Destinations > Central Russia

Kolomna – Ryazan – Tula:
Small Towns, Big Names

Just in five days you will see four majestic defensive fortresses, visit several estates of Russian poets, writers and even the scientist and taste the famous local pastries – marshmallow & gingerbread

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Tour Details

Pearls of ThreeRegions

Get ready to see three ancient cities and their suburbs rich with history and culture. Kolomna – an ancient Russian town located at the confluence of the Moskva River and the Oka, combining modern and patriarchal features in its appearance. Ryazan – one of the oldest cities in Central Russia, whose history is full of tragic events and dizzying ups, the memory of which is kept in museums and architectural monuments. Tula – old town, the center of the eponymous region, which is associated primarily with three things: famous Russian gingerbread, the predecessor of the teapot – samovar and weapons. So let the trip begins.

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Excursion

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nature

culinary

Excursion

theme

family

nature

culinary

religious

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Your Travel Plan

A snowy street of small Russian town, colorful wooden houses and a small red church in Kolomna, small red church with hexagonal towers and gilded domes

A room in a museum with grey walls with historical furniture, pictures, a big portrait of a standing woman wearing a beautiful dress of 20th century by painter Léon Bakst

A quadrate tower of a fortress with a triangular roof, a medieval tower made of stone and brick

A beautiful ancient Russian city on a bank of a river during the sunrise, monastery consisting of several churches and bell towers

Three pink marshmallow sweets on a plate, homemade pastila

A plate with oysters served with red caviar and other fillings

1^st day of the itinerary

Kolomnaand Zaraysk

Early in the morning, you will be transferred to the first place of the route – Kolomna. After arrival, the guide will tour you around the Kremlin. The defensive structure, whose territory covers 6 hectares, was erected in 6 years, and the work was supervised by masters from Italy. On the territory besides the seven ancient towers, surrounding the Kremlin, you can see various cathedrals and museums.

Then the excursion to the Marshmallow Museum will follow. Marshmallow is a famous Russian delicacy made from dried fruit & berry puree or juice. After lunch at the oyster farm, you will leave for the next city – Zaraysk where you will see a local Kremlin as well. Zaraysk is a fortress that reflects the raids of nomads, a trading city on the way to Astrakhan, a place where the first ship was launched, and, literally, a collection of county architecture from the XVIII-XIX centuries. After Zaraysk you will travel to Ryazan for an overnight.

Colorful hot air balloons fly over orthodox red and white cathedral with blue and gilded domes, bell tower and green gardens around, buildings of soviet times on the background

A red wooden house with green modern metal roof and decorations around windows. A memorial plate and a number of house 77 on the facade of the house, Museum at the estate of Nobel Prize winner IP Pavlov with furnished rooms & science exhibits.

A wooden house in Russia with beautiful carved wooden decorations around windows and white storm shutters on the windows, a wooden fence in front of the house. A wooden house in a village.

A small village in Russia in Norwegian style with a lighthouse, cozy red houses in a green field , grey sky

2^nd day of the itinerary

Ryazanand Konstantinovo

The day starts from a city tour across Ryazan including the Kremlin and Oleg’s palace – the former residential chambers of the Ryazan bishops. The palace also housed their home church, brotherly cells, and household services. Later you will visit the museum of academician Ivan Pavlov – a genius physiologist, a classic of natural science, honorary doctor of Cambridge University, and the first Russian Nobel Prize laureate (1904).

Take a rest from history and have lunch at “Khlebnaya Square” – the historical-themed restaurant. In such Russian establishments in the XIX and early XX centuries was possible to get a simple and hearty meal for a small fee. In “Khlebnaya Square” interiors, cuisine, and even music have been recreated. It constitutes the spirit and rhythm of the era when tsarist Russia has collapsed and a new socialist state has been created.

After lunch, get ready to visit Konstantinovo, where the famous Russian poet Sergei Yesenin was born and raised. This village has always held a special place in the poet’s soul and creativity.

On the way back to Ryazan you will make a stop at “Fishing village” – a small hotel complex in the Norwegian style with a lighthouse on the banks of the Oka, where you can make breathtaking photos for your Instagram.

Red brick building decorated with white bricks looking like a neo-gothic castle with many windows, one round window over the central entrance, many small decorative towers

A white three-storey mansion with large windows and bay-window in the center, a palace in classicism style in a park

A river and people chilling on embankment in front of an ancient building of Tula Kremlin in late evening

3^rd day of the itinerary

Starozhilovoand Bogoroditsk

The new city is waiting for you today. Early in the morning, you will be transferred to Starozhilovo where the operating stud farm is located. You can walk around the complex, visit the stud farm museum, and ride horses if you wish. Where else can you see thoroughbred horses set against an architectural masterpiece? Hurry before it falls apart.

After the excursion, you will move on to the next place – Bogoroditsk or “the Tula Peterhof”. In ancient times the former county town became a center that belonged to the illegitimate secret son of Catherine II and Grigory Orlov – Count Alexei Bobrinsky. The Bogoridtsky palace was a prototype of the summer “love nest” of Anna Karenina and Alexei Vronsky from the immortal novel by the famous Russian writer Leo Tolstoy. The majestic palace and the magnificent manor park were compared by contemporaries to the palaces of Peterhof in Saint Petersburg.

After a saturated day, you will head to Tula for an overnight. Don’t miss a chance to dine at one of Tula’s beer restaurant such as the restaurant-brewery “Augustin” that offers a wide range of beer: all foams are brewed in their private brewery or “Petr Petrovich” where apart from the tasty dishes and self-brewed beers you can enjoy interior: the second floor includes numerous windows, light curtains, lampshades, and light shelves in which homemade liqueurs flaunt.

Kremlin castellated wall with four-square towers, field in front of the Kremlin wall covered with snow

Gingerbread cookies with ornaments carved in it

A modern park with people walking in front of red brick building

A building designed in the form of a large helmet, a statue in front of it

A red and white cathedral with round green dome on the left and grey and white tall cathedral with five onion gilded domes

4^th day of the itinerary

Tula

On the fourth day of the tour, you will observe the Tula Kremlin. Then in the Gingerbread museum you can see and compare how sweets are made now and how they were before, and also take part in a master-class “DIY Tula gingerbread” when you can make your own gingerbread. As well you will visit the Samovar museum and discover antique teapots – from the smallest to the largest ones.

Take lunch in one of the creative industrial clusters “Octave” or “Istra”. After lunch, you can visit the Weapons Museum. Its exposition makes it possible to trace the evolution of weapons from the end of the XVI century to the present day. Numerous prototypes of weapons illustrate the complex path of development of weapons design thought.

After excursions, you can have free time to buy some souvenirs. Apart from gingerbreads and small versions of ancient kettles you can purchase belevskaya lace, jewelry made using the technique of cutting, famous local Bolotov tea made from different types of herbs, and strong alcohol – “Tula Fortress”, “Starley” or “Armory”.

A white two-story mansion with green roof in summer, tulips in front of it

5^th day of the itinerary

YasnayaPolyana

Today you will leave Tula behind and travel to Yasnaya Polyana – the estate where famous Russian writer Lev Tolstoy was born and lived for over 50 years. Here he wrote “War and Peace” and “Anna Karenina”. Impressions of the estate’s way of life are reflected in many of the writer’s works. The museum maintains the old setting, takes care of architectural monuments, protects things that belonged to Tolstoy, and takes care of preserving the natural beauty of these places.

After lunch, you will head back to Moscow.

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Tula

Located 130 km from Moscow, this region has gathered a real collection of original tourist brands: weapons, samovars, marshmallow, gingerbread and Leo Tolstoy

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