Kars Travel Guide 2026: The Russian City at the Edge of Armenia

Kars looks like nowhere else in Turkey. Wide, grid-pattern streets. Robust stone buildings with high ceilings designed for severe winters. The faint legacy of the Russian Imperial period (1878–1920) still visible in the architecture of the city centre. A river running through the middle. The Armenian border 45 kilometres to the east. The medieval ghost city of Ani — once home to 100,000 people, now entirely empty — 45 kilometres to the northeast.

Kars is a city where several civilisations left and none fully replaced the others. That absence is part of what makes it extraordinary.

What to See in Kars

The Russian-Era City Centre

From 1878 to 1920, Kars was administered by the Russian Empire following the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78. The Russians built a planned city on a grid — wide boulevards, stone administrative buildings, Orthodox churches (now mosques or museums), a railway station that connected the city to the Trans-Caucasian railway network.

What to look for:

• Fethiye Mosque (formerly the Russian Orthodox Church of the Twelve Apostles, 1879) — still has the Byzantine-Russian architectural character despite its conversion
• Kars Municipality Building — imposing Russian-era administrative building on the central square
• The old railway station — built 1899, still functioning, one of the finest examples of Russian colonial railway architecture in Turkey
• The streets themselves — walk the grid in the morning; the wide boulevards and stone facades create an atmosphere unlike any other Turkish city

Kars Castle (Kars Kalesi)

The castle above the city has Byzantine foundations with significant Ottoman and Russian additions. The view from the castle walls over the Kars River valley and the city below is excellent — particularly in morning light or in winter snow.

Access: 15-minute walk from the city centre up a well-maintained path. Entry free or minimal charge.

Kars Museum

Well-curated regional museum covering the city's complex multi-ethnic history — Russian, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Kurdish and Turkish layers are all represented honestly. The archaeological section contains finds from Ani and the surrounding region. The ethnographic section is particularly strong.

Allow: 1–1.5 hours.

Kars is included in our Eastern Anatolia Tour →

Ani Ruins Day Trip (45 km)

The Ani ruins — the medieval capital of the Bagratid Armenian kingdom, abandoned since the 14th century — are the primary reason most visitors come to Kars. They deserve an article of their own, and we have one. The essential points:

• Allow a full morning at Ani — arrive at opening, stay until midday
• The best light for photography is in the first 90 minutes after sunrise
• Take a taxi from Kars (negotiate waiting time — standard is 2 hours at the site)
• The round trip takes approximately 4–4.5 hours from Kars city including time at the site

What to Eat and Buy in Kars

Kars is famous throughout Turkey for two food products that are genuinely superior here than anywhere else:

Kars Gravyeri (Gruyère) — Swiss cheese-making was introduced to the Kars region by Russian settlers in the late 19th century. The local version — made from the milk of cattle grazing on the high Anatolian plateau — has developed its own character over 130 years. It is sold throughout Turkey but is significantly better and cheaper bought directly in Kars.

Kars Balı (Kars Honey) — the plateau wildflower honey from the Kars region is considered by many to be the finest in Turkey. The diversity of wildflowers at altitude creates a complexity of flavour unavailable from honey produced at lower elevations.

Where to buy both: The shops along İstasyon Caddesi (Station Street) sell both Kars Gravyeri and Kars honey directly. Buy more than you think you want — both travel well and make genuinely excellent gifts.

What to eat:

• Cağ kebabı — the horizontal rotating kebab unique to eastern Anatolia; Kars is one of the best places to eat it
• Kars tava — local lamb dish with vegetables, cooked slowly in a clay pot
• Breakfast in Kars deserves specific mention: local cheese, honey, butter from plateau milk, fresh bread — one of Turkey's finest breakfast spreads

Kars in Winter

Kars receives heavy snow from November through March and is one of the few Turkish cities that actively embraces winter tourism. The city looks completely different in snow — the Russian-era architecture, the river valley, the castle walls — and the atmosphere is unique.

Winter-specific reasons to visit:

• The Sarıkamış ski resort (55km west) is Turkey's most atmospheric ski destination — Ottoman-era wooden buildings, deep powder snow, no international crowds
• Ani in winter (when the access road is clear) is extraordinary — snow on 1,000-year-old stone
• The city's meat and cheese culture makes winter eating particularly good

Practical Information

Getting to Kars:

• By air: Kars Harakani Airport (KSY) has connections from Istanbul (Turkish Airlines, Pegasus) — approximately 1 hour 50 minutes flight
• By train: The Doğu Ekspresi (Eastern Express) from Ankara to Kars has become famous — a 24-hour journey through Central Anatolia and Eastern Turkey; book months in advance, particularly for winter

Best time to visit:

• June and July — plateau wildflowers in bloom, comfortable temperatures for Ani
• September — excellent light, harvest season, fewer visitors
• December–February — winter atmosphere, Sarıkamış skiing (book Doğu Ekspresi well in advance for winter)

How long to spend: 2 nights minimum (city + Ani). 3 nights if adding Sarıkamış or Doğubeyazıt (Ishak Pasha Palace, Mount Ararat, 2 hours south).

Want to visit Kars as part of a guided Eastern Anatolia tour?
Our Eastern Anatolia Tour includes Kars, Ani, Lake Van, Akdamar Island and Ishak Pasha Palace.

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