The Trinity Lavra was founded by St. Sergius of Radonezh in the 14th century, and grew to form a whole complex of churches, towers, monks’ cells, workshops, and hotels. The monastery is also the final resting place of many Moscow noble houses:
Godunov, Belskiy, Vorotynskiy, Glinskiy, Obolenskiy, and Odoyevskiy families among them. It was also where the great icon painter Andrey Rublev spent most of his creative life. The treasures of the Trinity Lavra include rare icons, ancient books and manuscripts, gold and silverware, traditional embroidery, and gifts bestowed by Russia’s grand dukes, tsars, and emperors. The chimes of the 72-tonne Tsar Bell resonates far beyond the monastery walls. For tourists and pilgrims, the Lavra also offers hotels, refectories serving traditional Russian cuisine, and stalls selling religious ornaments and souvenirs.
On the way to the Lavra you can find museums of Russian wooden toys, Russian ethnography, and bell ringing. Sergiyev Posad is a popular destination with both adults and children.

In the nearby town of Khotkovo there is an attraction unusual for Central Russia, the Kochevnik (“nomadic”) Ethno-Park. This interactive open-air museum is an immersion into the culture, lifestyle, and traditions of Russia’s nomad peoples. In the park you can find traditional tent homes of various ethnic groups: Turkic and Mongolian yurts, the Chukchi aranga, and the Nenets chum among them.
Inside you can taste traditional dishes such as buuz (steamed dumplings), khuushuur (mongolian-style meat dumplings), sharbin (flat plain cakes with minced lamb), tsuivan (noodle stew), shoolen (Buryat-style noodle soup) . You can also try on national costumes, and learn traditional folk dances. The park also has a petting zoo with Kalmyk camels, Mongolian yaks, donkey, sheep, goats, geese, and sled dogs.

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Getting there:
There are commuter trains from Yaroslavsky Railway Terminal in Moscow to Sergiyev Posad. To reach Kochevnik Ethno-Park, you can take either Sergiyev Posad or Aleksandrovo trains, which stop at Khotkovo station, from where you can take a taxi.

PERHAPS THE MOST FAMOUS AND POPULAR ROUTE FOR FOREIGN TOURISTS IS THE “GOLDEN RING”, WHICH FIRST APPEARED SOME 50 YEARS AGO. THIS CLASSIC ROUTE INCLUDES THE ANCIENT CITIES TO THE NORTH-EAST OF MOSCOW, WHICH CAN INDEED BE COMBINED INTO A KIND OF RING.

Initially, this circle included Vladimir, Suzdal, Yaroslavl, Pereslavl-Zalessky, Rostov the Great (Rostov Veliky), Kostroma, Ivanovo and Sergiyev Posad. But Uglich, Plyos, Yuryev-Polsky, Tutaev, Kalyazin, Myshkin, Rybinsk, Murom, Gus-Khrustalny, Palekh, Shuya, Gorokhovets, Bogolyubovo, Kideksha and Dmitrov were soon added, known now as “the towns of the Great Golden Ring”. Recently Suzdal Museum of Wooden Architecture.

Sergiyev Posad, Pereslavl-Zalessky, Rostov the Great and Yaroslavl are also on one route. Ivanovo is traditionally combined with nearby Shuya and Palekh to visit the Ivanovo Chintz Museum and examine the lacquer miniatures in the Museum of Palekh Art. There is a series of programmes dedicated to the cities on the Volga, which offer entertainment for all ages and tastes, such as a tour along the Volga to the flooded Kalyazinsky belltower, a visit to the Ipatievsky Monastery of Kostroma, children’s interactive programmes in the “Myshkin Chambers”, and the house-museum of the artist Isaak Levitan in Plyos. In other words, the essence of Russian culture can be found in the central region of Russia.

This programme allows you to visit the famous Church of the Intercession on the Nerl and admire the frescoes of Andrei Rublev in the Assumption Cathedral of Vladimir.

Kaluga and Kasimov also joined the list of “ring cities”, meaning that the map today is decorated with a whole “jewellery set” of such destinations.

Of course, all the cities of the Golden Ring cannot be included in one programme – that would involve a tour of eight regions. More often travellers choose one or two larger towns and supplement them with small settlements in the vicinity. The classic weekend trip is Vladimir, Bogolyubovo and Suzdal, although from Vladimir you can also go to Murom or Gus-Khrustalny. This programme allows you to visit the famous Church of the Intercession on the Nerl – a UNESCO monument – and admire the frescoes of Andrei Rublev in the Assumption Cathedral of Vladimir.

Text: ANNA MAKAROVA

GETTING THERE

How to get there
It is most convenient to start any trip around the Golden Ring from Moscow. From there you drive along the Vladimir highway (now the M-7) to reach Vladimir, or along the M-8 in the direction of Yaroslavl. You can drive through Pereslavl-Zalessky and Rostov the Great, or the Sergiyev Posad area, then turn towards Kalyazin, and continue on to Uglich and Rybinsk. Most of the major settlements of the
Golden Ring can also be reached by electric train or regular buses.

Where to stay
It is impossible to list all the accommodation options in these “golden cities” – the ring is also very popular with Russian tourists – but there is a wide range of hotels of different levels. In Vladimir, you can stay in the park hotel “Voznesenskaya Sloboda” on a high hill with a beautiful view of the surrounding area, choose the more modest “Vladimir Yard” or “Monomakh”, or one of many hostels like “Air” or “Shankara”. Yaroslavl has the colourful “Alyosha Popovich Dvor” and “The Volga Pearl”, Kostroma the four-star “Golden Ring” and the “Snow Maiden” fairytale complex. “The Cat’s House” is a good choice for those travelling with children to Myshkin, and Levitan’s landscapes await guests at the reasonably
priced “Private Visit” in Plyos.

Where to eat
You explore the Golden Ring to discover Russian culture, so the food en route should also be Russian. In Suzdal, the food and interiors of the “Gostiny Dvor” are famous, Yaroslavl has the exquisite “Penates” in an old wooden mansion, and in Pereslavl-Zalessky don’t miss the “Montpensier” coffee house in the central square (especially the tea from the samovar and the spiced lamb). In Kostroma the “Old Marina” fl oating restaurant has interiors from the classic Soviet fi lm “Cruel Romance”. For lovers of Caucasian
food, the famous “White Sun” restaurant is located right on the bank of the Volga. In the Volga region it is worth trying smoked fi sh, and in Suzdal it is diffi cult to avoid the local mead.

What to buy
The Golden Ring offers a wide choice of souvenirs. More expensive options include folk crafts, from enamel from Rostov the Great to Palekh boxes; cheaper options are ceramics and products made of fl ax. From Myshkin you can bring home all kinds of souvenir mice, the production and sale of which,
it seems, engages about half the local population. (Myshka is the Russian word for mouse.)