Kaliningrad rewards visitors who engage with its layered, contradictory history. Start at the Königsberg Cathedral on the Pregel River island, where Immanuel Kant's tomb lies in a portico on the north side. The Amber Museum in the Dohna Tower is essential — Kaliningrad sits on 90% of the world's amber reserves, and the collection is remarkable. The Museum of the World Ocean has historic ships to explore, including a submarine.
The Bunker Museum gives the most direct account of the 1945 battle that ended Königsberg's German history. Fort No. 5 on the northern edge of the city is the most accessible of the extraordinary 19th-century Prussian fortifications. King's Gate and the surviving medieval gates reward a walking circuit. The Church of the Holy Family is one of the finest surviving pre-war buildings. Kaliningrad Zoo, whose entire post-war population descended from four survivors, is a pleasantly atmospheric green space.