Weather
The climate in Brest is temperate continental, reminiscent of Moscow.
It rains frequently throughout the year. Summer is warm, the average daytime temperature is about +19 °C. July is considered the warmest and rainiest month. June and August are a little cooler and less rainy. Winters are mild, with frequent thaws. The average winter day temperature is −3°C. Snow usually falls in late December and melts in early March. It is better to come to Brest from May to September, when it is warm and clear. More information about the weather in Brest
Transport
Brest's public transport network includes about 10 trolleybus and 50 bus routes, as well as many minibuses going in different directions. The best way to navigate the city is with a map or guidebook. The cost of travel on buses and trolleybuses is 0.55 BYN, tickets are sold at Brestgortrans kiosks at bus stops or in newspaper stands. You can also buy a ticket from the driver, but it will cost a little more: 0.6 BYN. The fare on commercial route No. 50, connecting the Tsvetotron and Adamkovskaya stops, is 0.50 BYN. A ten-day pass for one type of transport costs 6.30 BYN, for both - 8.50 BYN. You can ride a minibus for 0.6 BYN. Since 2022, it has become possible to pay for a trip using a smartphone - you need to buy a ticket in the application and redeem it when boarding the transport.
Another convenient way to get around the city is a taxi: you can catch one on the street, but it’s easier to call one by phone or via the Internet. For landing you will need to pay from 2 BYN, for each km - 0.4-0.6 BYN.
If you want to change your four-wheeled vehicle to a two-wheeled one, rent a bicycle. Rental points are located throughout the city, half an hour of skiing will cost from 2 BYN, 2 hours - from 7 BYN, 4 hours - from 12 BYN. The city has paths and bicycle parking.
Sights of Brest
Start your tour of the city from the Brest Fortress. This is the main attraction of the city; it preserves the memory of the first days of the Great Patriotic War and the heroic resistance of Soviet soldiers, who were the first to take on the Nazi attack on June 22, 1941.
Kholm Gate of the Brest Fortress
On the territory you can see the restored ruins of the fortress, a moat, and a memorial. And around there is a beautiful park with a quiet, calm atmosphere. You cannot pass by the Monument of Courage - a 36-meter stone bust of a warrior. This is a monument to everyone who gave their lives but never surrendered to the enemy.
Monument "Courage"
The Brest Fortress Defense Museum is located in a former barracks. Here you can see real samples of weapons, documents, photographs of defenders, paintings, military uniforms, and models of the Brest Fortress.
The Berestye Museum is also open on the territory of the fortress, where the exhibits are much older. It is dedicated to the life of the ancient Slavs. Here you will see 28 wooden houses from the 13th century, two wooden pavements, a palisade and more than 42 thousand other artifacts that were found during excavations.
Archaeological site of a wooden town of the 13th century in Berestye
After visiting the museums, take a walk along the main pedestrian street of Brest - Sovetskaya. Residents of the city love it very much, because it is here that there are most beautiful buildings and cozy cafes. Since 2009, Sovetskaya Street has been illuminated by 17 vintage kerosene lanterns. Every day they are lit and extinguished by the same lamplighter, the only one in Belarus. This mesmerizing action takes place at sunset. The exact time will be told to you by the special clock “Lamp Lighting Time,” installed at the beginning of Sovetskaya Street, near Masherov Avenue. They say that if you make a wish and rub one of the buttons on an old lamplighter's uniform, it will definitely come true.
Clock on Sovetskaya Street
Visit the famous alley of lanterns on Gogol Street, opened in honor of the anniversary of the liberation of the city from fascist invaders. There are 41 lights along the alley, all of which were installed by local businesses. And since the alley is located on Gogol Street, there are also “literary” lanterns: depicting the devil from the book “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka”, the praying Khoma Brut from “Viy” and other characters from Gogol’s works.
Lantern with a sculpture of an angel on Gogol Street
If you have time, be sure to explore the Brest railway station building. It is tall and majestic, like a palace. And, by the way, Brest Station is one of the largest in Belarus.
The main attractions of Brest with descriptions and photos
Brest – the heroic city of Belarus
The Brest region extends across the southwest of our country. It neighbors Poland and Ukraine. This explains the peculiarities of the local dialect. The region consists of 16 districts and 3 cities of regional subordination: Brest, Baranovichi, Pinsk. The population of the capital of the Brest region is slightly more than 340 thousand inhabitants. Considering the geographical location of the city on the border with the Republic of Poland, Brest is a large transport terminal. There are three customs checkpoints near it, major transport routes pass through the city, such as E30 (Berlin-Warsaw-Brest-Minsk-Moscow), and there is also a river port on the river in the settlement itself. Mukhavets.
Pages of the history of the city of Brest
The territory of the Brest region has long been inhabited by Slavic and Baltic tribes. It alternately joined the states of that time: the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Russian Empire, and the Polish Republic. The current outlines of the Brest region were assigned to it only in 1954.
The Brest region represents a colorful and outstanding layer of cultural heritage of Belarusians. You can see this with your own eyes, because there are about 30 museums here. Each of the museums is interesting in its own way. For example, the museum “Saved Art Treasures”
is the only museum in Belarus where works of art and rare items that were seized by customs officers in Brest are exhibited.
Along with museums, the following monuments of historical and cultural heritage are of great interest: Brest Fortress, Belovezhskaya Pushcha, Kamenets Tower, Puslovsky Palace, Ruzhany Palace, Suvorov Museum.
Brest Museum of Rescued Valuables
This unusual museum, which has no analogues in the whole world, was opened several years ago by customs officers who confiscate jewelry from thieves every day. Today there is something to see and be surprised by.
Initially, the museum consisted of several modest-sized rooms, but now as many as 10 thematic rooms are open and operating on a permanent basis.
The real pride of the Museum of Saved Valuables is the collection of expensive icons from the 16th and 17th centuries.
Section 4. Defense Museum
Another unique attraction of Brest is the Defense Museum. It was opened quite a long time ago, in 1956, in the Citadel barracks.
Now the establishment occupies an area of approximately 1000 m2. Since its creation, the institution has created special funds with exhibits transferred directly from leading museums in Russia.
In 1959 he became a member of the International Association of Military History Museums. After all military units without exception were removed from the fortress in the above-mentioned year, entrance to the museum became accessible and free.
Nowadays, thematic exhibitions are constantly created here and excursions are held.
Celebrities
Yakov Grommer, a famous scientist and Einstein’s assistant, was born in Brest. And also the Prime Minister of Israel, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Menachim Begin. Eduard Hanok, the author of the hits “Lie down, lie down”, “Robin” and many others, graduated from Brest school. The famous composer and singer Igor Kornelyuk comes from Brest. As well as the parodist Elena Lebenbaum, whose stage name is Sparrow. Vice-president of the Lukoil concern Sergei Kukura is also a Brest resident by birth. Olympic champion Yulia Nesterenko, a white lightning who won the 100-meter dash at the Athens Olympics in 2004, was born and lives in Brest. Alexander Moshensky, who headed the top 25 businessmen of Belarus in 2022 (owner of the Santa Impex Brest assets, the Santa Rest restaurant chain, the Santa retail, shares in distribution and retail, Savushkin Product, Russian Sea) also lives in Brest.
Where to stay
It is better to book a hotel room in advance. In the center there are the hotels “Vesta”, “Intourist”, “Bug” (there is a museum of Vladimir Vysotsky here - in the room in which he lived), “Belarus”, “Hermitage”, “Energy”. There is a hostel “Brest-Central” on Sovetskaya Street. Hotel "Silver Thaler" is located near the train station. The hotel of the Rynkovka complex is located outside the city near the road to Vysokoye.
Communications and Wi-Fi
The main Belarusian mobile operators are Velcom, MTS and Life. You can connect a SIM card at company offices located in shopping centers, supermarkets, train stations and other public places.
Payphones are installed throughout Brest. Telephone cards with denominations from 30 to 480 tariff units are sold in post offices and newsstands, the price is 1.2-3.85 BYN. Calls within the CIS cost from 56 tariff units per minute.
Free Wi-Fi is available in hotels and restaurants located in the city center. In many public places you can connect to the Internet using Beltelecom prepaid cards.
City railway station
The city of Brest, whose sights really deserve special attention, amazes its guests literally from the first minutes after arrival. Why? The thing is that the Brest railway station, opened in 1869, is deservedly considered not only one of the oldest buildings in the city, but also the largest transport point in Belarus.
Today it is engaged in servicing both international long-distance trains and commuter routes.
By the way, not everyone knows that the station once became the first fully electrified building of the Russian Empire.
Not so long ago, in 2010, the institution underwent a large-scale overhaul. Now this is a completely European establishment, there are spacious cafes, spacious storage rooms and several currency exchange offices.
What to bring from Brest
From Brest you need to bring knitwear, which is sewn by well-known (Nelva, Dioma) and not so private companies. Knitwear is sold in company stores, as well as at the “Old City” market and the shopping center on Krasnogvardeiskaya Street. If you are interested in quality goods in ethnic style, visit the store at the Slavyanka factory. It is located at Yanka Kupala Street 5.
Don't forget to check out the branded store of the local liquor store located on Mickiewicz Street. For sweets, buy Ideal chocolate, which is produced by a private enterprise.
In the shop “Vizanty” on the street. Budyonny, 25 you can buy handmade jewelry made in the workshop of Nikolai Kuzmich, an enamel artist who restored the Cross of Euphrosyne of Polotsk and made a case for it - a stavrotek. Prices - for every budget.
Where to eat and have fun
Almost all municipal and private hotels in Brest are ready not only to provide housing, but also to feed guests.
You can have breakfast at the Times Cafe on Sovetskaya Street, which is open from 8 am. Drink coffee and eat cake at the Paragraph coffee shop chain on Sovetskaya and Karbysheva. Vegetarians will be gladly welcomed at the Korova Grill Bar on Sovetskaya.
The restaurants “Jules Verne” and “At the Lake” offer a variety of cuisine (you can order Belarusian national dishes). There are pizzerias on Sovetskaya Street.
Nightlife in Brest is concentrated in two clubs - Planet Rock and Arlekino. The Hermitage Hotel houses the Solo karaoke club. There are casinos and slot machines on Sovetskaya Street.
