There are moments in life when you want to return to the cozy past. Wander through the ancient streets of the provincial town, as if straight out of Kustodiev’s paintings, admire Levitan’s landscapes with the unchanged bell tower and high river bank, enjoy the silence and tranquility of the hospitable province. We have selected the best places to travel a couple of centuries ago, to merchant Rus’.
Plyos
How to get there
It’s more convenient to go from Moscow to Plyos by car, rent will cost an average of 2700 rubles* per day . The second option is to take the Lastochka to Ivanovo and change to a bus or taxi there. A train ticket costs from 850 rubles.
Where to stay
Grand Sova Hotel – from 13,500 rubles per night per person.
What to see
A cozy town on the banks of the Volga is a symbol of Levitan’s Rus’, the same one from the paintings “Above Eternal Peace” and “Evening. Zolotoy Plyos”. Artists and admirers of Isaac Ilyich, lovers of village life and meditation come here. Enjoy picturesque views, colorful houses on a steep bank, bell towers and the quiet charm of a leisurely provincial life.
Guests of the town have many leisure options: write sketches of the Volga and local landscapes, go to Mount Sobornaya or Mount Levitan, look at the wooden Resurrection Church and the ancient crosses next to it, buy gifts on the Kalashnaya shopping street and stroll along the embankment. Don’t forget to look into the basements of the city government, where the “Public Places” museum is located, and into the former Flour Rows, where examples of artistic crafts are shown. The cost of tickets to the museums of the Plyossky reserve starts from 100 rubles for adults.
From gastronomic specialties in coffee shops, look for Plyos kuleika (a local version of cheesecake with cottage cheese) and pies with smoked fish.
Kungur
How to get there
A flight from Moscow to Perm will cost an average of 7,000 rubles per person. From Perm to Kungur there are 90 km, which can be traveled by bus, taxi or rented car.
Where to stay
Hotel Iren – from 1500 rubles per night per person.
What to watch
In the 19th century, the district Kungur was called the tea capital of the Russian Empire. Such fame was brought to the city by local merchants who established barter trade with China. The first convoy with tea from Kyakhta traveled to Kungur for almost a year – it was a bold trading operation of the young merchant Alexei Gubkin. Few people in 1840 believed that he would be able to make tea a national drink, but he succeeded. Thanks to the growing tea trade in Kungur, related crafts are developing: the production of samovars, ceramic dishes and sweets, including figured gingerbread.
You can get acquainted with the life of a merchant at the Museum of the History of Merchants. Evidence of past glory is carefully preserved here: tin and paper tea boxes with the trademarks of the Gubkin company, fancy Chinese vases from the mansion of the Gribushin merchants. Ticket for adults – 100 rubles.
Next door are the Museum of Local Lore, Gostiny Dvor and a monument to the samovar. Even without visiting museums, it’s interesting to walk around in Kungur: look at old mansions and shops, architectural details, churches and creative sculptures. In the balloonists’ park, find a monument to Nikita the Flyer, and on the embankment – the picturesque boat of Ermak and the allegorical “Navel of the Earth” in the form of a granite hemisphere.
After your walk, go to a master class on making printed gingerbread cookies (cost from 500 rubles) or, if you haven’t been yet, explore the underground world in the famous Kungur cave. For those who prefer the mountain world, we advise you to go to the Belogorsk Monastery – from there you can see beautiful views of the surrounding spaces.
Elabuga
How to get there
The cost of a flight from Moscow to Naberezhnye Chelny starts from 6,500 rubles, you can buy a reserved seat train ticket from 2300 rubles. Next, take a bus or take a taxi.
Where to stay
Blackberry Hotel – from 2000 rubles per night per person.
What to watch
The weekend in Elabuga will be busy, because in the city that has preserved its merchant appearance there are sixteen museums. Choose to your taste: the house of the painter Ivan Shishkin, the estate of the cavalry maiden Nadezhda Durova, the house in memory of Marina Tsvetaeva and her Literary Museum, “Portomoinya”, the Museum of the History of the City and District Medicine and others. The cost of tickets for an adult is from 50 to 400 rubles, a single ticket for three days is 2000 rubles.
In the city it is pleasant to wander around the well-kept center, as if straight out of pre-revolutionary postcards. Among the bright merchant mansions and antique-style lanterns, guests on Kazanskaya Street are greeted by a policeman and a janitor – sculpture is respected here. By the way, there is also a monument to the samovar as the main symbol of the merchant past. In summer, Shishkinsky Ponds are especially beautiful – a landscape park on the banks of the Toima River, founded by the artist’s father.
Be sure to take a walk around the Yelabuga settlement: climb the Millennium Staircase to the restored stone tower of the pre-Mongol fortress-mosque and admire the views of the Kama, lakes, green hills and bell towers of the city. Nearby, a huge serpent-oracle spread its wings – the embodiment of the legend about a soothsayer who once lived in a pagan temple on a mountain in the guise of a monster.
If you have children with you, take a look at Gulyai Park next door – in addition to all sorts of sports and entertainment grounds, there are unusual art objects installed here, from chairs taller than human height to a monument to the Elabuga lid, the same one that covers homemade pickles .
For lunch or dinner, go to the museum-theater “Tavern” – here they will not only show and tell you what similar establishments looked like a couple of centuries ago, but will also treat you to merchant delicacies.
Shuya
How to get there
A Lastochka ticket from Moscow to Shuya costs from 850 rubles one way, the train is running a little over three hours.
Where to stay
«Grand Hotel Shuya» – from 3400 rubles per night per person.
What to watch
Another former capital in our selection, this time of the appanage Shuya principality, which lasted six decades during the period of feudal fragmentation. Alas, the wooden Kremlin was burned by supporters of False Dmitry I; only a section of the fortress moat next to the Literary and Local Lore Museum was preserved.
The exhibition is located in the elegant building of the former city government in the neo-Russian style, reminiscent of princely chambers. The collection is named after Konstantin Balmont – the future poet studied at the gymnasium in Shuya and began writing his first poems here. The first monument to the Symbolist poet in Russia was erected nearby, and talented guests of the city can take part in the annual festival “Balmontov Readings”.
From the monument to the poet, the cozy street Malachi Belov will lead to Green Square. The point of attraction is immediately noticeable – this is the 106-meter bell tower of the Resurrection Cathedral, the tallest free-standing bell tower in Europe. Climbing it to admire the city from above is a matter of honor for every tourist.
To get a closer look at the merchant side of Shuya, go to the Pavlovsky cultural center. The mansion in the style of late classicism with elements of baroque and eclecticism amazes with its state rooms, magnificent stucco ceilings and marble statues. And the Mikhail Frunze Museum invites you to get acquainted with the life of ordinary townspeople and local revolutionaries.
Elets
How to get there
The most convenient way to get from Moscow is by car, rental will cost an average of 2,700 rubles.
Where to stay
Grand Yelets Hotel – from 3000 rubles per night per person.
What to see
Elets is a merchant city, but it is not alien to art. In the quiet center, mansions and shops of the 19th century have been preserved, and ancient paving stones remember how Ivan Bunin went to the gymnasium. Guests will be told about the youth of the Nobel laureate at the writer’s memorial house-museum. The linden trees on the pedestrian Torgovaya Street, as if frozen in the past, will help you feel the atmosphere of the Bunin city. Near a Gothic water tower with chimes and a monument to the writer – sitting on Ivan Alekseevich’s lap is considered a good omen.
The rich past of the city will be readily introduced at the Museum of Merchants and Estates, and the skill of its inhabitants will be shown at the Museum of Folk Crafts and Trades. The Art Nouveau building attracts attention with its decoration: a panel of majolica tiles depicts a pelican above a nest. The symbol of motherhood is not accidental: the elegant mansion was built by order of the merchant Zausailov as a nursery for the children of the workers of his tobacco factory. The museum is a haven for lace lovers – Yelets is deservedly famous for its needlewomen.
You can continue the cultural program in the house of composer Tikhon Khrennikov. And if photography is closer to you, then go across the Karakum Bridge to the other side of the river – from the sandy beach there is a wonderful view of colorful houses and the majestic Ascension Cathedral.
*Prices valid at time of publication.
