The phrase “Golden Ring” was coined by journalist Yuri Bychkov, who wanted to combine the ancient cities of northeastern Russia into a single route. Boarding the Moskvich, Yuri started from Sergiev Posad and returned to the capital via Yaroslavl. In 1967, the journalist wrote a series of articles entitled “The Golden Ring”. The selection includes eight original cities of the country.
Wander through authentic neighborhoods, live like an ancient Rusich, try moose dumplings, ride a kite surf and reach a medieval castle — we have made up a route for you to the places of the Golden Ring, which are not always written about in guidebooks.
Contents
- How to get around
- Sergiev Posad
- Pereslavl-Zalessky
- Rostov the Great
- Yaroslavl
- Kostroma
- Ivanovo
- Suzdal
- Vladimir
How to get around
The easiest way to travel along the “golden” route is by car. Federal highways with roadside amenities lead to all cities: toilets, gas stations, kiosks. And it is also convenient to admire the landscapes close to your heart from the car.
You can also get to the towns of the Golden Ring by rail, but direct trains do not run to all. But regular buses run daily, at a convenient time and without transfers.
A bicycle is another way to view the Golden Ring. Full-fledged bike routes are available on the VeloRussia website and in various mobile applications such as Bikemap (available for iOS and Android).
The easiest way to travel along the “golden” route is by car. Photo: Wlad74/Shutterstock.com
Sergiev Posad
Welcome to the spiritual center where Dmitry Donskoy asked for blessings before the Battle of Kulikovo, and Andrei Rublev wrote his “Trinity”. On the way to the Posad, the Abramtsevo Museum-Reserve with a park is located drowning in maples. Turgenev, Tyutchev, Repin, Levitan and Serov rested and worked here. When you arrive in Sergiev Posad, head to the legendary Trinity-Sergius Lavra, a UNESCO cultural heritage site. Do not neglect the tour — the guides will entertain you with history and take you through dozens of ancient buildings of the ensemble.
The Kelarsky pond will help you take a breath after contemplating the divine walls. It is surrounded by dense foliage of trees, neat wooden houses and peeking domes of the laurel. Go to Pancake Mountain for beautiful photos. There is a view of the city and the monastery from the hill, and the best shots are obtained at the white balustrade on the cliff.
As soon as you arrive in Sergiev Posad, head to the legendary Trinity-Sergius Lavra, a UNESCO cultural heritage site. Photo: KarSol/Shutterstock.com
Something unusual
- Sergievskaya kukhmisterskaya. In the old days, it was a cafe for the middle class. We suggest taking a break here and drinking coffee from acorns in the surroundings of the XIX century. At the same time, you will learn how to cook caramel landrines, similar to Montpensier.
- Skitskie Ponds Park. A modern recreation area with wooden deck chairs, ponds, paths and cafes where you can go boating and catamaran.
- What else to see in Sergiev Posad.
Where to stay
An antique-styled boutique hotel, houses in the spirit of the imperial summer residence and classic rooms — choose what you like.
Pereslavl-Zalessky
The city is small, but remote. In 1152, it was founded by Yuri Dolgoruky. Alexander Nevsky was born and grew up here, and the young Peter I created a funny flotilla, which became the prototype of the Russian navy.
This is a cozy provincial town among the hilly landscapes unusual for these lands on the shore of Lake Pleshcheyev. Here, residents catch grouse, admire sunsets, walk along the ecotropes of the arboretum garden and ride saps and boats.
Orthodox monasteries rise around the lake: Assumption Goritsky, Nikolsky and Holy Trinity Danilov monasteries with ancient frescoes. The original streets (Sadovaya, Rostovskaya, Kuznetsova) are another attractive part of Pereslavl. You walk, look at the domes and feel the grace.
Orthodox monasteries rise around the lake: Assumption Goritsky, Nikolsky and Holy Trinity Danilov monasteries with ancient frescoes. Photo: Alexey Dmetsov/Shutterstock.com
Something unusual
- Kitesurfing. The shallow waters of Pleshcheyev Lake are ideal for board rides using a kite. Right there on the shore you can get an instruction and rent equipment.
- Restaurant “Fisch Herberg — Herring Royal Ambassador”. And where else will you try fried grouse and herring ice cream, if not here?
- What else to see and do.
Where to stay
Art hotels, campgrounds and original guest houses will help you gain strength before the next city.
Rostov the Great
Rostov Veliky is one of the oldest cities in the country, which was the center of the principality of the same name for 300 years. All the streets of the city lead to the white-stone Rostov Kremlin. Tourists brought up on Gaidai’s films, at the sight of the monastery walls, will immediately remember how Miloslavsky and Bunsha escaped from the pursuit of Streltsov in the film “Ivan Vasilyevich changes his profession.”
The cathedral and temple program includes the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, its belfry with dozens of ancient bells and a walk along the embankment of Lake Nero to the Spaso-Yakovlevsky Monastery. There is a mandatory program: wander around the garden, climb to the observation deck, drink local beer and have a snack with gingerbread.
All the streets of the city lead to the white-stone Rostov Kremlin. Photo: Nick N A/Shutterstock.com
Something unusual
- Finifti Factory Museum. Look at the ancient church utensils, icons, caskets, jewelry and household items of the XVIII century, painted in the finift technique, which glorified Rostov no less than temples.
- Shchuchy Dvor Theater-Restaurant. Here you will be fed delicious author’s fish snacks and fish soup among the colorful fishing interior and exhibits.
- Other interesting sights in Rostov Veliky.
Where to stay
Rooms in a 19th—century building and panoramic views of the Kremlin – Rostov Veliky is generous with stylish and soulful hotels.
Yaroslavl
And here is the capital of the Golden Ring. This is the first city on the Volga, and it is named after Prince Yaroslav the Wise. People come here to walk along the Volga embankment and see the temples of the XIII−XVI centuries: the Transfiguration Cathedral on the territory of the monastery, the Tolga Monastery and the Assumption Cathedral.
To come to Yaroslavl and not visit the confluence of the Volga and Kotorosli rivers is unforgivablean omission. In Strelka Park, people ride electric scooters, admire the domes of churches, watch singing fountains and have fun at concerts.
In Strelka Park, people ride electric scooters, admire the domes of churches, watch singing fountains and have fun at concerts. Photo: Sergey Dzyuba/Shutterstock.com
Something unusual
- Interactive museum “Music and Time”. It was opened in 1993 and became the first private museum of modern Russia. You will see a large collection of antique gramophones, gramophones, charmans, clocks, bells and hear how they sound.
- Rybinsk. A portal to Soviet Russia of the 1920s has been opened 80 km from Yaroslavl, where every step is a cinematic location. Old-style signs hang on merchant mansions, and on the embankment there is a river port and a Grain exchange similar to the Moscow Central Department Store.
- Other interesting places of the Yaroslavl region.
Where to stay
A special pleasure is to go to a stylish room after a busy walk, take a shower in a beautiful bathroom and fall into a comfortable bed.
Kostroma
Here Mikhail Romanov was elected to the throne, and the peasant Ivan Susanin saved the tsar from the Polish-Lithuanian army by sending foreigners to the Kostroma marshes.
You can’t just skip the main white-stone Ipatievsky Monastery on the banks of the Volga. The monastery houses the royal chambers of the first Romanovs, a solid exposition of icons and Christian shrines.
Then go to the Kostroma “frying pan” — the main square, whose layout resembles kitchen utensils. In addition to the Ostrovsky gazebo and the hotel on the pier, where the “Cruel Romance” was filmed, take a look at the boulevard on Mira Avenue. This is the “Arbat of Kostroma” with coffee shops, street musicians, museums, a drama theater, a circus and an art gallery.
Go to the Kostroma “frying pan” — the main square, whose layout resembles kitchen utensils. Photo: saiko3p/Shutterstock.com
Something unusual
- The tavern-museum “Rasstegai”. Have lunch in a place opposite the entrance to the Ipatiev monastery. They cook according to recipes from a century ago and tell stories about the ordered dish.
- Cheese Museum. Any tourist must necessarily try the famous Kostroma cheese, taste local dairy products and buy delicacies.
- What else will surprise Kostroma: top attractions.
Where to stay
Cozy, bright, clean and close to the Volga — what else do you need for happiness?
Ivanovo
Brides and calico are not all that the youngest city of the “ring” can boast of (it is only 150 years old). Count your fingers: a chamber reserve similar to Switzerland, the country’s best collection museum and even a medieval castle.
By the way, not far from Ivanovo, the city-reserve of Ples, a corner of sincerity and peace, is hidden. It is also called “little Russian Switzerland”. There are wooden houses in the center of the town, and around there is a river and coniferous and deciduous forests. From Mount Levitan you will see the peaceful Russian expanses.
Not far from Ivanovo, the city-reserve of Ples, a corner of sincerity and peace, is hidden. Photo: Baturina Yuliya/Shutterstock.com
Something unusual
- A museum with a private collection of antiquities by philanthropist D. Burylin. This includes 780,000 exhibits from antiquity to the present day. You will see archaeological finds, books, weapons, works of art, household items and interiors.
- Duringer Manor. Swiss Duringer was a fan of the Middle Ages, as can be seen from his architectural preferences. The house is easily recognizable by its towers, triple windows, balconies with bars and pseudo-Gothic style. Residents claim that jewelry is hidden in the house and the ghost of the owner walks around.
- What else to see in the Ivanovo region.
Where to stay
Ivanovo is not only a city of brides, but also stylish hotels.
Suzdal
is an ancient Russian city of churches and picturesque nature. When you come to Suzdal, it’s like you get into the past without any time machines. Here stands the Kremlin, which is a thousand years old. And here is the narrow Kamenka River, along which an important trade route “from the Varangians to the Greeks” once passed.
Despite the crowds of tourists, Suzdal manages to maintain clean air and harmony with nature. To the left of the men’s Spaso-Evfimiev Monastery, an observation deck rises on a hill, from which you can see the river and the opposite shore.
The Kremlin, which is a thousand years old. Photo: Maykova Galina/Shutterstock.com
Something unusual
- Shchurovo gorodishche. In 2008, a reconstruction of a 16th-century Russian settlement with fortress walls, peasant huts, a blacksmith shop and a barn was built specifically for the filming of the film “Tsar”. Now this place has turned into a museum of culture and everyday life of the ancient Slavs, where they teach baking bread in an Old Russian oven, archery and horseback riding.
- Restaurant “Beehive”. Try moose dumplings and pike cutlets in the interiors of a village house.
- How to explore Suzdal in one day.
Where to stay
Suzdal continues the Russian tradition of hospitality with a sauna, hearty breakfasts and rooms with views of the cathedrals.
Vladimir
The compact city was born in 990, which is older than Moscow and in the XII—XIV centuries bore the title of the capital of Russia.
Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy, and Ivan Kalita were married in the oldest Assumption Cathedral. The white stone walls of the cathedral are covered with the rarest frescoes by Andrei Rublev “The Last Judgment” and “The Procession of the Righteous to Paradise”.
Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy, and Ivan Kalita were married in the oldest Assumption Cathedral. Photo: high fliers/Shutterstock.com
Something unusual
- The Patriarch’s Garden. A well-maintained park with fountains, flowers, elegant stairs and cherry trees. In spring, the garden is as beautiful as the Japanese cherry blossom festival.
- Bolshaya Moskovskaya Street. Every house here is ancient architecture. The street begins with the Golden Gate, and ends with a red brick tower.
- Other top attractions of the Vladimir region.
Where to stay
Complete the route of the Golden Ring beautifully, comfortably and with a view of the soulful landscapes from the windows.
Let the Golden Ring whirl you around with natural beauties, snow—white cathedrals, and also by all means – unzipped, knocked down, fresh cheese and other gastronomic pleasures.
Cover photo: MISHELENA/Shutterstock.com
