The FIFA World Cup 2018 to be hosted in Russia gives the fans a great chance to see various Russian cities. One of these cities is Rostov-on-Don, a million-plus city, the capital of the Southern Federal District of Russia. Let’s find out how the World Cup 2018 games will be held and what awaits the guests who are going to visit football matches and see the local attractions.
The Father Rostov is hosting the Mundial 2018
Rostov-on-Don is a large administrative centre in the south of Russia, a city with rich history and culture. This city is a melting pot of different nationalities and traditions. Thus, there is a reason it is called the “Father Rostov”, the “Combine Capital of Russia”, the “Gateway to the Caucasus”, the “Merchant City”, “Liverpool of Azov”, “Rost Angeles”, the port of seven seas has many unofficial names. The city has its own flair, the air is filled with various legends. That’s the atmosphere that can’t be dreamt up or created artificially. If to choose the cities to show to the foreigners in the first place, Rostov-on-Don must be on this list for sure.
Back in 1930, the stadium “Olimp-2” was built in Rostov. It was an arena for many famous matches. After all, people in Rostov truly love football. The city has its own football team named “Rostov” or “Rostselmash” as it is sometimes called. Thanks to the success of FC Rostov, the city for the first time felt what The Champions League is. Whatever the name of the Rostov team is, it has never lacked for bright and talented players.
Five games of the World Cup 208 will be held in Rostov-on-Don. Four of them are shown in the chart below, and the fifth one is a playoff series.
| Group | Teams | Date | Day of the week | Start time |
| E1 – E2 | Brazil – Switzerland | June 17 | Sunday | 9 p. m. (21.00) |
| A4 –A2 | Uruguay – Saudi Arabia | June 20 | Wednesday | 6 p. m. (18.00) |
| F4 – F2 | South Korea – Mexico | June 23 | Saturday | 9 p. m. (21.00) |
| D2 – D3 | Iceland – Croatia | June 26 | Tuesday | 9 p. m. (21.00) |
Another way to get closer to the World Cup 2018 will be a training ground for the national teams — participants of the Mundial 2018. It will be Lokomotiv Stadium, which is now reconstructed and brought back to a fit condition. However, the main games will be held on Rostov Arena.
Rostov Arena
This stunning stadium with a capacity of 45,000 seats is situated on the left bank of the River Don. This is a contemporary stadium which will surely give new energy to the football life of the city opening new perspectives of further trophies and European sports battles. The stadium has the chances to become a hotspot. After the World Cup 2018, its capacity will be decreased to 38,000 seats.
Initially the stadium was known as “Levberdon Arena” which means that it was built on the left bank of the River Don. However, in 2015 this idea was given up. One of the options considered was “Don Arena”. This name has won quite a number of votes on the official website, however, it was not chosen because Rostov is not the only city where the River Don flows. The organizers of the World Cup wanted to perpetuate the name of Viktor Ponedelnik (a famous Russian and Soviet football player who kicked the winning goal in the final game in the first European Football Championship back in 1960), however, FIFA rejected this proposal since there is a unified recommendation for all arenas: a short, fancy name without proper names. A new name – “Rostov Arena” – does not sound unique and vibrant, however, it is familiar to everyone and not only to those living in the the south of Russia.
This sports venue is an oval five-storeyed building. The stands are open, arranged in three tiers. Some of them are covered with wave-like roof. The thing that catches your eye is a stained-glass facade made of metal and glass. A snow-white roof amidst the magnificent river looks like both the wings and the sails. The stadium cost Russia 20 billion roubles.
What to see in Rostov-on-Don
Introduction to Rostov-on-Don begins with its main street which construction goes back to 1781. One of the sections of Bolshaya Sadovaya Street is known among the locals as the “Broadway of Rostov”.
This is a section from Budennovsky to Voroshilovsky Street with unique buildings. Each of these buildings bore the surname of its owner. Margarita Chernova House, mayor’s building, state bank, Moskovskaya Hotel and other remarkable buildings are based on Bolshaya Sadovaya Street.
When in Rostov, you must visit Liventsovskaya fortress — the ruins of ancients settlements in Rostov region dating the 18th century B.C. The settlement was built by the Catacomb and Pit Grave cultures of Don, and is often compared with Troy.
The main recreation place of the locals and visitors to the city is the Ushakov Embankment.
The Father Don is full of monuments, stone slabs and blossoming flower beds. There are several monuments on the embankment of the River Don which are of landmark nature for the south of Russia.
These are Nakhalenok with Grandpa Shchukar, kind and friendly “Rostovtchanka”, the “Tree of locks”.
Most recently, there appeared new characters on the right bank of the river.
They are the “Artist”, the “Father Don”, the “Fisherman”, “Gregory and Aksinya in the boat”, etc.
In the centre of the city, you can find the ruins of the grainery known as The warehouses of Paramonov. In the 19th century, the bulk of the local port turnover was wheat supplied to England. The number of goods shipped to Great Britain has been constantly increasing, thus, soon a huge warehouse was built in the area of the Grain Prystan. Today warehouses of Paramonov make a strong impression. The walls of good red brick look like the ruins of the fortress while the springs bubbling all over form bizarre waterfalls and ponds with crystal-clear water. It’s hard to believe that a century ago this place symbolized the power of man-made creation, was full of life and brought money to the city providing job positions for thousands of people.
The main church of the Diocese of Rostov lies on Stanislavsky Street. This is Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a small copy of the Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Savior. As in olden days, there is the Central Market nearby (formerly bazaar). This magnificent Cathedral is one of the most beautiful buildings in Rostov. It was designed by the architect Konstantin Thon. The Cathedral has a cross shape.
Rostov-on-Don ranks top 10 Russian cities where water supply system appeared among the earliest. In 2007, the bronze monument was erected on site of the first standpipe in memory of this event. It shows a woman who is getting water out of the tap. At first, the length of the pipeline established in 1865 was a little over than 5 kilometers. By comparison, today the length of the pipeline that provides water for the citizens exceeds 2,000 km.
You must also visit the Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin, dolphinarium, zoo (which occupies a territory of 90 hectares while the collection consists of more than 5,000 species — about 400 animals including endangered species), Museum of Cosmonautics, the Iversky Monastery, the synagogue, the fountain on Theatre Square, Seraphim of Sarov Church, Surp Khach Church (or Holy Cross Church), etc.
Today Rostov-on-Don is an attractive place for the locals and the foreign guests who would necessarily want to visit it once again. While preparing for the World Cup 2018 Rostov-on-Don received a new attraction — Platov International Airport. The construction of the first airport in modern history from the ground up cost 30 billion roubles.
It is situated 29 kilometers north-east of Rostov-on-Don in Aksay Region, 15 kilometers north-west of Novocherkassk. It was named after a Cossack ataman Matvei Platov. There are fully equipped parking lots with 2,500 car spaces. The airport occupies an area of 50,000 square kilometers. This is equal to 7 football fields. Platov International Airport makes the shortlist of the prestigious international award known as The British Expertise International Awards 2018 in category “The best engineering and design project”. The airport is spacious, comfortable and functional. Moreover, Platov Airport has become a home base for the newly opened Azimuth Airline that flies Superjets. The interior of the airport includes portraits of Matvei Platov and Mikhail Kutuzov composed of statements, historical facts, quotes and epithets. The airport has a play space, a food court, tourist information centres, a business hall, a room for the disabled, quite stylish washrooms and toilets, a baby care room. Platov has nine passenger boarding bridges: four on international arrivals routes, four on domestic routes while the central one can operate on both routes according to the side where to open the aisle.
How to rent a car in Rostov-on-Don
If you want to rent a car in Rostov, that’s not a problem. Lots of rental companies provide their customers with the foreign cars of various brands. Thus, the motor park consists of budget, medium and business class cars. All cars are in perfect technical condition. It allows to satisfy the customer needs. Car rental offers the clients cheap prices (starting from 500 roubles per day) as well as the proper service quality. It will take you no more than 20 minutes to formalize the agreement. If you want to rent a car in Rostov, you must be over 23 years of age and have a 2+year driving experience. The most popular rental agencies include “Fast and Furious” (“Форсаж”), Rentist, “YUGAVTO Rental”, Rent-A-Car, etc. These companies have their own websites, thus, it is always easy to rent a car online. Other terms and conditions are quite standard, attentively look through the contract and drive with pleasure across Rostov.
Thus, you have a chance not only to visit the World Cup 2018 but also see various attractions through the window of your car. However, don’t forget the documents. If you still have no International Driving Permit, don’t be upset. We will help you out. You can easily apply for your IDL here. Don’t waste the chance!
