Nizhny Novgorod rewards the visitor who is willing to walk the steep gullies between the Upper Town and the river. The Kremlin sits on the highest ground, its 13 towers strung along a red-brick wall above the confluence of the Volga and Oka. From the ramparts the view across both rivers is extraordinary. Below the Kremlin walls the city slopes steeply down to the Volga embankment, where Chkalov Stairs descend in a great geometric cascade.
Bolshaya Pokrovskaya Street is the city's social spine — a pedestrian boulevard that runs south from the kremlin through the upper town, lined with 19th-century mansions, cafes, and the permanent cheerful crowds that accumulate around the bronze figures of a theatrical troupe placed along it. East along the cliff-top, the Pechersky Ascension Monastery occupies a commanding position above the Oka. The Stroganov Church and the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral are the most rewarding churches architecturally.