People come to Pereslavl after visiting Suzdal, Kolomna and other small famous towns near Moscow. Some tourists look at old churches and relax in nature, others kite on Lake Pleshcheyevo and fly in hot air balloons. We’ll tell you what else to do here.
How to get there
Pereslavl-Zalessky is located 145 kilometers from Moscow. You can only get here by bus or car – there is no train station in the city. The cost of renting a car for a day in Moscow is from 2500 rubles*.
By bus the trip will take two hours, the ticket price is from 480 to 525 rubles*. Buses from Moscow depart from the Central Bus Station and the Northern Gate bus station.
You can get there by train only with transfers. For example, it takes 2 hours and 208 rubles* to get to Sergiev Posad, and then take a bus to Pereslavl-Zalessky, which runs three times a day: at 09:00, 18:05 and 20:15. Ticket prices range from 290 to 325 rubles*. Travel time is about 1.5 hours.
The distance from St. Petersburg to Pereslavl is about 800 kilometers. By car the trip will take about nine hours. By train you can only get to Yaroslavl (the journey takes from 11.5 to 14.5 hours, the ticket costs from 1900 to 2400 rubles*), there, change to a bus or car and get to the place.
Where to stay
There are many hotels and guest houses in Pereslavl, both in the city itself and outside it. Here are a few options with ratings above 8.6:
Hotel complex Fisch Herberg – Herring Tsarsky Ambassador – from 2200 rubles per night for two*
AZIMUT Hotel Pereslavl – from 2650 rubles per night for two*
Hotel Pereslavl – from 1700 rubles per night for two*
What to see
Pereslavl is a small city on the shore of Lake Pleshcheevo, founded by Yuri Dolgoruky in 1152. Now it is considered one of the centers of Orthodox culture. Nine ancient churches and five monasteries have been preserved here: Goritsky, Nikitsky, Feodorovsky, Nikolsky and Trinity-Danilov.
Goritsky Assumption Monastery stands practically at the entrance to the city. Since 1918, the state historical, architectural and art museum-reserve has been located here. Its collection contains a collection of wooden sculpture, monastery sacristies and items of noble life. The museum-reserve includes the Assumption Cathedral, Goritsky Monastery, several churches, travel gates, a gatekeeper’s chamber, a religious school and a belfry.
Assumption Cathedral
The Assumption Cathedral is the main monastery church; construction began in the 1750s, but the project was never completed. The cathedral looks massive, its wide arched windows are especially impressive. Inside there is stucco molding and paintings in the Baroque style. Be sure to climb the belfry, which offers a good view of the city and Lake Pleshcheyevo, and also take a good look at the 17th-century passage gate.
Entrance ticket to the museum complex costs 50 rubles*. There are currently seven exhibitions, all of which can be viewed for 350 rubles*. An hour-long excursion for a group of up to five people costs 1,000 rubles*. The complex is open every day except Monday from 10:00 to 17:00.
If you don’t want to hire a tour guide, listen to three audio guides on the mobile app or website. Information and QR codes are located on the territory of the complex, but if you don’t find it, here’s a hint: the audio guide “Pereslavl Museum-Reserve” will tell you about some objects from the exhibition, “Walk through the museum” – about architectural monuments, and “Luxurious view of Pereslavl-Zalessky from the bell tower of the Goritsky Monastery” – about what objects can be seen from the bell tower, as well as about the layout of the city.
Not far from the monastery there is a Arboretum. More than 600 plants from Europe, America, Siberia, China, Japan and other places are collected here. The garden has playgrounds, gazebos, bicycle rentals, a cascade of ponds and many quiet paths for long walks.
Arboretum
Entrance ticket costs 100 rubles*, bicycle rental costs 100 rubles per hour*. In summer the garden is open daily from 10:00 to 20:00, in autumn and winter – from 09:00 to 19:00.
Red Square – city center. It was here that the sovereign’s court with the prince’s chambers was once located, where the commander Alexander Nevsky was born in 1220.
Red Square
The townspeople gathered here for a meeting, the newly-minted princes took the oath, and the regiments from here went to war.
There are several ancient buildings on the square, but the most interesting from an architectural point of view, in my opinion, are two: the Transfiguration Cathedral and the tented church of Metropolitan Peter.
The Transfiguration Cathedral was founded by Yuri Dolgoruky in 1152. This is the only surviving of the five first white stone temples of North-Eastern Rus’. Many Russian princes were baptized here, including Alexander Nevsky. Now the cathedral is closed for restoration.
Savior Transfiguration Cathedral
The tented church of Metropolitan Peter, built in 1584, stands nearby. It is known for its unusual architecture: the church was built in the form of a regular equal-armed cross, which is crowned with a head in the shape of a cut onion. You can go inside, however, now only on rare church services or during patronal feasts.
Tented Church of Metropolitan Peter
Rybnaya Sloboda – an old fishing area similar to a city on the water. This picturesque place is often called “Russian Venice”. I found nothing here from Venice, but a lot from the Netherlands. Almost every house has a small dock, a long boat and a gazebo by the water.
Rybnaya Sloboda
In the 18th century, Rybnaya Sloboda was distinguished by its own system of streets, two of which ran along the banks of the Trubezh River, and alleys descended to it. The shore was the common territory of the so-called “towpath” – a space for hauling and drying nets. Once upon a time, the fishermen of the settlement supplied vendace and smelt to the sovereign’s table. Until the mid-1950s, the river was navigable: in addition to fishing boats, barges with peat and coal moved along it.
While walking around the area, you will see several cathedrals: the Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the provincial baroque style, the Church of the Sign, and at the very end of the street, on the banks of Lake Pleshcheyevo and the Trubezh River, the Church of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste.& ;nbsp;
Trubezh will take you to the main natural attraction of the city – Lake Pleshcheyevo.In winter, you can reach it directly along the river, and locals ride cheesecakes and skates here, and play hockey. In the warm season it is pleasant to walk along the embankment. Lake Pleshcheyevo is part of the national park of the same name. In the summer, people go boating, have picnics, kitesurf, and just walk near the water. In winter, they go ice skating and kite riding – they are rented at several kite schools on the shore.
Pleshcheyevo Lake
In the warm season, I recommend visiting Alexander Mountain – this is the best observation deck on the northern side of the lake. Combine a walk with a visit to the active Nikitsky Monastery, located nearby. A kilometer away there are steep hills: it is believed that on one of them was the predecessor of Pereslavl – the city of Kleshchin.
Sovetskaya and Rostovskaya streets are the very center with old buildings, shops and cafes. From the bridge over the Trubezh River there is a beautiful view of the water and the city. Here is the 18th-century Simeon Church, built in the provincial Baroque style. The building, decorated with platbands, stucco moldings and pilasters, is called the pearl of Rostovskaya Street.
Also, the center of Pereslavl is surrounded by a ring of earthen ramparts. Its total length is over two kilometers, height is 10-12 meters. People walk along the rampart, looking at the sights and various houses with vegetable gardens.
What else to do
2shrimpS/Shutterstock.com
Suddenly, people come to Pereslavl-Zalessky to fly in a hot air balloon. From a bird’s eye view, tourists view Lake Pleshcheyevo and the Trubezh River, monasteries and churches. The flight lasts from 40 minutes to 1.5 hours. The cost of a group ticket for 4-6 people is 6,000 rubles*; two people can fly for 18,000 rubles*. You can also jump from a hot air balloon with a parachute, it costs 16,000 rubles per person*. Details are on the website of the Aeronautics Federation of the Yaroslavl Region.
In addition, people come here to paddle on Lake Pleshcheyevo. There are several kite schools here. In the summer they teach kite-, wind-, and paddle-surfing, and in the winter – snowkiting. An hour-long training session with an instructor and equipment rental costs 3,000 rubles*.
*Prices valid at time of publication
Photos: unsplash.com; shutterstock.com
