolstoy and drove to the next point of the route, on the way to which there were simply incredible views of the boundless plains.
Our third destination of the day was the town of Shchyokino in the Tula region, where we visited the Shchyokino railway station – the place from which Leo Tolstoy set off on his final journey in 1910.
The most interesting thing, in my opinion, was the stylised stop of the Yasenki station (as the station was called earlier), complete with a ticket office and an early 20th-century passenger carriage. To see the train`s interior, you need to join a guided tour. Inside the station building there`s an exhibition dedicated to Tolstoy`s life and work. It tells about the key stages of his biography, his military service in the Caucasus and Crimea, and the writing process of such novels as War and Peace, Anna Karenina, Resurrection and others. After visiting the station, I was deeply moved – I had an unusual feeling, a realising that such a great writer once walked these very grounds.
Immediately afterwards we headed to the main goal of our trip – Yasnaya Polyana. Upon arrival, we had lunch at the cafe Prespekt located next to the ticket office of the complex. The cafe`s name refers to the main alley that leads from the gates of the estate straight to Tolstoy`s house. The menu features homemade-style dishes, but the most intriguing section includes meals prepared according to the recipes of Sofia Tolstaya, the writer`s wife. I highly recommend trying the Ankovo Pie – a cake with lemon cream made from a recipe belonging to Sofia`s grandmother`s relative, Lyubov Bers. The pie was so delicious that my mother decided to buy a copy of Sofia Tolstaya`s cookbook, which is sold in the museum shop.
To learn more about Yasnaya Polyana we took an excursion that began with a picturesque alley leading from the entrance towers to the writer`s house. We visited Tolstoy`s estate, where he lived for more than 50 years. But the tour doesn`t include visiting all the places, so we went around them on our own, and it was worth it. One of them is the manor of Nikolay Volkonsky, the writer`s grandfather, where temporary exhibitions are now taking place. Near the house there is a magnificent apple orchard – one of Leo Tolstoy's corners for walks in Yasnaya Polyana. Then we went further into the complex, which turned out to be the right solution, incredible views and a path leading to the writer`s favourite bench opened there. At that moment my mother got tired and decided to go back, but I went deeper and reached the well in the Birch Wedge. Water for the family was drawn from this well, and Tolstoy himself often came here to refill the supply.
For me one of the most amazing, mesmerising and touching places of Yasnaya Polyana was the writer`s grave. It`s unusual for its simplicity: a green hill on the edge of the ravine, without a tombstone and a cross. But it is the peace of the grave and the silence of the old forest that seem to tell a lot about Leo Tolstoy, about his view of life and death.
After visiting Yasnaya Polyana our small, but incredibly fascinating and enjoyable journey with my mother came to an end. Happy and refreshed we set off for home, continuing to reflect for a long time on Tolstoy`s life – the visit to this unique estate had moved us so deeply.
Dear readers, I want to say just one thing: travel and discover new places! It`s not only a wonderful opportunity to learn something new and enrich your inner world, but also a marvellous way to spend time with your close people, creating unforgettable memories together.
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