Kurlina House is one of Samara's best pieces of Art Nouveau architecture, a merchant mansion where the facade, interiors, and decorative details all belong to the city's prosperous early-20th-century moment. It now operates as a museum, so the visit is both architectural and domestic.
The pleasure is in the details: curved lines, floral ornament, stained glass, and the sense that Samara was plugged into the same modern tastes as larger European cities. Pair it with a walk through the surrounding old centre rather than treating it as a standalone stop.