Why not arrange a mini-trip for the weekend? Yaroslavl is the perfect place for this: welcome to the capital of the Golden Ring, one of the oldest cities in Russia and the oldest on the Volga River. The local historical center is like an open-air museum with Russian architecture of various styles and eras from the 14th to the 20th century.
Content
- How to get there
- Where to stay
- What to see and do
- Where to eat
How to get there
By car. From Moscow to Yaroslavl 270 kilometers — it is possible to overcome this distance in 4 hours. It will take much longer to drive from St. Petersburg — about 9 hours and 850 kilometers.
By train. The journey time from Moscow will be 3.5 hours or more. The ticket price starts from 800 rubles. It takes from 10 hours to drive from the Northern Capital. Prices start from 1,700 rubles
By bus. There are routes from Veliky Ustyug, Kostroma, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Cherepovets, Rybinsk, Kotlas, Vologda. You can get from the capital in 4.5 hours and from 1100 rubles
By plane. Direct flights depart from Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Mineralnye Vody, Moscow, Samara, St. Petersburg, Sochi and Khanty-Mansiysk. The schedule can be viewed on the official website of Tunoshna Airport. It takes less than an hour to fly from Moscow, and the cost starts from 2000 rubles
You can get to Yaroslavl by plane. Photo: Anastasiia AE Egorova/Shutterstock.com
Where to stay
We recommend staying close to historical sites so as not to waste time on the road. Among the housing options: a cinematic—style hotel, a merchant’s house, cozy apartments – choose your nest in Yaroslavl for the weekend. Where? Of course, on the Island, especially since with the GURU loyalty program you can save a lot — from 10% of the cost of living. To participate, it is enough to register.
Boutique hotel “John Vasilyevich”
A hotel with an atmosphere of Soviet cinema. Each room has its own special interior inspired by movies — here you can visit the mansions of John Vasilyevich, Petrykin’s apartment, and the 12 Chairs apartment. Next to the hotel is the monument “The Bear on the bench”, a little further is the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery. The cost for two people with breakfast starts from 6800 rubles.
Kuptsov Dom Hotel
The hotel has an excellent location in the historical center, next to the Fyodor Volkov Theater. It is located in the building of a real former merchant’s house with a two-hundred-year history. Accommodation for two with breakfast will cost 5,750 rubles per night.
The Kuptsov House Hotel.
Alyosha Popovich Dvor Hotel
Not just a place to stay, but a whole complex with a sauna, a museum-theater, restaurants, and a billiard club. It seems as if I was visiting Russian heroes, the interior is appropriate: a log cabin, wooden furniture, a stove, carved balconies. It is located in the historical center, not far from the Transfiguration Cathedral. The cost for two people starts from 4680 rubles without meals.
ParadeAparts Apartments on Pervomaiskaya 13A
Cozy apartment 10-15 minutes leisurely walk from the central attractions. It is allowed to stay with a pet at no extra charge. The cost per night is 2,685 rubles.
ParadeAparts Apartments at 13A Pervomaiskaya Street.
Apartments in the historical center
Bright apartment in the center of Yaroslavl. From here, all the iconic places can be reached on foot. The hostess personally greets the guests, answers the questions of the guests. For one night, the cost will be from 5,139 rubles.
Apartment with fireplace on the waterfront
They are located in a quiet and peaceful area within walking distance from the city center — no more than 15 minutes walk. The interior is decorated in Provence style with cute details: paintings, live plants, souvenirs. The cost starts from 5710 rubles per night.
Apartment with fireplace on the embankment.
What to see and do
Strelka Park
Strelka Park has a special significance: it was here that Yaroslavl originated, in a place where two rivers merge — the Volga and the Kotorosl. It used to be an abandoned wasteland, but now it is a point of attraction for residents and tourists. In 2010, the park was renovated for the 1000th anniversary of the capital of the Golden Ring. By this date, the Assumption Cathedral was also built: it appeared on the historical site where the first and main temple of the city used to be located. Next to the cathedral there is a unique sculpture — the only image of the Old Testament Trinity in Russia.
The upper part of Strelka offers a picturesque panorama: a park, embankments, domes of churches and a huge coat of arms of the city in the form of a bear with an axe. After descending the stairs, go for a walk along the alleys to the stele with the bronze figure of Prince Yaroslav the Wise.
In summer, people ride scooters and roller skates near fountains in nizhny park, and in winter they stroll among snow-covered trees.
The upper part of Strelka offers a picturesque panorama: a park, embankments, domes of churches and a huge coat of arms of the city in the form of a bear with an axe. Photo: Sergey Dzyuba/Shutterstock.com
The best sights of Yaroslavl region
Recommended the best places near Yaroslavl: find out from the article About!A blog on where to buy a local whistle, where the Peter I Boat is moored, and in which museum in Rybinsk you can see paintings by Shishkin and Aivazovsky.
Fyodor Volkov Drama Theater
The first Russian public theater was founded in Yaroslavl in 1750 by actor and director Fyodor Volkov. For the first time at that time, anyone could visit the theater, not just the nobility. Now you can go out and watch the production on one of two stages: the main stage, with 676 seats, and the chamber stage, with 100 spectators. Prices are very affordable and start from 100 rubles. The theater’s repertoire includes the melodrama based on Chekhov’s stories “The Lady with the Dog”, the fabulous musical “The Flying Ship”, and the ethno-rock play “From Nekrasov to Nekrasov”.
You can also see the interior of the theater on the “Theater Walk” tour. The acting actresses will tell stories about the life of Fyodor Volkov, about their profession, and show you a dressing room where you can view and try on elements of stage costumes. They will take you through a secret backstage and other secret places inaccessible to ordinary viewers. This tour lasts about an hour and a half and costs 800 rubles.
The first Russian public theater was founded in Yaroslavl in 1750 by actor and director Fyodor Volkov. Photo: Afonkin_Y/Shutterstock.com
Yaroslavl Museum-Reserve
is the main museum of the city and one of the oldest in Russia. There are architectural masterpieces on the territory of the complex, which are protected by UNESCO.: Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral in a former monastery, Holy Gate, refectory, belfry. You can visit various exhibitions and expositions: “Treasures of Yaroslavl”, “The Yaroslavl Meal”, “Nature of the Yaroslavl Region”, “The Word about Igor’s regiment” and others.
The museum has a space called Biryulki Hall, which invites you to have fun playing board games. Unusual games: biryulki, kucha-mala, tavlei, kubar. If these names seem unfamiliar, you can learn about the rules from the museum staff. Thematic workshops are also held here.
The main museum of the city and one of the oldest in Russia. Photo: Studio MDF/Shutterstock.com
Volzhskaya embankment
In summer, you can walk along the Volga embankment for hours, ride a bike, relax in the gazebo or on the terrace, admiring the beauty of the Volga River. To keep warm in winter, visit the museums along the boardwalk: the State Art Museum, the Museum of the History of the city. This way you can combine a pleasant walk with cultural leisure. The length of the embankment is about 3 kilometers.
Here, next to Myakushkinsky descent, there is a round gazebo — a symbol of the city and a place that Yaroslavl residents themselves call the “gazebo of love” or “temple of friendship.” You can also find others on the embankment.
