What to see

1. The Kazan Kremlin is a main attraction in Tatarstan. It's a huge complex that showcases a mixture of Russian and Tatar cultural traditions. The Kremlin encompasses a number of historically and architecturally important sites covering 1,500 square meters. Explore its defensive structures, the Governor's House, the Saviour Transfiguration Monastery and the Museum of Islam, among other sights.

2. The Temple of All Religions is a colorful religious complex. It embodies a combination of the religious traditions of Muslims, Jews and Russians, along with those of other cultures.

3. The Italian city of Pisa is not the only one to have a leaning tower. Russia can boast of its own contribution in these stakes with the Soyumbike watch tower. The spire of the structure deviates from the vertical by 1.98 meters. Historians still argue about its exact year of construction, but agree that it was built between 1645 and 1650. The tower is located in the northern part of the Kazan Kremlin and reaches a height of 58 meters.

4. One of the most spectacular attractions in the center of Kazan is the Palace of the Farmers, a building that harks back to earlier times in style but was completed only in 2010. From the northern wall of the Kazan Kremlin, the panoramic view of the palace and the embankment of the Kazanka River is amazing.

5. The Zakabannaya Mosque is dedicated to the adoption of Islam. Despite the fact that it was erected during the period of official atheism in the days of the Soviet Union, it became renowned as a place where the Tatars could come together.