# Things to Do in Tula, Russia
You are standing in the shadow of the Tula Kremlin's weathered ramparts, a perfectly rectangular fortress that has stood unconquered for five centuries. The brick walls rise around you in four even sides, their towers piercing the sky. Inside, two cathedrals catch the light, and the sound of footsteps on ancient stone echoes across courtyards where empires once decided the fate of border lands. This is where your time in Tula begins.
## Walking the Kremlin's Towers and Walls
The Tula Kremlin dominates the city centre from Ulitsa Mendeleevskaya. Its unusual rectangular design—rare in Russian medieval fortification—makes it unmistakably recognisable from any angle. You can walk the walls and climb the towers that rise at cardinal points: the 16th-century Naugolnaya tower anchors the northwest corner, while the 15th-century Spasskaya Tower stands as one of the oldest structures. The Ivanovskaya tower commands the northeast, and the Tower of the Ivanovsky gate marks the path where armies once passed. Each tower tells you something about how Tula defended itself—and each offers a vantage point over the city spreading beyond.
Walk the full perimeter of the Kremlin walls
Ascend the Spasskaya Tower for views across the city
Stand at the Naugolnaya tower in the northwest corner
Explore the Ivanovskaya tower and the gate tower to the northeast
## Cathedrals and Classicism Inside the Walls
The Cathedral of the Assumption anchors the Kremlin's interior, its Bell Tower rising beside it. Step inside to find yourself in the spiritual centre of Tula's oldest quarter. Beyond the Kremlin walls, the Transfiguration Church on Ulitsa Mendeleevskaya (at number 15) represents Russian classicism at its clearest—built in 1842 on the site of an older church, its proportions speak to a different era of Tula's history. The Cathedral of the Assumption at Mendeleyevskaya 13 offers another place to pause. For something smaller and more intimate, the Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Blagoveshchenskaya ulitsa invites you to experience faith in a neighbourhood setting.
Enter the Cathedral of the Assumption and climb its Bell Tower
Visit the Transfiguration Church to see Russian classical design
Walk to the Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
## Museums of Craft, Metal and Fire
The Museum of Guns occupies the northeast corner of the Kremlin, where you can see cannons, rifles, sabres and pistols that trace centuries of Russian weaponry. The Museum of Samovars, housed in a building in the old town near the Kremlin walls itself, shows you the ornate metal vessels that defined Russian hospitality—each samovar a small sculpture. The Tula Art Museum displays Russian icons, metal-plastic art and European classics, filling the northwest corner of the Kremlin with works spanning centuries. But the experience that stays longest is at Tula's Gingerbread Museum on Ulitsa Oktyabrskaya (take tram 6, 8, 12 or 15 to Arsénal'naya ulitsa). Here you do not simply look—you learn to make Tula-style gingerbread cake, stepping into the kitchen traditions that made this city known across Russia.
Spend an hour with cannons and rifles at the Museum of Guns
Study the craft of samovars at the Museum of Samovars
View Russian icons and European paintings at the Tula Art Museum
Make gingerbread cake at Tula's Gingerbread Museum (call +8 4872 347070)
## Gardens, Circus and Seasonal Events
The City Garden of Kremlin sits just east of the fortress walls on Sadovyy pereulok, offering green space and walking paths within sight of the ramparts. The Circus, built in 1963, brings performance and spectacle to Ul. Sovietskaya. Each year, the Gladiator's Cup Tournament transforms the landscape around a wooden fort into a two-day battle arena where modern competitors test themselves in ancient style—contact the Club Vityas at 29 Belousova street for dates and entry.
Walk the City Garden of Kremlin beside the fortress walls
Check the Circus schedule for performances
Plan your visit around the Gladiator's Cup Tournament if timing allows
## Streets Worth Wandering
The streets radiating from the Kremlin each have character. Lenina prospekt near the Kremlin shows you the Administration building, a 1970s structure locals call the White House. The cluster of small churches—the ruins of the temple of the Holy Virgin on Ulitsa Metallistov, the Ruins of the Old Nikita Church on Ul. Nikitskaya—marks where faith shaped the older city. The Palace of Children and Youth on Ulitsa Revolyutsyi brings cultural life into neighbourhoods, showing you where Tula's residents gather beyond tourism.
Step away from the Kremlin's formal geometry, and you begin to see how a city built around weapons, samovars and gingerbread actually lives. This is when a trip becomes a memory.