Best Time to Visit Krasnoyarsk

Summer: the easy months

June to August is when Krasnoyarsk is at its best. June is the sunniest month and rated Excellent. Days feel warm but not heavy, and the evenings are mild. July is the warmest, with highs around 25°C. It's also the wettest, so expect showers on more than half the days. They tend to pass quickly. August is Excellent again and a little cooler.

This is the time for Stolby Nature Reserve, the rocky pillars just outside the city. Locals climb them on weekends, so the trails can be busy. It's also the time to walk the Yenisei embankment, ride out to the Divnogorsk dam area, or take a river cruise. If you're travelling with kids, summer is the simplest choice. School holidays run through the summer, so locals are out and about, but the city never feels swamped.

Spring and autumn: shoulder seasons

April and May are Fair. Snow melts in April, and streets are muddy and grey. May is greener and warmer, but it's wet, with rain on about half the days. Hiking in Stolby can be soggy then. It's a good time if you want cheaper, quieter days and don't mind a jacket.

September is Good. Highs reach 15°C, and the birch and larch on the hills turn yellow. It's a fine month for city walks and a trip to the Krasnoyarsk Pillars on a dry day. By October it's Poor. Sun drops to about two hours a day and the sky stays grey.

Winter: cold, dark and quiet

From November to March, the city is properly cold. January is the coldest month, with highs of -16°C and lows of -24°C. Days are short and often grey. It's a hard sell for a general holiday. But if you like skiing, Bobrovy Log, a ski park on the city's edge, is the draw. Winter also means very few visitors, so you'll have museums, like the Surikov Art Museum, mostly to yourself.

Winter is low season for tourists, and summer is the high one. Even so, Krasnoyarsk is not a mass-tourism stop. Hotels are rarely hard to find.

Events cluster in the warm months. The Krasnoyarsk Economic Forum usually takes place in spring, though dates move. Check the current year's schedule before you plan around it.