Ulaanbaatar is not lacking in interesting and fascinating museums, sadly they are for the better part underfunded and could are lacking in creativity in the ways the displays are arranged but it is not unusual to come across extraordinary items and collections under 20 years worth of accumulated dust. Some of those museums have not changed since the communists left in the 1990's and now provide a fascinating insight into life (and misinformation) of the time. Half a day to a day is sufficient to go round all the museums. Beware that some are religious in aspect and require a certain decorum if not dress sense while others only open on certain days or at specific times. 

The biggest (and only) cinema in Ulaanbaatar is located on the same square as the Lenin Museum; it has two large screens and shows western movies as well as Korean films. Beware that although some of the western films are shown in their original language subtitle in Mongolian they are sometimes dubbed in Russian. Most films are showed there about a month after their normal release in Europe or the USA.

 

Cinemas are usually a bad option for foreigners, as you can often buy counterfeit DVD's in shops in very good quality, and in English. That's if you have a DVD player, or Laptop. If not, wait till you get home.

On Sukhbaatar Square, it is the large orange building. It is of a surprisingly good quality as the artists where trained by the Russians. They show all the classics at various times of the year. Carmen, Madame Butterfly, Tosca, die Fledermaus and la Boheme were all excellent productions, and well worth checking out.

The circus is one of the most iconic buildings in Ulaanbaatar with its edgy blue roof, go down either Seoul Street or Peace Avenue and you can't miss it. It is only operational in summer. The show itself revolves around the traditional Mongolian Animals of which the horse is the most prominent. The quality of the show is spectactular as you have to go a long way to impress a Mongolian with a horse. They are practically born on them and are hard to amuse. While the prices to the Circus have risen dramatically over the past few years it still is an excellent show and is well worth the expense.

During the summer months the National Theatre performs a spectacle to introduce the spectators to the various Mongolian Art forms including the contortionists, the long song, the horse head fiddle and the colourful costumes. Throat singing is also presented, as well as other examples of Kazakh and Mongolian musical instruments. A must for any foreigner who wants to deepen their experience of Nomadic and Historical Mongolian culture. 

The cultural Palace will have various shows, concerts and events happening there at different times of the year, some good, others less so. Check with us to see what is on.