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Wagons-Lits Diffusion, Paris © & TM, all rights reserved

• un peu d'histoire
• history of CIWL

History of Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits ( CIWL )

Georges Nagelmakers: a bold entrepreneur

In 1870, traveling from one country to another involved numerous train changes. Furthermore, the rolling stock was still in its early stages, with no provision for providing passengers on long journeys with comfortable accommodations.

It took the bold venture of Belgian engineer Georges Nagelmackers to put an end to this compartmentalization and usher in a new era in transportation in Europe.

During a trip to America, where sleeping cars had been in use for several years, Georges Nagelmackers conceived the idea of extending this concept to Europe. In 1872, he founded a company in Liège to operate these new cars, which initially ran between Paris and Ostend, then between Paris and Cologne, and Paris and Vienna thereafter.

Rapid expansion of CIWL luxury trains

The fleet quickly expanded to include 58 sleeping cars, some of which represented a significant improvement over the earlier models.

Encouraged by the success of his venture, Georges Nagelmackers established the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits  in Brussels on December 4, 1876. The company had a capital of four million francs and counted King Leopold II among its main shareholders.

The company has always maintained its Belgian character, with its cars adorned with two lions facing each other, reminiscent of the royal coat of arms of Belgium.

The Orient-Express

Since 1876, the CIWL has successively created a growing number of "grand expresses" connecting various countries.

The first train named the Orient Express was inaugurated on June 5, 1883. It ran twice a week between Paris and Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul).

Initially, this train was not direct: passengers crossed the Danube to Rousse (Bulgaria) by ferry, then boarded a second train to the Black Sea. From there, a steamship transported passengers to Istanbul in fourteen hours.

From 1889, when the line was completed to Istanbul, the train became direct.

Following the Orient Express, numerous other luxury trains were launched, which by 1914 allowed the company to operate 1,600 cars across the entire European continent and in Egypt.

Continuously at the forefront of technical innovation, in 1922, the company introduced its first train composed entirely of metal cars with blue bodies, Le Train Bleu, offering unprecedented comfort. 

The Golden Age of Wagons-Lits

It was between the two World Wars that the CIWL and the Orient Express experienced their golden age.

All celebrities and crowned heads traveled on the Train Bleu, the Orient Express, or other luxury trains operated by CIWL.

Agatha Christie and other authors celebrated the Orient Express, contributing to its myth.

At the forefront of progress, CIWL invested heavily in increasingly luxurious equipment, including Pullman Salon cars, the famous LX sleeping cars, and constant innovations in comfort, such as revolutionary bogies and other new technologies.

The decoration came from the finest luxury artisans: Lalique, Nelson, Christofle...

World War 2

In 1939, Compagnie des Wagons-Lits owned a fleet of 806 sleeping cars, 661 dining cars, 133 Pullman cars, and 138 vans, totaling 1,738 vehicles operating in 24 countries across Europe, North Africa, Central Africa, Egypt, Asian Turkey, Syria, and Palestine.

During the war from 1939 to 1945, Compagnie des Wagons-Lits suffered even more damage than during the First World War. A large number of its cars were damaged or destroyed throughout Europe.

By 1945, the company had reinstated most of its pre-war trains and international services. While political circumstances led to the abandonment of domestic lines in much of Central Europe, it continued to operate trains with evocative names like the "Orient-Express," "Arlberg-Orient-Express," and "Simplon-Orient-Express."

Rebirth of CIWL after WW2

After world war II, despite the loss of more than 400 cars destroyed, damaged or disappeared, CIWL managed to relaunch all its services.

In 1960, the fleet consisted of 775 sleeping cars, 328 dining cars, 61 Pullman cars, and 31 vans, totaling 1,195 vehicles. With this fleet, the company recorded 2,172,000 sleeping car passengers in 1959 compared to 1,350,000 in 1938, and served 5 million meals compared to 3.5 million.

The company also continued the experiment with "auto-trains," allowing motorists to wake up at their destination after a night's rest with their car.

A new source of traffic came from the tourists going to the winter ski resorts of the Alps, which became as important as the summer transportations. 

New areas for growth

Apart from its luxury train activity, still the core of CIWL’s business, Wagons-Lits developped a strategy to develop other businesses, in relation to travel and tourism.

CIWL started to invest in hotels, creating different chains, from luxury to more accessible: Pullman, Altea, Arcade. These hotels chains were competing directly with  ACCOR's Sofitel, Mercure, Ibis.

CIWL owned 350 hotels worldwide in 1992, when ACCOR decided to launch a hostile takeover of CIWLT, attracted by the possibility to become Europe's leading hotel group.

The travel agency network was also developed beyond trains travels, but also into plane tickets, hotel reservations and business travels.

In 1960, Wagons-Lits Travel and its partner Thomas Cook owned more than 400 agencies. Merged in the Carlson group in 2010, Carlson-Wagonlit is still the world leader in business travel agencies

CIWL On-board brigades

CIWL on-board personnel, organized in train brigades, have always been praised for their professionalism: from the 'chef de train' (train manager) to Sleeping-cars conductors, restaurant waiters, cooks or luggage carriers.

Theses on-board brigades were supported by an efficient network of local bases, reaching as far as the Middle East and Eastern Siberia.

Discipline and uniforms were army-like in perfection and style. The reputation of CIWL agents was very high in travellers' opinion. Many anecdotes reflect stories hapening during at night, still kept in Wagons-Lits' archives.

The decline of luxury trains and new opportunities

The 60's marked the end of international development of CIWL's luxury train activities. Mythical Grands Express slowly disappeared from headlines, which CIWL had anticipated.

CIWL turned to more attractive activities such as Travel Agencies, Tourism, Hotels or Catering.

With the decline of the luxury trains in Europe, CIWL had to adapt its train concept to a new mass market for travel. Some major innovations for the train division can be noted, such as the launch of 2nd class sleeping car: the famous T2. Or the important catering contracts for the new TGV in France in the 1980’s.

But altogether, while CIWL continued to grow considerably, the train activities became marginal and most new investments and management attention turns to these new activities.

Diversification of CIWLT

These strategic relays of growth, away from railway activities, are listed below. All these activities initially developed by CIWL, still exist today, generally merged to form new independant groups.

    -  Hotels and Hospitality , a sector where CIWLT became one of the European leaders in the early 1980's, with more than 350 hotels. Today merged into the ACCOR, European leader in hotels.

    -  Catering and collective restaurants , with the creation of EUREST, a JV with Nestlé, which became an important player in Europe and CIWLT's most important division, with more than 30 000 persons. It was sold to the Compass group, world leader in catering.

    -  Long Term Restaurant  Concession s , with motorway restaurants and management contracts (museums, malls, train stations, exhibition centers). This activity is still today the core of Elior, a European giant in the restaurant business.

    -  Travel Agencies,  under the Wagonlit Travel brand, became European leader. Merged with the Carlson agencies, Carlson Wagonlit Travel is the world leader in Business Travel

    -  Europcar - car rental , which CIWLT acquired with Wolkswagen in the 1970's and subsequently developped to become one of the Big Three in Car rental with Avis and Hertz. Europcar was divested in the early 1990.

    -  On-Board Rail Services , historical activity of CIWL, providing night trains and day catering in 10 countries in Europe. This division was sold in 2009 to Newrest, specialised air catering.

Take-over of CIWLT by Accor

In 1990, the Wagons-Lits Group was then a diversified giant in tourism, restaurant and hotels, present on 5 continents, with more than 50 000 employees. Business was good, but the shareholder’s structure was weak, making CIWLT an attractive target for competitors.

In 1991, ACCOR launched a hostile takeover on the Paris and Brussel Stock Exchanges, attracted by CIWLT's unique hotel network, while SODEXO tried to absorb EUREST.

Since 1991 up to now, all divisions were either integrated in the Hotels Divisions of ACCOR, or divested to specialized international groups, as mentioned above. 

In 1996, in order to protect its intellectual properties, CIWL and its mother company ACCOR, created WAGONS-LITS DIFFUSION, with the mission to develop the brand and the use of archives material for licensing in publishing, media or luxury products.

A myth dear and familiar to the public

CIWL remains today a mythical company for the public, still remembered through its famous trains such as the Orient-Express or the Blue Train. 

With its famous golden logo with 2 lions, Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits still enjoys a great enthusiasm from the public, in France and abroad, as measured by the success of recent public exhibitions, films or the many new publications every year.

Georges Nagelmackers' vision and heritage are still alive.

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Another vestige of carlson travel empire sold, this one to amex spinoff for $570m.

Minneapolis-based CWT, a business travel and meeting management firm that was part of a prominent Minnesota family's business legacy, will sell to rival American Express Global Business Travel for $570 million, the companies announced Monday.

The merger, which should close in the latter half of this year, blends two of the biggest corporate travel entities. CWT, formerly Carlson Wagonlit Travel, started in its current form in the mid-1990s and touts 4,000 customers with a projected revenue of approximately $850 million this year. American Express spun off its global business travel (GBT) sector as a joint venture with an investor group in 2014, and GBT has rapidly grown through various mergers and acquisitions since.

CWT was not reachable for comment, including on if its global headquarters will remain in the state, if this will affect any jobs or if the CWT name will survive.

American Express said the deal means CWT customers will have access to its proprietary software and services.

"Joining forces with Amex GBT helps accelerate our vision of a tech-enabled future for business travel, where people and technology combine to deliver an exceptional customer experience," said Patrick Andersen, CEO of CWT, in a statement. "We are highly confident in the value creation of the combined company."

The privately held CWT — which investment funds like Redwood Capital Management, Monarch Alternative Capital and others own — will now be part of the public GBT, which debuted on the New York Stock Exchange in 2022. That came at a time when corporate travel was still in a precarious state after grinding to a halt in 2020 because of the pandemic.

Business travel still hasn't fully recovered to 2019 levels in terms of volume or spending, but that milestone could hit as soon as by the end of this year. So Jose Ferreira, owner of Coon Rapids-based Riverdale Travel, said this deal is timed for growth.

"For corporate travelers, I would say that service levels are going to improve," Ferreira said. "Both of these companies are still recovering from the pandemic."

Curt Carlson, namesake of the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management, started his family's business empire during the Great Depression, eventually venturing into the travel industry about 30 years later.

In 2021, the family gave up its ownership stake in Carlson Travel Inc. and its many related companies, including CWT, after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the business into bankruptcy. The family has also offloaded some of its large portfolio of hotels, including selling the Radisson Hotel Group Americas for $675 million to Choice Hotels International in 2022.

Burl Gilyard is the Star Tribune's medtech reporter.

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Carlson wagonlit travel.

With more than 3,000 offices in more than 140 countries, Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) is the second-largest travel agency in the world. Although the combined name is relatively new, the company's roots go back to the oldest travel businesses in Europe and America. Wagonlit Travel's founder was the creator of the legendary Orient Express, while the Carlson Travel Network was based on Ask Mr. Foster Travel, one of the first travel agencies in the United States. Carlson also operates a separate, wholly-owned leisure and franchised travel agency network in North America under the Carlson Wagonlit Travel Associates name. In addition, Accor manages separate CWT Leisure operations in Europe.

Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits et du Tourisme was founded in 1872 by Georges Nagelmakers, a Belgian, to market rides on railway sleeper cars (wagons-lits) of his own design. This culminated in the richly outfitted carriages of the legendary Orient Express, officially inaugurated in 1883. A network of Wagons-Lits travel agencies appeared in Europe in 1928.

Carlson Wagonlit's origins in the United States date back to the country's first travel agency. Ask Mr. Foster Travel began with a souvenir shop Ward Grenelle Foster opened in St. Augustine, Florida, in 1888. As a child in New York, Foster had been hospitalized for tuberculosis. While confined, he developed a passion for travel literature. He became sought after for travel advice, leading to a career as the father of the travel agency in the United States.

Foster started by publishing travel guides. During the 1920s, his travel agency grew to 70 offices in the United States. This era saw the professionalization of the business with the appearance of Foster Girls, who were dedicated to the travel business full time. Men did not begin working as travel agents in the United States until the 1940s.

Paxton Mendelssohn of Detroit bought Ask Mr. Foster in 1937. Within a few years, the outbreak of World War II curtailed leisure travel. After the war, demand was great--so great that the railroads did not need to advertise with Ask Mr. Foster, so the agency began to switch to a commission-based system.

Changing Hands in the 1970s

Peter Ueberroth, future Major League Baseball commissioner, acquired Ask Mr. Foster through his Los Angeles travel company, First Travel Corp., in 1972. Ueberroth paid $1 million for the agency, which had 29 branch offices. He placed his brother, John Ueberroth, in charge of its expansion.

In 1979, Ask Mr. Foster was sold to the Carlson Companies, Inc., which Curt Carlson had built up from a small trading stamp company to one of the biggest privately held firms in the United States. Ask Mr. Foster then had more than 100 branches and more than $100 million in sales a year.

Carlson entered the travel market just as deregulation of the airline industry was getting underway. With their newfound freedom, airlines introduced thousands of airfares using complex formulas to make the most profit from every flight. Corporations with large travel accounts turned to agencies like Ask Mr. Foster Travel to find the best deals and to provide reporting of travel expenses.

John Ueberroth remained with Ask Mr. Foster after it was acquired by Carlson and continued to direct its expansion. He eventually became president of Carlson Travel, which grew by acquisition through the first half of the 1980s, picking up Canada's P. Lawson Travel and leisure travel agencies Cartan Tours and First Tours. Carlson acquired a 70 percent holding in P. Lawson in 1983 and had acquired the remainder by 1992.

Mixing Corporate and Leisure Travel in the 1980s

By the mid-1980s, Carlson Travel Group had become one of the largest travel companies in the world by focusing on corporate sales. It had 600 offices and accounted for nearly half of Carlson Companies' 1986 revenues of $3.5 billion. The group's only near rival was American Express Travel Management Services. The company owned 18 agencies inside Neiman-Marcus department stores (Neiman-Marcus Travel Service) in addition to its Ask Mr. Foster units.

Company head John Ueberroth was trying to replicate this success on the leisure side of the market. CTN began an associates program from U.S. agencies in 1984. The number of participating agencies exceeded 600 in 1990. Ask Mr. Foster acquired Don Travel Service Inc. in 1986. This regional agency based in New York had annual sales of about $200 million.

Northwest and TWA's PARS computer reservations system was installed in 80 Ask Mr. Foster offices in early 1988. Carlson acquired Gelco Travel Management Service Inc., a unit of GE Capital, in the same year. Gelco, a $250 million travel company with 660 employees, was folded into Ask Mr. Foster.

Going Global in the 1990s

In 1990, Carlson Travel acquired a 76 percent interest in the A.T. Mays travel agency chain, the fourth-largest in the United Kingdom. A.T. Mays had more than 300 offices, more than 2,400 employees, and annual revenues of $576 million. It was eventually renamed Carlson Worldchoice. Mays was Carlson's first major overseas acquisition. A wave of consolidation had begun among travel agencies in the United States and United Kingdom.

The Ask Mr. Foster name was retired in April 1990, replaced by that of Carlson Travel Network. The new name conveyed both the connection to the Carlson-owned restaurants and hotels as well as the existence of a global distribution network. Also in 1990, operations at the company were restructured into commercial and retail sides, while computing and accounting operations were centralized at its Minneapolis headquarters. Carlson had acquired a company specializing in travel management software, CompuCheck Corp. Carlson Travel Network's system-wide revenues rose 42 percent to $5.1 billion in 1990.

Travis Tanner was named president of Carlson Travel Group, which included the Carlson Travel Network, in January 1993. He was returning to the unit after four years as head of Walt Disney Travel Co. Carlson Travel Network soon underwent a restructuring aimed at delegating more decision-making to local and regional offices. The unit had about 6,000 employees at the time.

The next year, in March 1994, Carlson Travel announced the merger of its business travel operations with those of Paris-based Wagonlit Travel (Compagnie Internationale des Wagon-Lits et du Tourisme), a unit of the Accor Group SA, a French tourism and business service conglomerate that also owned Novotel, Sofitel, and Motel 6 hotels and car rental agencies. Accor was the largest travel and hospitality company operating outside the United States.

A global travel enterprise, named Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT), was formed with annual revenues of $10.8 billion. This was large enough to re-take the industry lead from American Express Travel Related Services (TRS), which till then had been the largest travel company in the world with 1993 sales of $8 billion. Carlson's independent foreign franchises were not included in the deal. Carlson Wagonlit had 4,000 offices in 125 countries; 2,300 of these came from Carlson Travel. The combined operations booked 24 million airline and train tickets a year, plus seven million hotel stays and six million days of car rentals.

The merger made Carlson Wagonlit competitive for large multinational businesses, such as GE, that were beginning to switch to single vendors for their travel needs. The merger created new possibilities for monitoring global spending trends for these clients. The process of integrating Wagonlit Travel's information systems with Carlson Travel's was a five-year endeavor.

A London-based joint venture, Carlson Wagonlit Development Co., was created to develop markets in Australia, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Carlson and Accor agreed to each invest $45 million in the joint venture over three years.

Carlson Wagonlit soon unveiled a branded Visa credit card for 85,000 of its accounts, intensifying its competition with American Express (AmEx). In September 1994, AmEx leapfrogged Carlson Wagonlit in size by acquiring Thomas Cook Ltd.'s North American operations. Carlson Travel president described the consolidation trend in Business Week: "In 1985, you had to be national. In 1995, you have to be global."

CWT acquired Sweden's third-largest travel agency group, Resecenter, in October 1996. Resecenter had 1995 revenues of $90 million and 110 employees, compared to $13.3 billion for CWT, which had more than 20,000 employees.

Expanding Online and in the UK in late 1990s

CWT introduced enQuest, its Internet-based travel agency in September 1997. Around the same time, it rolled out Mercavia, an extranet for providing travel agents with information that included video clips.

CWT's online debut lagged behind the Travelocity and American Express Travel on the Web by more than a year. The first online travel agency had been rolled out in 1995, and the field was already crowded, including offerings from Microsoft Corp. and other technology-based companies. However, CWT executives believed their bricks-and-mortar agencies offered unparalleled customer service opportunities.

CWT continued to expand in Britain. It acquired Inspirations, a packager of summer holidays, for £42 million. In October 1998, CWT merged the British package holiday interests of Thomas Cook with its own UK operations. This tied it for third place among UK tour operators. The merger also included Cook's travel businesses in Canada, Australia, and India, financial services operations, as well as Carlson's Caledonian and Peach Airways charter airlines and the tour operator Inspirations. Thomas Cook, which was owned by Westdeutsche Landesbank, had annual sales of more than £23 billion. It had been founded in 1841.

Jon Madonna, a former executive with the Travelers Group and KPMG Peat Marwick, replaced Travis Tanner as CWT CEO in late 1998. Tanner had left to join the Atlanta-based leisure start-up Luxury Travel Co. CWT was reorganizing around customers' needs, rather than geographical divisions.

Herve Gourio, president of Wagonlit Travel at the time of the merger with Carlson, returned to lead CWT after the departure of Madonna in October 2000.

Scaling Back After 2000

CWT cut several hundred positions in early 2001 due to a softening economy. CWT employed 15,000 people around the world, including 6,000 in North America. About 200 telephone reservationists were let go. Airlines were also suffering from a downturn in the travel business even before the September 11, 2001 terror attacks and were reducing commissions to travel agencies by as much as 60 percent. Overall revenues fell 8.3 percent in 2001, to $11 billion, mostly due to a slump in the U.S. market, which was down 20 percent.

In early 2003, Carlson Wagonlit announced a joint venture with China Air Service, the leading corporate travel management company in the People's Republic. A joint venture with the Japan Travel Bureau had been formed in 2001.

Principal Competitors: American Express Company; Kuoni Travel Holding Ltd.; Rosenbluth International; TUI AG; WorldTravel BTI.

Source: International Directory of Company Histories , Vol. 55. St. James Press, 2003.

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• Amex GBT Agrees to Acquire Carlson Wagonlit Travel for $570 Million

Photo: Amex GBT 

American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) is acquiring corporate travel agency Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT), for $570 million, marking a new chapter for one of the industry’s longtime corporate giants.

The deal is expected to close sometime in the second half of 2024. The transaction will be funded by a combination of stock and cash.

CWT, which says it serves 4,000 global customers, has been undergoing major changes in recent years, including taking on new equity owners in 2021. As recently as November, CWT underwent some balance sheet recapitalization aimed at deleveraging its balance sheet and strengthening its financial position. At that time, CWT said it had a “strong financial foundation and capital structure.”

In Monday’s announcement, CWT said that moving under Amex GBT will help its long-term vision and that it was “confident” in the future of the company.

“Joining forces with Amex GBT helps accelerate our vision of a tech-enabled future for business travel, where people and technology combine to deliver an exceptional customer experience. We are highly confident in the value creation of the combined company,” CWT CEO Patrick Andersen said.

It also said that, when the deal closes, its clients would have access to Amex GBT’s proprietary software, including programs like Neo1, Neo, and Egencia, and Amex GBT’s professional services.

TMR reached out to CWT to ask about the evolution of the CWT brand when the company does move under Amex GBT, and whether or not the CWT will remain. A spokesperson told TMR that "it’s very early in the process to discuss CWT as a brand. We are all proud of the name we have built in the marketplace and our ancestry. Today, we remain CWT."

Amex GBT’s CEO Paul Abbot said on Monday that bringing CWT under the Amex banner will “create more choice for customers, more opportunities for people, and more value for shareholders.”

CWT traces its roots back to 1872 when a Belgian innovator Georges Nagelmackers, who went on to create the Orient Express, founded Wagons-Lits, which means "sleeping cars."

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Carlson announces it will take full ownership of Carlson Wagonlit Travel.

MINNEAPOLIS and ANSTERDAM – Carlson , a global hospitality and travel company, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire from J PMorgan Chase & Co. , the 45 percent equity interest JPMC indirectly holds in Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT). As a result of this acquisition, Carlson will own 100 percent of CWT. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close in July 2014, subject to customary closing conditions.

“We are pleased with the momentum, growth and results realized by the management team at CWT. This acquisition, along with our ongoing investment in Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group and its family of brands, helps solidify our long term direction for the company,” said Carlson President and CEO Trudy Rautio . “We have benefitted from a long relationship with JPMorgan Chase & Co. and will continue to work with them in the future.”

CWT is a global leader specializing in business travel and meetings management. CWT works with clients to respond to the complexities and challenges of business travel management while addressing the needs and expectations of travelers. CWT delivers efficient and innovative solutions to optimize travel and meetings and events management by leveraging its global reach with the best people and superior service and technology.

CWT employs nearly 19,000 people worldwide spanning more than 150 countries and territories. CWT’s clients include one-third of the Fortune Global 100 companies. In addition, it has a diverse client portfolio ranging from small and mid-sized companies, to government institutions and non-governmental organizations. In 2013, CWT generated traffic of $26.9 billion.

Tatiana Rokou

Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.

She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.

• Tatiana Rokou https://www.traveldailynews.com/author/tatiana-rokou/ Green destinations: European Green Pioneer of Smart Tourism 2025 competition now open for applications
• Tatiana Rokou https://www.traveldailynews.com/author/tatiana-rokou/ New strategic partnership at Edinburgh Airport
• Tatiana Rokou https://www.traveldailynews.com/author/tatiana-rokou/ Grace Hotel, Auberge Resorts Collection appoints new General Manager, George Georgousis
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Krasnodar Krai and Adygea

• 2 Other destinations
• 3.1 Krasnodar Krai
• 5.1 Krasnodar Krai
• 6 Get around
• 10.1 Krasnodar Krai
• 10.2 Adygea
• 11 Stay safe

Krasnodar Krai is a region in Southern Russia , bordering Crimea to the west (across the narrow Strait of Kerch), Rostov Oblast to the north, Stavropol Krai to the east, and Georgia and Karachay-Cherkessia to the south.

Adygea , officially the Republic of Adygea , is an autonomous region in Southern Russia completely enclaved within Krasnodar Krai. Adygea is ethnically distinct, as Circassians are about 25% of the population while ethnic Russians represent 60% of it. However, for geographic reasons, we cover this republic along with Krasnodar Krai. Krasnodar Krai offers travelers Russia's premiere beach resorts as well as some of Europe's tallest mountains in its Caucasian south.

Cities [ edit ]

• 45.033333 38.983333 1 Krasnodar — capital and principal city of Krasnodar Krai
• 44.6 40.083333 2 Maykop - the capital of Adygea and its biggest city
• 43.428889 39.923889 3 Adler
• 44.894444 37.316667 4 Anapa — an ancient Pontic Greek port, now a small, family-friendly Russian beach resort town
• 44.560833 38.076667 5 Gelendzhik — small beach town east of Novorossiysk
• 44.716667 37.766667 6 Novorossiysk — Russia's main Black Sea port, a must for World War II buffs, but it also has some nice sandy beaches
• 43.585278 39.720278 7 Sochi — a big resort city located in a simply beautiful area, where Russians come for fun in the sun (and in the nightclubs!)
• 44.1 39.083333 8 Tuapse

Other destinations [ edit ]

• 43.678611 40.205278 2 Krasnaya Polyana — a Western Caucasus ski resort and personal favourite destination of President Putin
• Sochinsky National Park

Adygea [ edit ]

Adygea is one of only a few fully enclaved Russian Federation regions (the only other ones are the cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg ). All its territory is surrounded by Krasnodar Krai.

The most popular months to visit Adygea are September and October in the heart of autumn when the leaves change to vivid colors and the temperature is in the Goldilocks zone.

Talk [ edit ]

Everyone, including ethnic minorities, speaks Russian . Adyghe and Russian are the official languages of Adygea.

Get around [ edit ]

See [ edit ].

Adygea is home to several cultural and natural museums, providing a glimpse into the region's history and wildlife respectively. There are also a number of mosques and churches, reflecting Adygea's diverse religious composition.

Do [ edit ]

• Rafting is done on the Belaya River in Adygea.
• Hiking is a popular activity in Adygea. Almost half of the republic is covered in forest, and there are many hiking trails.

Eat [ edit ]

Throughout Adygea, you will find restaurants serving traditional Adyghe cuisine, which has much in common with the food from the rest of the Northern Caucasus, in addition to Russian and international cuisines. Local specialties include mataz , which are dumplings filled with mashed potatoes, a meat mixture and fried onions, and haliva , a turnover filled with potatoes or Circassian cheese.

Stay safe [ edit ]

Go next [ edit ].

Dombai , perhaps Russia's most beautiful resort, is in nearby Karachay-Cherkessia in the Caucasus mountains.

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Krasnodar, Russia

Tours, Attractions and Things To Do in Krasnodar

Here we are in the South of Russia. Welcome to Krasnodar, a major economic and cultural center of North Caucasus, also called “the capital of Kuban”. Krasnodar, perhaps, is one of the most interesting resort towns of the Russian Federation. It is a relatively young city founded by the Cossacks in в 1793 on the lands granted by Ekaterina II (hence its former name was Ekaterinodar). Later, when the Soviet system rose to power, the city was re-named to Krasnodar in 1920, and it preserved this name up to date.

Krasnodar is a center of the Russia’s southern touristic zone, located of the right bank of the Kuban River, 120-150 km from two warm seas – the Black and the Azov. It is an interesting fact that the city is located in the golden section of the Earth, almost in between the equator and the North Pole, right on the 45th parallel, also called “the Golden Line” or “the Life Line”. There exists an opinion that the living conditions in these latitudes are most favorable for human.

In spite of the city’s “youth” Krasnodar has many historical landmarks, while its architectural look is various and represented by different styles from Baroque and Classicism to late Modern. In Krasnodar, there is one of the largest Russian churches – Saint Catherine’s Cathedral, built as early as in 1914 and survived by a miracle under the Soviet power. It is also worth while visiting the Krasnodar main Orthodox Church – Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Interesting and dramatic, was the fate of this, one of the Russia’s most beautiful churches, an example of Russian and Byzantine templar style. Alexander Nevsky Military Cathedral was erected in April 1853, but later on, in year 1932 it was blown up by the Communists. And it was not until May 2006 when the inauguration ceremony of Alexander Nevsky Cathedral built anew took place.

Nowadays the Krasnodar architectural variety combines the harmony of old and modern structures. Now, next to the churches there are also modern high-rise buildings (the Marriott Hotel”), shopping and entertainment centers (“Red Square”), modern concert halls (Palace of Arts “Premiere”), restaurants, and night clubs. The city also strikes with its numerous museums, theaters, art galleries. Particularly, if you find yourself in Krasnodar, we recommend you to visit the Krasnodar Regional Art Museum named after F. A. Kovalenko to enjoy a rare collection of Russian avant-garde and Dutch art of XVI century, and also attend concerts of SSAI “Kuban Cossack chorus” to listen to Kuban Cossack, Russian and Ukrainian folk-songs.

Two Krasnodar unusual landmarks enjoy wide popularity among tourists and local community: the Monument to a purse and the Monument to the doggies in love. Do you want to turn round? Then you are to the purse. It is enough to rub your purse over it, and you will have more money. But if you are unlucky in love, then the loving couple of dogs will help you, you should stroke their small paws and love will certainly come to you.

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Krasnodar: A hot spot for Cossacks, bourgeoisie and outdoor fans

For five years in a row this southern city has topped the ranking of Russia's best places to live , and it is not surprising. Krasnodar’s main street is so green that walking along it feels like a stroll in the park, local eco-friendly food is served on tables in restaurants, and a high-speed train will take you to the Black Sea coast in just 2 hours.

I usually visit new Russian cities by taking the train. This time, it’s Krasnodar, the unofficial capital of the Russian south, about 1,300 kilometers from Moscow. My comfortable double-decker train from Moscow arrives, after 19 hours, at 5:30 a.m. I’m shocked: it’s already + 28 Celsius and the sun is rising. Summer in Krasnodar is so long that even September is warmer than May. 

Next to the train station I see a small Lenin statue surrounded by minibuses, as well as their drivers and passengers. Apart from that, the streets are empty. The small houses along the main streets hide themselves behind big fences and vine tendrils, just like in the south of Europe. 

More than 830,000 residents live in Krasnodar, but at 6 a.m. you will hardly see even one of them. The city is quite young; founded in 1793, but the settlement only obtained official city status in 1867, exactly 150 years ago.

The street signs sometimes mention a place called Yekaterinodar. That’s the old name of Krasnodar, which means ‘gift of Catherine.’ Actually, two Catherines decided the city’s fate: Catherine the Great gave the land to the local Cossacks to build a fortress. And St. Catherine of Alexandria is the patron saint of the city. In 1930, Stalin tried to erase all memory of the city's imperial past, so Yekaterinodar became Krasnodar – ‘a red gift.’ 

Nevertheless, Krasnodar retains memories of its historical past. Instead of English, the street signs are doubled with their pre-Soviet names . Lenin Street used to be Sobornaya (Cathedral) Street, and Sovetskaya Street was called Grafskaya (Palatine).   

Fur hats and horses for the strong

For centuries Yekaterinodar was the military headquarters of the Kuban Cossacks . After the Russian-Turkish and Russian-Polish wars in the 18th century, the Black Sea Cossacks were granted their own lands in the Kuban region by Catherine the Great, where they founded a military fortress and their own capital. It was considered as a gift of honor for their help on the battlefield.

After the revolution in 1917 the Cossacks set up their own republic in Kuban, but in the 1920s they were deported by the communist government, which viewed them as a threat. Many also died of starvation in the Soviet famine of 1932–33. Only later in the 1930s did the repression stop, and soon after the Cossack organizations began anew.

Today, the Cossacks are still classified as an armed organization, but more often they present themselves as keepers of old traditions. They've opened museums, and they dance and sing at every major traditional festival. Also, the  Kuban Cossack Choir tours the world.  

Between steppes and Vienna

Walking through Krasnodar today you won’t meet many Cossacks, but you will see a lot of small sculptures , friendly people in shorts, summer dresses and a light smile on their lips. I suppose it’s because of the weather. While in Moscow we have about 1,730 average sun hours per year, Krasnodar enjoys more than 2,100. A good reason to smile, isn’t it?

There's a surprise in the city center around Krasnaya Street and Zhukov Square . While you will recognize a monumental post-Soviet colorful mosaic on the left, there's one bourgeois town villa after another on the right. Neo-classicism, Art Nouveau, and many more early 20th century Western Europe architecture styles are delights for the eye.

I head on to the  Krasnodar Memorial Museum , founded in 1879 by Evgeny Felicyn, a local Cossack military, scientist, historian who was dedicated to social causes. Except for the exhibit, you should check out the surprisingly rich décor inside the  Bogarsukov villa , where the museum has been located since the early 1960s. And do not lose sight of the ceiling! There you’ll find Caucasian scenes from the steppe, as well as gold and silver ornaments á la Vienna .  

The town’s green thumb

Where else to go in Krasnodar? Locals have a clear answer: walking along  Krasnaya Street , which crosses the entire city center and passes almost all important sights, including the  statue of Catherine the Great  and the local Triumphal Arch . A long green stripe leads to the city theater and a square with a monumental Kuban flag. 

Close to the middle of Krasnaya Street I need a rest, a coffee and a snack. No problem, there are dozens of cafes. My personal tip: try the  Guryevskaya kasha  in the southern Russian coffeehouse chain  ‘Khlebnye  istorii ’ . This is not what you often find on a menu, and it’s tasty and healthy.

Now, the lower part of Krasnaya invites you on intensive shopping tours, and will surprise you on the weekend. On Friday evenings starting at 8 p.m. the street is closed for cars and public transportation to give pedestrians, joggers, bikers, skaters, musicians, artists and all the people without a car more space to enjoy the weekend . 

Walking along the opposite side of Krasnaya Street, you make a circle and reach the route’s starting point through the city’s heart –  the Catherine Garden . The old trees remember Krasnodar’s Cossack leader, whose house used to stand across the road in the 19th century – locals believe the young city once started from this place 150 years ago.

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Krasnodar travel guide

Krasnodar tourism | krasnodar guide, you're going to love krasnodar.

Krasnodar was founded in 1794 by Black Sea Cossacks to guard Russia's southern border. Today it is one of the most important cultural centers in Southern Russia, with a diverse population of 775,000. It has renovated tsarist-era buildings and pleasant streets lined with cafes, restaurants, and bars, earning the city the title of 'Little Paris'.

Top 5 Reasons to Visit Krasnodar

Krasnodar has some great museums and galleries including the Krasnodar Regional Art Museum Of Kovalenko and Museum of Military Technologies Oruzhie Pobedy.

2. Monuments

The city's many monuments tell the tale of Krasnodar, from the Monument to Catherine the Great to the Monument to Kuban Cossacks.

Relax in one of the city's many green spaces, including Rozhdestvenskiy Park of Culture and Leisure and the City Botanical Garden.

4. Krasnaya Street

Take an evening stroll on Krasnaya Street, which closes to the traffic and comes alive with revelers, becoming the city's nightlife center.

5. Make a Splash

Take a dip at one of Krasnodar's water parks, Equator Aquapark and Aqualand Waterpark.

What to do in Krasnodar

1. a dazzling array of russian masterpieces.

The oldest art gallery in the Caucasus region, and still the largest, the Kovalenko is Krasnodar's artistic jewel. Its mission is fairly simple: giving a panoramic impression of Russian art from the early days of "the Rus" in the medieval era, to 19th century realism, Soviet Constructivism, and more recent post-modern innovators. This means that there are plenty of Orthodox icons and evocative landscapes on display, and much for fans of Russian art to discover.

2. A Serene Spiritual Survivor

The center of the Kuban Orthodox eparchy (essentially like a diocese), the beautiful cathedral of St. Catherine was built in the 1890s but has the feel of a much older building. Slated for demolition in the dark days of Stalinism to use its bricks for homes, the cathedral endured (while Krasnodar's other cathedral, the Alexander Nevsky, was flattened). Nowadays, it's a serene spiritual hub where visitors can expect to be warmly welcomed whenever they arrive. And, if you're really lucky, you may even get a chance to ring the church's bells.

3. Tanks For The Recommendation!

One of the more outlandish museums in the Caucasus, the Museum of the Weapons of Victory is located in Victory Park, right next to the River Kuban. Dedicated to the heroes of the Red Army during World War Two, it includes a bombastic collection of tanks and artillery - both vital tools in seminal battles like Kursk, which turned back the Nazi advance into Central Asia. A timely reminder of the pivotal role the area played in the 1940s, it's also great fun to clamber over the giant tanks, and educational, too.

4. Get Soaked In The Summer Sunshine

Literally translated as "Sunny Island", Solnechny Ostrov is where locals tend to go for relaxation, particularly when the Caucasian summers really take their toll. Part of the reason is the waterpark, which is the ideal place to cool off, especially if you have a few kids in your party. But the area is also home to Safari Park, Krasnodar's main zoo, where you can meet over 120 types of animal. And if that's not enough, there's also a monument to trailblazing cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.

5. A Small But Powerful Historical Attraction

Located in the center of Krasnodar and designed on a modest scale, the Felitsyn Museum provides an essential history lesson for anyone who wants to get to grips with the city's past. There's an arresting archaeological exhibition going all the way back to the era of nomadic tribes, information about the region's iconic Cossack warriors, as well as sections on the Russian Civil War, which took place right after the Revolution in 1917. You might think of Krasnodar as a backwater before visiting the Felitsyn, but its collections will set you straight. It's a city that has been at the heart of world history.

Where to Eat in Krasnodar

Borshberry on Krasnaya Street is a good place to sample the local borsch and beer, while Skotina Meat Restaurant on Suvorova Street serves excellent steak and meat dishes. You will pay around ₽400 for dinner in a budget cafe and ₽800 in a mid-range restaurant.

When to visit Krasnodar

Krasnodar has a humid subtropical climate but cold winters. Summer temperatures of around 75 degrees make it a good time to visit.

How to Get to Krasnodar

Krasnodar International Airport (KRR) lies around eight miles to the east of the city center. It has domestic flights from most major Russian cities and international services from Vienna and Dubai. A taxi into the city will cost around ₽500 and the number seven trolleybus costs ₽23.

There are regular train services from Novorossiysk, Rostov-on-Don, and Volgograd. The fare from Volgograd is ₽900.

The M4 connects Krasnodar with Rostov-on-Don to the north, while the E50 connects the city with the Caspian Sea to the east.

There are regular buses to Krasnodar from Novorossiysk, Sochi, and Rostov-on-Don. The fare from Novorossiysk is ₽350.

Airports near Krasnodar

Airlines serving krasnodar, where to stay in krasnodar.

Shukhov Hostel on Kalinina enjoys a central location and has modern dorm accommodation. The Hilton Garden Inn on Krasnaya Street offers luxury and good amenities.

Popular Neighborhoods in Krasnodar

Tsentralnyy Okrug - this is in the center of the city and has some of the city's best architecture and wide boulevards.

Prikubanskiy Okrug - this is a modern, mainly residential area to the north of the city center. It has good shopping and plenty of green areas.

Karasunskiy Okrug - this is a pretty neighborhood of parks on the banks of the Kuban River. It has some of the city's better hotels.

Where to stay in popular areas of Krasnodar

Most booked hotels in krasnodar, how to get around krasnodar, public transportation.

The city has a good network of buses, trams, and trolleybuses. Fares are from ₽30.

Taxis charge an initial fare of ₽52.50 and then ₽25 per mile.

Krasnodar has a decent road network and generally light traffic. Car rental costs from around ₽2,500 per day.

The Cost of Living in Krasnodar

Shopping streets.

The bazaar at Vostochniy Rinok is the place for local goods and produce, while Galaktika on Stasova Street is a large mall with lots of fashion, sports, and technology shops.

Groceries and Other

A quart of milk in Krasnodar costs ₽44, while a loaf of bread is ₽25.