Grodno (Belarusian: Hrodna, Russian: Grodno) is a city in Belarus, on the Neman River, close to the borders of Poland and Lithuania (about 20 km and 30 km away respectively).
This is a very pleasant town, with a nice pedestrian area and central square worth a visit, but it may remind you more of western Europe than the former Soviet Union until you get out of the center. There are still some interesting remnants of the Soviet era which might be hard to find elsewhere, such as Lenin statues or some street names.
Kalozha Church. A 12th-century Orthodox church, one of the few surviving monuments of the Old Rus period in the country.
St. Francis Xavier Cathedral. A fine Baroque basilica, once a church of a Jesuit monastery, now the city's Roman Catholic cathedral.
Old Hrodna Castle. The present appearance of this royal residence was mostly shaped in 16th century, when it was renovated in Renaissance fashion for King Stephen Bathory. Only a few elements of the previous Gothic castle survive.
Fire Tower. The old Fire Tower built at the end of 19th century. Every day at midday a trumpeter dressed in historic costume goes 120 stairs up and plays a tune on the top of the tower. Interestingly, a fresco on the tower has a lady with the face of Mona Lisa.
Hrodna Zoo. Hrodna Zoo is next to the railway station. It was the first Belarusian Zoo, opened in 1927. There are over 300 kinds of animals in the Zoo nowadays: predators, small predators, hoofed animals, birds and a terrarium. Total area is 5.35 ha.
Kalozha Church. A 12th-century Orthodox church, one of the few surviving monuments of the Old Rus period in the country.
St. Francis Xavier Cathedral. A fine Baroque basilica, once a church of a Jesuit monastery, now the city's Roman Catholic cathedral.
Old Hrodna Castle. The present appearance of this royal residence was mostly shaped in 16th century, when it was renovated in Renaissance fashion for King Stephen Bathory. Only a few elements of the previous Gothic castle survive.
Fire Tower. The old Fire Tower built at the end of 19th century. Every day at midday a trumpeter dressed in historic costume goes 120 stairs up and plays a tune on the top of the tower. Interestingly, a fresco on the tower has a lady with the face of Mona Lisa.
Hrodna Zoo. Hrodna Zoo is next to the railway station. It was the first Belarusian Zoo, opened in 1927. There are over 300 kinds of animals in the Zoo nowadays: predators, small predators, hoofed animals, birds and a terrarium. Total area is 5.35 ha.
Great Synagogue.
- Bike. The relatively flat and beautiful landscape around Grodno present a good place to bike. When planning your biking trip, use OpenStreetMaps based app, such as mapy.cz, as these seem to have the best coverage.
Booze (especially vodka), cigarettes and petrol are the most popular items for visitors from the west. These are much cheaper than in Poland or Lithuania due to the small excise duty. Also other articles are cheaper, but not that remarkably. You can find numerous large wester style shopping malls in Grodno and surrounding area. When buying petrol, there is no need to look for the best price, as these are the same at all petrol stations. Also, you have to bay for you petrol before fueling. If your tank got full before you could spend all the money paid in advance, go back to the petrol station and ask them to get your money back. No language skills are needed for this, as the petrol station staff will understand what you want.
Be sure not to exceed the import duty. From outside the EU (Belarus), you can import only 10 packages of cigarettes, 1 liter of booze and only the petrol that fits into your car tank, no canisters allowed. Of course, you can bring more if you are willing to fill the declarations form and pay some tax. You can see a lot of people smuggling excess amounts of these articles, but this can not be recommended, as the border controls are sometimes quite thorough.
Rynok Korona, ulitsa Maksima Gorkogo 91. A huge supermarket in Wallmart style, conveniently located on the way to Lithuania
Rynok Korona, ulitsa Maksima Gorkogo 91. A huge supermarket in Wallmart style, conveniently located on the way to Lithuania
- Bolshoy Bufet, Sovetskaya ulitca 18 (On fourth floor off a mall building, on the city main boulevard, +375(152)77-17-80. 12:00-23:00. A popular self-catering restaurant offering European and Belarusian food. Be sure to put the right food on the right plate - watch the other people and do the same.
Bolshoy Bufet, Sovetskaya ulitca 18 (On fourth floor off a mall building, on the city main boulevard, +375(152)77-17-80. 12:00-23:00. A popular self-catering restaurant offering European and Belarusian food. Be sure to put the right food on the right plate - watch the other people and do the same.
- Retro Pizza, 31 Sovetskaya St (Follow the long pedestrian street down from the main square. Near Lenin Square. Good pizzas here. The menu is only in Russian, but some staff speak English, and some dishes (not the pizzas) have pictures to point to.
- Pizza Kofe, 15 Kirova St, +375 15 272 2229. Good pizza and poor coffee. 6.50 rubles for medium pizza and 8.50 rubles for big one.
Retro Pizza, 31 Sovetskaya St (Follow the long pedestrian street down from the main square. Near Lenin Square. Good pizzas here. The menu is only in Russian, but some staff speak English, and some dishes (not the pizzas) have pictures to point to.
Pizza Kofe, 15 Kirova St, +375 15 272 2229. Good pizza and poor coffee. 6.50 rubles for medium pizza and 8.50 rubles for big one.
EU citizens be careful, as the free roaming area ends here and instead begins an area with extremely expensive roaming, so it might be better to switch off you mobile connection if you are not planning to buy a local SIM card.
Some restaurants feature free Wi-Fi, but this is not as common as in the EU.
Grodno is a safe city, resembling its Polish counterparts much more than you would probably expect.
- Lithuania Lithuania https://consulate-grodno.mfa.lt/
- Poland Polish Consulate General in Grodno, Budionnego 48A (Near the Railway station, +375 152 751 590. M-F 08:30-16:30. They might be able to help you if you are an EU citizen and something horrible happens, such as your car dies during a visa-free trip.
Lithuania Lithuania https://consulate-grodno.mfa.lt/
Poland Polish Consulate General in Grodno, Budionnego 48A (Near the Railway station, +375 152 751 590. M-F 08:30-16:30. They might be able to help you if you are an EU citizen and something horrible happens, such as your car dies during a visa-free trip.
- Białystok
- Druskininkai
Belarus side of Augustow Channel. 30 km away from Grodno, near the Sapotskin village and near the Polish border, you can visit the still functional Augustow Channel, with interesting drawbridges and sailing chambers. In summer, this place gets quite lively, and you can even get here by boat from Poland. From Grodno, you can get here by bike or car.