//
City in Abai Region, Kazakhstan
Photo: Lex, Attribution via Wikimedia Commons
Semey (Kazakh: Семей), formerly known as Semipalatinsk (Russian: Семипала́тинск, until 2007) and Alash-kala (Kazakh: Алаш-қала / Alaş-qala, 1917–1920), is a city in Kazakhstan with a population of around 300,000 people.
From the travel guide. Select a place for details, a map and what is nearby.
Stronger Than Death Memorial
to the victims of nuclear testing
Semey Bridge or Семей қаласындағы аспалы көпір
A suspension bridge with elegant lines over the Irtysh River. It is quite an eyecatcher, including when it's lit up or when steam is rising off the river.
This gate is all that's left of a seven-chamber fortress that was erected in Semey in 1718 by order of Peter I.
Abai Qunanbaiuli Literature Museum
Where you can learn about this Kazakh poet and try not to get scolded by the female docent.
Fyodor Dostoyevsky Literature Museum or Литературно-мемориальный музей Ф.М. Достоевского
A little place of remembrance where Dostoyevsky lived under exile from 1857-1859. Is best if you know a little Kazakh or Russian though.
Museum of the Nevzorov Family or Музей Семьи Невзоровых
The largest art museum in Kazakhstan, over 3500 artworks.
A notable cinema, though it seems to be going through hard times.
A place to check out some tanks and patriotic statues.
Be prepared for restaurant/bar/karaoke experiences downstairs, but also a spa and gym are available to help you to relax. And the hotel is so cute; it must be the tallest building in Semey.
Гостиница Semey City
This one is nice and quaint, toilets that flush, a little bit of wifi.
Here you can get a light breakfast included to start your day, and the accommodations are modest but warm at least.
Гостиница Кендала
This place should get the award for most modern hotel probably with its glassy exterior reflecting and shining. And here you'll find a restaurant or else mall at your backdoor to find sustenance.
By train
Train connections include Almaty, Astana via Pavlodar and Novosibirsk.
By bus
Choose an airport to see hotels, stations, taxi ranks and car rental desks around it.
Semey · International · PLX
Loading places around the airport…
Articles and travel topics about Semey and Kazakhstan.
Travel tipsNuclear tourism is travel to places connected with nuclear history, nuclear science, and nuclear technology. This can include historical sites of nuclear detonations or places related to peaceful or wartime use of…
Wikivoyage
Travel tipsThis page aims to provide an overview of all the ferry services in the Caspian Sea between Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran.
Wikivoyage
ItinerariesThe usual overland route from Europe into China is the Trans-Siberian Railway, crossing Russia to Lake Baikal then continuing either via Mongolia or Dongbei (the former Manchuria) to Beijing.
Wikivoyage
Travel tipsThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) (Russian: Союз Советских Социалистических Республик (СССР)), or Soviet Union, emerged as the successor state to the Russian Empire in 1917, and was dissolved in 1991.
Wikivoyage
Every section of the guide. Open one to read it in full.