The Capital of Sakhalin is a compact city with almost 200.000 inhabitants. It is a typical Russian city with mainly 3-6 storey apartment buildings. Many new modern building considerably changed face of the city for the last 7 years. Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk experiences the oil boom with Russian and foreign oil companies bringing needed investment in the island’s infrastructure. Three of the world's largest oil companies, Shell, BP and ExxonMobil are investing billions of dollars, making Sakhalin the largest target for foreign investment in Russia. The demand for natural resources by Japane, China, and South Korea has ensured continued prosperity in the foreseeable future for the entire island.

Cultural life of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is quite intensive. There are tree museums, regional Drama Theatre, puppet show, 3 cultural centers with concert halls and different kinds of art studios. Concerts, festivals and contests are held on regular basis. There are different kinds of music bands such as Chamber Orchestra of classical and modern music, Jazz band, Russian folk choir.

There are tree main museums worth attending in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

The Sakhalin Regional Museum is housed in the the former Japanese regional government building with pagoda-style red tile roofs. The museum hosts exhibitions about the island’s natural and climatic features, as well as the history of Sakhalin. There are archeological and ethnographic collections of monuments of indigenous population of Sakhalin – Ainy and Nivhi.

The Sakhalin Regional Art Museum was opened in 1989 in the building of the former Japanese bank "Hokkaido Takuseku". Big hall of the first floor hosts different kinds of temporary art expositions and chamber music hall for concerts of classical music and special events. There are three permanent expositions: "Copies of Ancient Russian Frescos", "Art of Japan", and "Art of Korea" on the second floor.

Chekhov’s Museum is devoted to the book "The Island of Sakhalin" is written in 1890 by Anton Chekhov after his visit to the Czarist labor camps on the island.

 
The favorite place of relax and leisure in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is the city park (Gagarin Park, Парк Гагарина) with its adventure playgrounds and numerous beer & barbeque (shashlyk)spots. On the Park territory as well you can find stadium with football field. In the center of the Park there is lake with small boats and a miniature railroad station with train for kids. Railway goes around the Park and a trip on the train takes aproximately 15 min. It is a nice amusement for children and adalts but it works only during summer and early autumn. Near the main entrance there is a compact carting track with cartings. Winter time it is rearranged into an ice rink for skating. Near the another Park entrance facing to the Mega Palace hotel there is a small zoo.
Gagarin Park is lovely place especially during warm seasons.