The day stars with the Yaroslavl city-tour. On the west bank of the River Volga, this ancient city retains much of its 18th and 19th century mercantile appearance and layout. Visits include: Monastery of the Saviour of the Transfiguration, Church of Elijah the Prophet, decorated with outstanding frescos on subjects from Old & New Testament, and Church of John the
Baptist depicted on the Russian 1000 rouble bill

In the morning leave for Plios town, now considered one of the most desirable country getaways by wealthy Muscovites. This little town on the Banks of the Volga River was made famous by the 19th-century artist Isaac Levitan who found the light and birch strewn landscape irresistible

Walk along the river and visit Levitan Museum, artist’s former lodging among the fish-smoking shacks. Lunch is served in a restaurant on the riverbank. From Plios drive to Suzdal (148 km) where you dine and stay for overnight.

09:00-10:15 Drive to Plios
10:15-10:50 City tour on foot
10:50-11:15 Refreshment break

11:15-12:15 Levitan Museum
12:30-14:00 Lunch
14:00-17:00 Drive to Suzdal (including a stop on the way)
17:00 Check-in to Hotel

Suzdal is a well-known tourist destination that has many remarkable riverside churches and monasteries dating back to the 11th century, some of which are included in UNESCO World Heritage List. Today, Suzdal has the look and feel of a small provincial town or village, with it’s beautiful landscape and rustic unpaved roads and houses

Leave the Hotel on foot for Museum of Wooden Architecture with its historic samples of vernacular buildings, this outdoor museum gives an insight into rural living in old Russia. Your next visit this morning is to Suzdal Kremlin; within its walls stands the Cathedral of Nativity with its 13th-century white stone reliefs Its ancient doors are rare surviving examples of the technique of fire gilding. Have lunch in a local restaurant. Continue the city tour of Suzdal with a visit to the remarkable St. Euphymius Monastery. The largest of Suzdal’s many monasteries, St. Euthymius has a commanding position overlooking the town and river. It is remarkably well-preserved and great example of the might of the Russian Orthodox church in medieval times.

You can admire the view from outside the formidable walls OR, time permitting, take a walk down to the Pokrovsky Convent for a magical 360 degree view of the town. At the end of the day visit the 12th-century Church of Boris and Gleb, first Russian saints, in the village of Kideksha (5 km). There’ll be some free time in the evening.

9:30-09:35 Walk to Wooden Architecture Museum
09:35-10:45 Tour of the Museum, walk to Kremlin
11:25-12:35 Suzdal Kremlin and Cathedral
12:45-14:30 Lunch
14:30-14:45 drive to Kideksha
14:45-15:30 Church of Boris and Gleb in Kideksha
15:45-17:00 St. Euthymius Monastery, concert of Church bells
Return to Hotel / or free time in Suzdal

Today’s tour starts in Bogolyubovo (20 km drive from Sizdal), a small village between Vladimir and Suzdal. Highlights are the Church of Intercession on the river Nerl, dating from the early XII century that is considered the most harmonious Temple ever built in Russia. Alternatively (in case of bad weather, when the Church of Intercession is closed) you explore the territory and churches of the Bogolyubovo Convent that stands on the sight of the former Palace of Andrew the Pious (Bogolyubsky), the only building of Medieval Russia that has survived without renovation.

Continue to Vladimir (12 km), lunch is available in a local restaurant in Vladimir.

After lunch, you will explore the town of Vladimir, one of the medieval capitals of Russia and home to three important monuments that are on the UNESCO on the World Heritage List: the magnificent five-domed Assumption Cathedral, painted by the great medieval iconographers Andrei Rublev and Daniil Chyorny; St. Demetrius Cathedral notable for its noble form, ideal proportions and walls decorated with beautiful stone carvings and more than 600 bas-reliefs; and the Golden Gate – a combination of battle tower, overgate church and triumphal arch, a remarkable monument of Russian fortification architecture

09:15-09:45 Drive to Bogolyubovo
09:45- 11:45 Visit the Church of Intercession on the River Nerl (walk across water meadows 1
km each way)
11:45-12:15 Drive to Vladimir
12:30-13:45 Lunch
14:00-15:30 Walk including Assumption Cathedral and St Demetrius Cathedral
15:30-16:30 Vladimir city tour and Golden Gates
16:30-17:30 Drive back to Suzdal

In the morning drive to Alexandrov (137 km) with luggage on board. Alexandrov was a residence of Ivan the Terrible as an alternative capital of Russia. The tour includes the residence territory and the Palace of Ivan the Terrible. Continue to Sergiev Posad (48 km). Lunch can be organized upon arrival, and after lunch you’ll visit the St. Sergius Monastery – the ancient center of Russian Orthodoxy with churches and buildings dating from the 15th to the 18th centuries.

An exuberant, extensive site, it makes a fitting end to the Golden Ring Tour. Drive to Moscow takes about 2 hours (78 km). We transfer you to your Hotel, train station, or airport.

09:00-11:00 Drive to Alexandrov
11:00-12:30 Tour of the Monastery and Palace of Ivan the Terrible
12:30-13:30 drive to Sergiev Posad
13:30-14:15 Lunch at Pechki Lavochki
14:45-16:45 St Sergius Monastery and free time
16:45-18:30 drive to Moscow