Moscow – Golden Ring: Russia, a Land of Contrast

Welcome to Moscow – the capital and the great metropolis of Russia! Your unforgettable 8-day journey begins! Upon arrival, you will be met by a local guide and transferred to the hotel. You will have dinner in the hotel and some free time to rest after the flight.

Your first day in Moscow will start with a city tour. Today we will discover the main sights of the Russian capital: Red Square and the Kremlin, Christ the Savior’s Cathedral, Poklonnaya Gora and Victory Park, the observation platform in Sparrow Hills, followed by a visit to the Novodevichy Convent – a World Heritage Site of the 16th century.

After an independent lunch, you will be able to take a closer look at the Kremlin cathedrals and visit the Red Square with St Basil’s Cathedral and Lenin’s Mausoleum. In the evening you will have free time to have a rest.

In the morning you will head to the pearl of the Golden Ring route – Sergiev Posad – the beloved city of pilgrims and visit its magnificent Holy Trinity Lavra – the heart of the Russian Orthodox Church that has stood here for over 700 years.

After lunch, you will head to Rostov the Great. You will be amazed by the Kremlin with its churches, the Assumption Cathedral, and a complex of residential buildings, surrounded by powerful fortress walls. The Kremlin walls with eleven towers stretch for almost a kilometer. The space of Lake Nero, city buildings, and, against this background, sparkling domes of churches. All this creates that unique Rostov landscape that will remain forever in your memory. Then you will depart to Uglich for an overnight.

You will start the day by observing the new city. Ancient Uglich impresses with an abundance of churches and its thousand-year history, full of intricacies, forgeries, conspiracies, and mysteries. You will visit the main attraction of Uglich – the magnificent ensemble of the Kremlin and the two main monasteries of the city: the carved ensemble of the Resurrection Monastery and the Alekseevsky Monastery, where the miraculous image of the Most Holy Theotokos ” Vratarnitsa Uglichskaya” or ” Inextinguishable Candle” healing to those praying.

After an excursion around Uglich, you will travel to the capital of the Volga merchants – the glorious city of Rybinsk, which history began in the XI century. It is in Rybinsk that bread, timber, oil, and other goods from the deep lower reaches of the Volga were reloaded onto small ships and sent further along with the Mariinsky water system. Undoubtedly, the most famous historical sight is the Old Bread Exchange, a two-story building in austere classical style with a six-column Tuscan portico. It is the first exchange building in Russia, which appeared outside Moscow and St. Petersburg. The grandiose Transfiguration Cathedral (1853) is the indisputable dominant of the city, which can accommodate 3000 people. The cathedral bell tower is visible from any city corner, its height is 94 meters, and it offers a stunning view over the city.

Yaroslavl welcomes you today! In the very heart of Yaroslavl, on the banks of the picturesque Kotorosl River, powerful snow-white towers and walls of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery are proudly torn up, golden domes sparkle in the sun. Many architectural wonders await you during your sightseeing tour. You will see the unique, fifteen-domed Church of John the Baptist, lavishly decorated with the famous Yaroslavl tiles, and also a rocket chapel with a stained glass partition – one of the modern symbols of the city. Yaroslavl, despite the whirlwinds of wars and social upheavals, has preserved samples of almost all architectural styles. It’s a truly unique city!

Our next stop is Kostroma – the hometown of Snegurochka, granddaughter of Russian Santa Clause. You will admire the wonderful old churches, marvel at the art of carpenters in the Museum of Wooden Architecture, visit the only elk farm in Russia, and have a great rest on the picturesque Volga expanses. During the city tour, you will see The Holy Trinity Hipatian Monastery located at the confluence of 2 rivers – Kostroma and Volga.

Today you will depart to another point of our journey – Plyos. On the route we will visit one of the best fisheries in Russia.

The history of the Volgorechensk fishery began in 1975. It’s one of the largest and well-developed in the country, preserving the traditions of Soviet fish-farming. They produce more than 13 tons of sturgeon caviar per year, using the water area of the Volga and its tributaries, where since the dawn of time, the Russian sturgeon lived and spawned. During the visit you will know and see by your own eyes all the peculiarities relating to the production of sturgeon and its caviar.

At the end of the visit, you will be offered to taste hot and cold smoked sturgeon with an opportunity to buy some products in the fishery shop. Get also ready to experience a bit of an off-road ride arriving at the fish farm!

Arriving in Plyos, we will have a tour around one of the smallest cities founded in the 12th century. People come here precisely for the historical and artistic atmosphere – multi-colored wooden houses over the Volga, silhouettes of ancient bell towers, and picturesque landscapes attract hundreds of thousands of travelers a year. You will be impressed by golden beaches in summer, ski slopes in winter, numerous craft shops, museums, including the house-museum of Isaac Levitan – Russia’s most celebrated landscape artist. Then you will depart to Suzdal for an overnight.

We will start the day with a city tour around Suzdal, the unofficial capital of the Russian Golden Ring. The reason is the richness of sights, their excellent preservation, and the harmonious combination of landscape and city buildings. You will visit the local Kremlin that in the XI-XII centuries acquired fortifications, which consisted of an annular earthen rampart, over which towered log walls with towers – the rampart and moats of the ancient fortress have survived to this day. Next, you will head to the observation point at the Monastery of Saint Euthymius that was founded in 1352 and originally conceived as a fortress. Also, you will walk along the trading rows where originally merchant shops and warehouses had been located, and today you will find a lot of souvenir shops.

After lunch, we will have a tour around Vladimir. Several amazing monuments of Russian medieval white-stone architecture have been preserved here. You will visit the Assumption Cathedral – the symbol of Vladimir and its main attraction. The masterpiece of ancient Russian architecture, built in the 12th century, served as a model for the creators of the temple of the same name in Moscow, and today it is included in the register of monuments of world importance. The cathedral is dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos, regular services are held there, and a museum works for the laity. Afterward, you will walk around the St. Demetrius Cathedral – a small cross-domed church made of white stone. It is not only an example of art but also a shrine: pilgrims come to worship the icon and a piece of clothing with the blood of a martyr. After the long day we will be back in Moscow for an overnight.

Now you can explore the city by yourself and do some last-minute shopping. Then you will be transferred to the airport. Now it’s time to say goodbye to Russia. Hope to see you again!