Samara

Samara is a city where history runs deep — and we mean that literally. Sitting proudly on the banks of the mighty Volga River, this Russian city played a hugely important role during World War II, even serving as a backup capital. Hidden beneath an ordinary school building is a secret bunker that plunges almost forty metres underground, built in total secrecy for the Soviet Union’s most powerful leader. Today you can walk through it yourself and imagine the tension of those wartime years.

But Samara has another incredible story to tell — one that reaches all the way to the stars. This is a city that helped build the rockets that carried human beings into space, and a towering Soyuz rocket still stands in the city as a proud reminder of that achievement. Stroll along the beautiful Volga embankment watching enormous ships drift past, and you will quickly understand why Samara feels like a city with real ambition, real history, and real heart.