Stand on Ulitsa Mendeleevskaya and the walls of the Tula Kremlin run past you in a line so straight it looks drawn with a ruler. That rectangle is the centre of the city, and almost everything worth your time in Tula sits within a short walk of it.
Tula suits travellers who like their history compact and their museums specific: fortifications, weapons, samovars and gingerbread rather than broad boulevards. This guide covers the sights inside and around the Kremlin, the museums that give the city its character, and a one-day route that links them.
Top things to do in Tula
1. Tula Kremlin
Built in a perfectly rectangular shape, unusual for Russian medieval standards, the kremlin has never been stormed or conquered in five centuries. Inside the nine-tower rampart you will find two cathedrals and several museums, so treat the walls as the frame for the rest of your day rather than a single stop.
Enter from Ulitsa Mendeleevskaya and walk the full circuit before heading into the interior. Because the museums are housed within the kremlin itself, you can move between them without leaving the walls.
2. Museum of Guns
Housed in the north-eastern part of the kremlin, the Tula State Museum of Weapons displays cannons, rifles, sabres and pistols. It is the collection that explains why this city matters, and it rewards a slow pass rather than a quick look.
Pair it with the kremlin walls directly outside, and continue to the Museum of Samovars in the south-western part afterwards while you are still inside the fortress.
3. Museum of Samovars
In the south-western part of the kremlin, in a building in the old town near the kremlin walls, the Museum of Samovars covers the object most associated with Tula. The setting alone, tucked against the fortress wall, makes it an easy addition to a kremlin visit.
Visit it in the same stretch as the Museum of Guns, since both sit within the kremlin and need no separate trip across town.
4. Cathedral of the Assumption
The Cathedral of the Assumption stands in the centre of the kremlin, one of the two cathedrals inside the rampart. Its position at the heart of the fortress makes it the natural pause in the middle of your walk.
Combine it with the Bell Tower of the Cathedral of the Assumption, also in the kremlin centre, and with the kremlin walls you have just walked.
5. Bell Tower of the Cathedral of the Assumption
The bell tower rises in the kremlin centre alongside the cathedral. It is a short stop, but it completes the central group of buildings inside the walls.
See it immediately after the Cathedral of the Assumption, then continue to the towers at the corners of the fortress.
6. Tula Art Museum
In the north-western part of the kremlin, the Tula State Museum of Fine Arts holds Russian icons, metal-plastic art and European classics. It gives a different register from the weapons and samovars, and it is worth reserving energy for after the fortress walls.
It sits in the same north-western quarter as the Naugolnaya tower, so you can fold both into one loop of the kremlin.
7. Tula's Gingerbread Museum
On Ulitsa Oktyabrskaya at number 45a, the Museum of Tula Gingerbread teaches you how to make the Tula-style gingerbread cake. It is the most hands-on stop in the city and a good counterweight to the display cases elsewhere.
Take tram 6, 8, 12 or 15 to the stop 'Арсенальная улица'. The museum is outside the kremlin, so give it its own slot rather than squeezing it between fortress sights.
8. Transfiguration Church
On Ulitsa Mendeleevskaya at number 15, this church was built in 1842 in the style of Russian classicism, on the site of the ancient church of St. Nicholas the Miracle Worker "Nikola on the Square". The street it stands on leads directly to the kremlin, which makes it a natural first or last stop of a walking day.
Combine it with the Cathedral of the Assumption on Менделеевская ул., 13, a few doors along the same street.
9. Cathedral of the Assumption on Mendeleevskaya
The cathedral at Менделеевская ул., 13 is a separate entry from the cathedral inside the kremlin, and it sits on the same street as the Transfiguration Church. Walk the two together to see how the street approaches the fortress.
This is a good stop on the way in or out of the kremlin rather than a detour.
10. City Garden of Kremlin
The Кремлёвский сад lies just east of the kremlin, off Sadovyy pereulok. After the walls and the museum halls, this is where you slow down.
Use it as the breather between the kremlin interior and whatever you have planned next, since it borders the fortress directly.
11. Naugolnaya tower
The Naugolnaya tower stands at the north-western corner of the kremlin and dates to the 16th century. Corner towers are where the rectangular plan reads most clearly, so this is the spot to look back along the wall.
It shares the north-western quarter with the Tula Art Museum, so see them in the same pass.
12. Ivanovskaya tower
The Ivanovskaya tower, also known as the Taynitskaya tower, occupies the north-eastern corner of the kremlin. The Tower of the Ivanovsky gate is part of the same group.
It is close to the Museum of Guns in the north-eastern part of the kremlin, so combine the two.
13. Spasskaya Tower
The Spasskaya Tower dates to the 15th century and forms part of the kremlin's ring of defences. It is one of the named towers on the circuit, and worth pausing at as you complete the rectangle.
Work it into your walk along the walls rather than treating it as a separate visit.
14. Administration of Tula and Tulskaya oblast
The Administration building on просп. Ленина, 2, known as the White House in Tula, was built in the 1970s and stands near the kremlin. It is a quick look at the city's modern face on the edge of its oldest quarter.
It is near the kremlin, so pass it on your way to or from the fortress rather than making a dedicated trip.
15. Tula Circus
The Тульский цирк on Советская улица, 96 was built in 1963. It is an evening option if you want something other than churches and museums.
It sits away from the kremlin, so plan it as a separate outing rather than part of a walking loop.
If you only have one day
Morning. Start on Ulitsa Mendeleevskaya with the Transfiguration Church and the Cathedral of the Assumption at number 13, then enter the Tula Kremlin from the same street. Walk the full rectangular circuit, taking in the Naugolnaya tower, the Ivanovskaya tower and the Spasskaya Tower, and pause at the Cathedral of the Assumption and the Bell Tower of the Cathedral of the Assumption in the centre.
Afternoon. Stay inside the walls for the Museum of Guns in the north-eastern part and the Museum of Samovars in the south-western part, then the Tula Art Museum in the north-western part. Finish the afternoon in the City Garden of Kremlin just east of the fortress, and glance at the Administration of Tula and Tulskaya oblast on просп. Ленина on your way past.
Evening. Take tram 6, 8, 12 or 15 to the stop 'Арсенальная улица' for Tula's Gingerbread Museum on Ulitsa Oktyabrskaya, 45a, and learn how the Tula-style gingerbread cake is made. If you would rather end the day seated, the Tula Circus on Советская улица, 96 is the alternative.
Frequently asked questions
Was the Tula Kremlin ever captured?
No. In five centuries it was never stormed or conquered, and its plan is unusually rectangular for Russian medieval standards.
What can I see inside the Tula Kremlin?
Within the nine-tower rampart there are two cathedrals and several museums, including the Museum of Guns, the Museum of Samovars and the Tula Art Museum.
How do I reach Tula's Gingerbread Museum?
It is at Ulitsa Oktyabrskaya, 45a. Take tram 6, 8, 12 or 15 to the stop 'Арсенальная улица'.
Where can I go in the evening in Tula?
The Tula Circus on Советская улица, 96, built in 1963, is an evening option away from the kremlin.
Decide which of these fits your day, note the tram stop for the gingerbread museum, and start planning your route around the kremlin walls.