Two of Kazan's best evening strolls. Below the Kremlin, a long riverside promenade follows the Kazanka to the Millennium bridge. Across town, boardwalks ring Lake Kaban beside the Old Tatar Quarter, where fountains dance to music after dark.
Kazan is built where the Kazanka river meets the Volga, and around a chain of lakes. In recent years both have been given long, landscaped waterfronts that come alive on summer evenings.
The Kazanka embankment runs below the walls of the Kremlin, with the Kul Sharif mosque and the leaning Söyembikä tower above. A flat promenade with cafés, bike hire and benches continues upstream to the Millennium bridge, with its tall M-shaped pylon, and on along the river. Across the water, the cauldron-shaped Kazan Family Centre has an observation deck. In winter it is a kilometre-long skating rink with lights and music.
Lake Kaban, a chain of three lakes south of the centre, has a rebuilt boardwalk embankment along the Lower Kaban, beside the Old Tatar Quarter with its wooden houses and mosques. In the evening, a light-and-music fountain show plays on the water. Legend says the khan's treasure lies in the mud.
Do one at sunset and the other the next evening, or link them via Bauman Street.
Start at the Kremlin's river side, below the white walls and the Kul Sharif mosque, and head downstream or upstream along the embankment.
Walk upstream past cafés and lawns to the Millennium bridge, built for the city's thousandth anniversary in 2005. Return at dusk for the lit-up Kremlin.
Start among the wooden houses and mosques of the Old Tatar Quarter, and walk down to the Lower Kaban.
Follow the boardwalks and terraces along the lake. After dark, stay for the fountain show of lights and music.
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Both walks start in the centre: the Kremlin metro station for the Kazanka, and Tukay Square or the Old Tatar Quarter for Lake Kaban.
The Kazanka embankment becomes a long illuminated skating rink in winter, with skate hire. Dress for real cold.
Walk between the two along pedestrian Bauman Street, past the Epiphany bell tower, with a stop for Tatar pastries.
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