European & World Open Shogi Championships Minsk 2020

Venue

The tournaments will be held in the Hotel Belarus***, ulitsa Storozhovskaya 15.

The hotel is located in a quiet place in the park area near the Svislach river within walking distance of the center of the city. Minsk International Airport is located a 40 minute drive from the property, and Minsk Train Station is a 15 minute drive away. Minsk has a good transport system, you can easily get to the venue.

Accommodation

You will find many accommodations at all budget ranges on the well-known booking platforms. We recommend the places that provide a discount on accommodation price for the ESC/WOSC participants, the details will be provided after pre-registration. Please, submit a valid e-mail address.

Hotel Belarus***

the venue,
from €30,5 for single/double room per night. -30%

Hotel Garni***

2 km, 24 min walking from the venue,
from €38,5 for single/double room per night. -20%

Hotel Sputnik***

6 km, 22 min by bus 73 from the venue,
from €16,5 for single/double room per night. -20%

Hotel Voyage

10 km, 50 min by metro and walking from the venue,
from €19,5 for single/double room per night. -15%

Info

Minsk is charming and one of the safest cities in Europe. This is a masterpiece of Soviet architecture with modern and hipster add-ons. You almost will not see twisting lanes and cute houses, the Belarusian capital is broad, spacious and green, and it is definitely worth to visit Minsk! (guide)

The short review of Minsk you can see in the clip below.

Public Transport

Minsk has a good public transport system — a combination of bus, trolleybus, tram and metro. For local real-time public transportation information, please use this website, or install the app (on Google Play or on App Store) on your phone.

Taxi

The first thing experienced locals would say to any visitor — do not take a taxi in Minsk in the street!. Taxis that are not ordered via an app or via a call-center may have tariffs very different from the city’s average. In fact, the law does not prohibit individual taxi drivers from setting up any tariff they’d like.

We highly encourage using Uber BY or Yandex Taxi services. Prices are very affordable. Please note, that the original Uber app is not working in Minsk.

Bike & E-Scooter Sharing

Bicycle and e-scooter sharing service system in Minsk:

• Eleven
• Kolobike

Mobile Connection & Internet

Minsk has a good free Wi-Fi coverage (e.g. Free Wi-Fi Minsk) from several providers. But if you want to stay connected anywhere in the city you can consider the offers of mobile operators for tourists:

• A1
• MTS

Money

The local currency of Belarus is the Belarusian ruble (BYN), available in:

• banknotes: 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 rubles;
• coins: 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 kopecks, and 1 and 2 rubles.

In Minsk, there are many ATMs where you can withdraw money. You can find an ATM in any bank office, supermarket or shopping mall.

Bank cards are widely used in Belarus. You can use them in shops, hotels, restaurants and self-service kiosks. The most widespread international payment systems in Belarus are Visa and MasterCard.

Apple Pay and Google Pay payment systems are also available in Belarus.

More information about Belarus and Minsk you can find here.