Kazan is one of the largest cities in Russia, the capital of the Tatarstan Republic. It is an economical, political, sports and cultural center of Tatarstan. Kazan with its status of "the third capital of Russia" attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists. It boasts several dozens of complex, departmental, private and personal museums. Thus there is a wide range of museums for all visitors to choose from.
Let’s have a look at the best Kazan museums.
State Historical, Architectural and Art Museum-Preserve "Kazan Kremlin"
The Kazan Kremlin is the oldest historical part of Kazan. It consists of a white stone city fortress, as well as several churches, museums and other buildings of cultural value. The museum-reserve with 12 meter high walls takes the territory of 15 hectares.
The Kazan Kremlin was built in the 10th - 16th century; the remains of the first (12th - 13th centuries), the second (14th - 15th centuries) and the third town (15th - 16th century) were found in its area.
At present it is the residence of the President of Tatarstan Republic. Since 2000, the museum-reserve Kazan Kremlin has been a recognized UNESCO World Heritage site.
 
Tatar Cuisine - Top 5 National Dishes to Taste when Travelling in Kazan

The National Museum of the Republic of Tatarstan
It is the leading cultural institution of the republic and one of the largest museums in the Volga River basin. The National Museum of Tatarstan is housed in the former Shopping Arcade (Gostiny Dvor), a present-day monument of architecture. The museum founded in 1895 holds over 910 thousand exhibits. The museum features more than a dozen collections, including ethnographic, archeological, and numismatic collections, as well as scrolls and monuments of writing, household items of the peoples of the Volga region, etc.
 
Eating Out: Top 7 Restaurants in Kazan

The State Museum of Fine Arts of the Tatarstan Republic
The Tatarstan Museum of Fine Arts founded in 1958 keeps the fund of over 25 thousand exhibits. Among them, there are paintings, graphic arts, sculptures, Old Russian icons of the 16th century, and a collection of Western European art.
In 2005, the National Art Gallery "Khazine", located in the Kazan Kremlin, became part of the museum. The gallery presents two thousand works of art, which are related to the Kazan art school. Paintings by famous artists of Tatarstan are displayed there.
 
Kazan Night Clubs: Top 10

The Hermitage-Kazan Center
The Hermitage-Kazan Center is located in the Kazan Kremlin, the former cadet school. The collaboration of the St. Petersburg Hermitage Museum and the Kazan Kremlin began in 1997. The exhibition center was opened in 2005, for the 1000^th anniversary of Kazan. The museum complex includes exhibition halls, computer classes, a lecture hall and office premises.
 

Islamic Culture Museum in the Kazan Kremlin
The Museum of Islamic Culture was opened in the basement of the Kul Sharif mosque in 2006. This is the only cultural institution on the territory of Russia, which highlights the culture and history of Islam among the Turkic-Tatar people inhabiting the territory of the Volga River basement and the Urals. The exposition presents rare books, documents, gift editions of the Koran book, written in different languages. The collection is supplemented with multimedia exhibits: the installation of the Kazan Kremlin of the 15th century, the Koran with turning pages, and so on.
 
Read more about Kazan... 
More Articles about Russian Museums
Top 5 Museums of Perm