Golden autumn in Russia is a special time. From the end of September to the twentieth of October, nature turns into all shades of yellow, orange and red and seems to calm down before the oncoming cold weather. The best way to admire the crimson and gold-clad forests is somewhere outside the city, preferably in a quiet and peaceful place, in order to experience the beauty without the noise of a bustling crowd. We chose five secluded places that are easy to get to from Moscow.
Muranovo, Moscow region
This beautiful estate with a park is located not too far from the capital, in the Pushkinsky district, and it’s quite possible to take a short weekend trip to it. In the golden autumn, it will definitely be remembered: the transparent blue sky, bright yellow birch trees, rolling fields around and the winding Talitsa River create landscapes of such beauty that there is no doubt why poets and artists loved this place so much.
Pushkin’s contemporary, the poet Evgeny Baratynsky, lived in the main house of the estate every summer, and Gogol and Aksakov visited here. Today the museum-reserve bears the name of Fyodor Tyutchev, but it is interesting that the poet himself visited here only once, and his things and books that can be seen in the exhibition were brought here after his death. Today Muranovo can be called a rare example of a perfectly preserved Russian noble estate.
How to get there
The estate is located in the Pushkinsky district of the Moscow region. You can get there by train from Yaroslavsky station: take a ticket to Ashukinskaya or Sofrino stations, and then change to bus No. 34 to the Muranovo Museum stop.
You can also get there by car along the Yaroslavl highway. The journey will take a little over an hour.
Useful information
The museum is open daily, except Mondays, from 10:00 to 18:00, on Tuesdays until 17:00.
Entrance ticket to the park at the estate costs 50 rubles*. The house itself can only be visited with a guide, the cost is 400 rubles* on weekdays and 450 rubles* on weekends.
Up-to-date information can be found on the website.
Where to stay
It’s convenient to get to the estate in one day from Moscow, but if you wish, you can stay in cities nearby. For example, in Pushkin or Sergiev Posad, to at the same time explore the local attractions. And very close to Muranovo there are such options:
- Park Hotel “Sofrino” – cost from 11,000 rubles* per double room per night.
- Hotel Villa Alpina (score 9.4 out of 10) – price from 18,700 rubles* per double room per night.
- Tulip Inn Sofrino Park Hotel (score 9.8 and 10) – price from 19,700 rubles* per double room per night.
Polenovo, Tula region
Many people wrote an essay at school based on Vasily Polenov’s painting “Golden Autumn” – why not look at this landscape with your own eyes? Of course, these places have changed somewhat over the course of a couple of centuries, but the transparent sky over the bend of the Oka and trees painted with gold can still be found today in the vicinity of the former Borok estate, which is a museum-reserve.
Visit the main house where the museum is located, the artist’s studio called the Abbey and the outbuildings. By the way, local buildings are not very typical for Russia: almost all outbuildings here are half-timbered. Smooth white walls and dark brown beams look especially beautiful against the backdrop of bright autumn foliage. Take a walk through the forest surrounding the house and be sure to go down to the Oka River – at the end of September and beginning of October, views of incredible beauty open up here.
How to get there
If it is more convenient for you to travel by public transport, take the train from Moscow to Tula, getting off at Tarusskaya station, from which it is easiest to take a taxi to the estate or transfer to bus No. 113 (to the “Museum-Reserve” stop).
By car from Moscow you need to take the Simferopol highway, it’s about 120 km to Polenov.
Useful information
The museum-reserve is open daily, except Monday and Tuesday. The last Thursday of the month is sanitary day (at the beginning of autumn 2023 it is September 28, the museum will be closed on this day).
You can get to the park from 9:00 to 20:00, to the museum from 11:00 to 18:00. The box office is open until 16:45.
You can find out more information on the official website.
Where to stay
The estate is located on the way from Moscow to Tula, not far from Tarusa and Velegozh. You can stay there or in the surrounding area.
- Hotel “Silver Age” (rating 8.5 and 10) – cost from 3,200 rubles* per double room per night.
- Country Hotel “Three Bears” (rating 9.4 and 10) – cost from 5,200 rubles* per double room per night.
- Hotel Welna Eco Spa Resort (rating 9.0 and 10) – price from 9,400 rubles* per double room per night.
Vyatskoe, Yaroslavl region
This ancient merchant village has been a member of the Association of the Most Beautiful Villages in Russia since 2015. Many people come here to study local museums – there are more than ten of them in a small settlement, and all of them are unusual: for example, the Museum of Russian Fun with an exhibition of ancient toys, or the Museum of Russian Entrepreneurship (where you can hear about the history of this village, which wanted to become a city). The beautifully preserved and restored buildings recreate ancient interiors, and local guides are praised in literally every review.
It’s good in Vyatskoye at any time of the year, but the end of September and the beginning of October is a special time here. At this time, you don’t want to go to museums so much as to walk around the surrounding area with amazing Central Russian nature, playing with all the colors of autumn. It’s not for nothing that artists often come here for plein airs.
How to get there
The village with a museum complex is located 300 km from Moscow. Using public transport, you can first take the train to Yaroslavl (3 hours 25 minutes journey), and then at the station take a taxi to Vyatskoye (30 minutes ride).
Or go by private car, in which case the journey will take 4 hours 30 minutes.
Useful information
The complex is open daily from 10:30 to 18:00, the ticket office is open until 17:30. The cost of a single ticket to visit all ten museums is 1,100 rubles*.
Detailed information can be found on the website.
Where to stay
There is one hotel in the village itself, but you can find a much wider choice in Yaroslavl.
- Boutique hotel “Music and Time” (score 9.4 and 10) – cost from 4,100 rubles* per double room per night.
- Hotel IKK Vyatskoe – price from 4,400 rubles* per double room per night.
- “Ring Premier Hotel” (score 10 and 10) – cost from 9,800 rubles* per double room per night.
Mikhailovskoye, Pskov region
The best place to admire the forests dressed in crimson and the lush nature of the withering is in the family estate of the Pushkins. There are even special tours here, but you can easily plan your trip yourself.
Mikhailovskaya Bay was granted in the middle of the 18th century to Abram Petrovich Hannibal, who was the great-grandfather of the great poet. He founded the Petrovskoye estate there, which is also part of the ensemble of the Pushkin Museum-Reserve. But much more tourists are attracted by Mikhailovskoye, the family estate of Pushkin’s mother, where Alexander Sergeevich was born and lived for many years. True, it is worth knowing that all the buildings were destroyed in 1944, but were later restored to their original form. But the melancholic atmosphere, which is felt especially vividly in the fall, has been perfectly preserved – as has the apple orchard and the park with Anna Kern’s linden alley. Come breathe fresh air, listen to the ringing silence and be alone with the bright beauty of Pushkin’s autumn.
How to get there
The estate is located in the settlement of Pushkinskiye Gory in the Pskov region. The journey there by private car will take more than 8 hours, so it’s worth using other options. For example, take a train to Pskov (almost 12 hours of travel, one-way ticket from 2,000 rubles*), and then take a bus to the Pushkin Mountains (1 hour 40 minutes).
Useful information
The Mikhailovskoye Estate Museum is open from 10:00 to 18:00, on Saturdays until 19:00. The ticket office closes half an hour earlier. The last Tuesday of the month – in September 2023 it is the 26th – a sanitary day when the museum is closed.
An adult ticket with a tour of the house and park costs 400 rubles*, without a tour – 330 rubles*.
Official website.
Where to stay
Not far from the estate, in the Pushkin Mountains and the surrounding area, there is quite a large selection of housing. For example:
- Hotel “Zagosye” (rating 8.2 and 10) – cost from 4,500 rubles* per double room per night.
- Guest house “Trigorskaya 1” (score 8.6 and 10) – cost from 5,000 rubles* per double room per night.
- Hotel “Arina R” (rating 8.8 and 10) – cost from 6,300 rubles* per double room per night.
Gatchina, Leningrad region
In the suburbs of St. Petersburg there is the only castle-palace in the region, a bit reminiscent of English estates. There is a very beautiful park around it, which is especially picturesque in golden autumn. Here you can walk along the alleys for several hours, looking at sculptures and taking photographs against the backdrop of bright yellow and red foliage. Don’t forget to bring duck food with you: there are quite a lot of them in Karpiny Pond and White Lake. The best time to catch a riot of colors and good clear weather is the very beginning of October.
It’s also worth coming here to admire the clear lines of the castle, which Catherine II once gave to her favorite, Count Grigory Orlov. True, he did not own it for long: after the death of Count Gatchina, it went to Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich, who later became Emperor Paul I. A monument to him today is erected next to the palace.
How to get there
The fastest and most convenient way from Moscow is first by plane to St. Petersburg (round-trip ticket from 6,000 rubles*, journey time 1 hour 20 minutes), and then right at the airport take bus No. 39 or express No. 39e.
Useful information
Gatchina Palace is open from 10:00 to 18:30, the ticket office and entrance close half an hour earlier. In 2023, September 5 will be a sanitary day. The Palace Park is open daily from 6:00 to 22:00.
A ticket with an excursion to the palace costs 550 rubles*, for a tour of the facilities in the park – 150 rubles*.
Site.
Where to stay
- Hotel “Priorat” (rating 8.1 and 10) – cost from 2,800 rubles* per double room per night.
- Boutique hotel “Capital” (score 8.8 and 10) – cost from 3,200 rubles* per double room per night.
- Hotel “Gatchina” (rating 9.0 and 10) – cost from 4,000 rubles* per double room per night.
*Prices are current at the time of publication.
