Excursions
For a Half Day
Ostankino: Built by the Sheremetyev family in the 18th century, around an earlier theatre, Ostankino Palace, Ostankinskaya 1-aya 5A (tel: (095) 283 4645), in the northeastern part of the city, is open daily 1000-1800 (May-September) and has elegantly furnished rooms and an art collection of 17th- and 18th-century works by minor European painters. Admission costs Rb100-150. Also in this area is the TV Tower (tel: (095) 282 2038 or 2293; e-mail: excursion@tvtower.ru; website: www.tvtower.ru), which, at 540m (1772ft), is the second tallest free-standing structure in the world. An observation platform and restaurant – at a 337m (1106ft) – elevation are no longer operational, since the tower caught fire in August 2000. However, the tower continues to transmit TV to Muscovites. A visit to the nearby All-Russian Exhibition Centre – a rather bizarre former showcase of Communism that is now a cross between a bazaar and world’s fair of capitalist goods – can easily make this a full-day outing. The nearest Metro is VDNKh, from where tram 11 leads to the palace.
The Tsaritsyno Arts and Nature Historical-Architectural Museum: This musuem, at Dolskaya ulitsa 1 (tel: (095) 321 0743 or 6364), is a popular trip for those wanting to escape the grind and grime of the city centre. It houses antique furniture, ceramics and paintings. Perhaps of more interest are the pleasant gardens, which host festivals and concerts. There is also an opera house and restaurant. The nearest Metro stations are Orekhovo and Tsaristsino. The museum is open Wednesday-Friday 1100-1600 and Saturday and Sunday 1000-1700. Admission costs Rb20.
For a Whole Day
Sergiyev Posad: One of the most magical sights in Russia is the monastery of Troitsko – Sergieva Lavra (The Trinity – St Sergius Lavra) in the town of Sergiyev Posad (formerly Zagorsk). Onion domes in gold and bright blue with gold stars come into view from the last rise in the road from Moscow. The monastery is one of Russia’s most important pilgrimage sites and one of only four in the Russian Orthodox Church to have the honorific ‘Lavra’. It is part of the Golden Ring, a group of ancient Russian towns to the northeast of Moscow that are, in effect, open-air museums. The monastery complex, begun in the 1340s by St Sergius of Radonezh (the Russian Orthodox Church’s greatest saint), comprises churches, cathedrals and monastic buildings that are once again in use. Troitsky Sobor (Trinity Cathedral) is the oldest (1422-23) and finest of the churches and its iconostasis included paintings by Rublyov, some of which are now visible in the Tretyakov Gallery. The monastery (tel: (095) 284 3164 or 281 6020) is 80km (50 miles) north of the city and can be reached by train from Yaroslavsky Vokzal station in Moscow. It is open daily 0800-2000 and admission to the church is free (the monastery itself is not open to the public).
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Excursions