You can get from one capital to another by two highways: the M-11 expressway toll or the M-10 “Russia”. The first one is suitable if you are limited in time, but the second one is already an opportunity for a full-fledged road trip. It was laid on the site of a historical route, along which ancient cities with estates, temples and interesting museums stretched. We have compiled a ready-made route for a road trip.
Wedge
You can get from Moscow to Klin in 2 hours – the ideal time for your first stop. Since Klin initially stood on a significant transport artery, it always flourished due to trade and so-called billets, in other words, motels for travelers of those times. Today people come here mainly to visit the oldest memorial museum in Russia, dedicated to the composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, although the town itself is an excellent example of preserved merchant architecture and is simply a very cozy place.
What to watch: museum-reserve of P. I. Tchaikovsky, house-museum of A. P. Gaidar, museum-estate of D. I. Mendeleev, shopping arcades, Trinity Cathedral, Assumption and Resurrection churches, embankment of the Sestra River.
What and where to eat: modern variations of traditional Russian dishes at the Tavern on Sobornaya (Sovetskaya Square, 18a) – stewed beef cheeks with radish , beef stroganoff or Volga pike perch cutlets with mushroom sauce.
Where to stay:
At the Spektr Hotel (rating 9.0) — from 2,700 rubles per day*.
In the four-star hotel “Stagecoach” (rating 9.3) – from 3,100 rubles per day*.
At the country hotel “Istra Holiday” (rating 9.9) —from 6 500 rubles per day*.
Zavidovo village
This small village in the Tver region first appeared in ancient chronicles in 1560. Here, traveling from St. Petersburg to Moscow and back, Derzhavin, Karamzin, Radishchev, Krylov, Pushkin and Lermontov stopped. Today it is a picturesque village with an impressive dominant feature – the temple complex of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin. Very close, on the border of the Moscow and Tver regions, there is another remarkable village of Spas-Zaulok, famous for the luxurious Church of the Transfiguration in the Empire style.
What to see: Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity and the five-tiered bell tower, the Museum of Folk Crafts, the museums “Coachman’s Hut” and “Sovereign Road” “.
What and where to eat: Caucasian dishes and charcoal kebabs in the cafe “Zavidovsky Dvorik” (Leningradskaya Street, 164a).
Where to stay:
In the hotel complex “Yamskaya Sloboda” (rating 8.6) — from 4,100 rubles per day*.
In the countryside recreation complex “Place 7” (score 10) – from 10,000 rubles per day*.
In the three-star apart-hotel Radisson Residences Zavidovo (score 10) —from 11,000 rubles per day*.
Tver
This is a large and interesting city with many museums and cultural centers, which deserves a full visit rather than a quick inspection, so we recommend staying here overnight and devoting at least two days to it. After a large-scale fire in 1763, in which the wooden Kremlin was also destroyed, the city was completely rebuilt – and the project turned out to be very successful. Tver is especially beautiful in spring and summer, when you can walk for a long time along the river bank (here the Tvertsa flows into the Volga).
What to see: Trokhsvyatskaya street with preserved historical houses, Traveling Palace of Empress Catherine, St. Catherine’s Convent in Zatverechye, White Trinity Church, Nativity of Christ monastery, River Station and Proletarka courtyard (Morozovsky town), famous for the birthplace of singer Mikhail Krug.
What and where to eat: fusion dishes with an Asian accent at the BlackBird cafe (29 Radishcheva Boulevard).
Where to stay:
At the Araz Palace Hotel (rating 9.4) — from 2,900 rubles per day*.
In the guest house “Ust-Vazuza Fishing Village” (rating 9.4) – from 6,000 rubles per day*.
In the four-star grand hotel “Zvezda” (rating 10) — from 8,000 rubles per night*.
Torzhok
Today it is a small provincial town, but Torzhok was once a truly prosperous, significant and rich city, and traces of this glorious time can be found everywhere here. The city is surrounded by numerous estates: Znamenskoye-Rayok in the Palladian style, Vasilevo with a luxurious park and the famous Devil’s Bridge, Mitino, Selino and Pryamukhino, where the famous Russian thinker, revolutionary and anarchist Mikhail Aleksandrovich Bakunin was born and lived.
What to see: Borisoglebsky and Resurrection monasteries, Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral in the Empire style, wooden Church of the Ascension, Traveling Palace of the 18th century, Nilov Hermitage, Tveretskaya embankment, numerous residential buildings in the classicist style.
What and where to eat: the best Pozharsky cutlets in the city and signature dumplings at the Lira cafe (73 Dzerzhinsky Street).
Where to stay:
In the two-star Torzhok hotel (rating 8.6) —from 3,400 rubles per day*.
In the three-star hotel “Onyx” (rating 9.2) – from 4,100 rubles per day*.
At the Staroyamskaya spa hotel (rating 9.3) — from 4,700 rubles per day*.
Vyshny Volochyok
Although the once rich trading city is now in a slightly neglected state, it is definitely worth a visit. We advise you to look at the canals and other hydraulic structures of the unique ancient Vyshnevolotsk water system, as well as a number of historical buildings. Not far from the city is the ancient village of Vydropuzhsk, where the ruins of a traveling palace have been preserved.
What to see: Serdyukov’s house, where Peter I stayed, the magistrate’s building with a fire tower, the art residence of contemporary artists in the Art Nouveau style “Dacha Ryabushinsky” “, Imperial Travel Palace, Kazan Monastery, Epiphany Cathedral, Pyatnitskaya Church, Shopping arcades and the Russian Valenki Museum.
What and where to eat: traditional daily cabbage soup in a pot in the cafe « Boletus” (Bolshaya Sadovaya Street, 61/95).
Where to stay:
In the mini-hotel “Barin Arrived” (rating 9.8) — from 2,500 rubles per day*.
In the country house “Prokhovskoe Compound” (rating 9.1) – from 3,000 rubles per day*.
At the recreation center “Zdeshevo” (rating 7.9) — from 3,500 rubles per day*.
Bologoe
The city was founded in 1495 and over time became a major transport hub – first Yamsky, and then railway. It’s worth going here for the tranquil landscapes: nearby is the Volgoverkhovye (the source of the Volga), as well as the picturesque lakes Seliger, Velyo and Piros . Local residents joke that it is in this city that the curb turns into a curb, because this is the middle of the road from Moscow to St. Petersburg.
What to see: Church of the Life-Giving Trinity, the building of the Bologovsky railway station, the pre-revolutionary houses of the merchant Artemyev and the merchant Ryabinin, the Nilo-Stolbensky hermitage of the 16th century.
What and where to eat: grilled rack of lamb at the White Nights restaurant (28 Dzerzhinskogo Street).
Valdai
The Valdai Hills is such a beautiful place that you can come here on a full-fledged vacation, but even a short visit can leave vivid memories. Valdai stands on the lake of the same name, which was mentioned in the chronicles of the 12th century. The city has long been famous for its bells: large church bells and small ones that Russian coachmen used to decorate the arch of their draft horses. They said that they had a special “raspberry” ringing. Today, bells of various sizes can be purchased here as souvenirs. Valdai is also considered the birthplace of Russian bagel – supposedly the secret of cooking was brought here from Belarusian lands.
What to see: Museum of Bells, located in the building of the inactive palace church “In the Name of the Great Martyr Catherine” of the 18th century, Museum of the county town, Cathedral of the Life-Giving Trinity , the chapel of Jacob Borovichsky, the parks of the Vakhrushev and Menshikov estates, the Iversky Monastery and the Valdai National Park.
What and where to eat: carp soup and Valdai trout at the fish restaurant “Cool Place” (396th kilometer from Moscow along the M10 highway ).
Where to stay:
At the apart-hotel “Mara” (rating 8.5) — from 2,400 rubles per day*.
At the Holiday Park Priyut Okhotnika (rating 9.2) – from 4,700 rubles per day*.
In Truvor glamping (rating 9.3) — from 5,000 rubles per day*.
Veliky Novgorod
This ancient city is perhaps the main pearl of our road trip. The calling place of the Varangians and the first capital of Rus’, Novgorod has been known since 859. If you have time, stay here for a couple of days to leisurely explore the city. In Veliky Novgorod, history comes to life: you can visit the place where the statue of the pagan god Perun was thrown into the water during the baptism of Rus’, learn the story of the merchant Sadko and walk along the shore of the lake where he performed his songs (and even watch a folk rock musical about him ).
What to see: St. Sophia Cathedral, the Millennium of Russia monument, Yaroslav’s Court, the Detinets fortress, Desyatinny, Dukhov, Zverin and Khutyn monasteries, historical building “Public Places”, a museum of fine arts in the former building of the Noble Assembly, the Church of Peter and Paul on Sinichya Mountain, St. John the Merciful and the Annunciation on Myachina.
What and where to eat: duck with apples in honey sauce at the Sudarushka cafe (32/12 Bolshaya Moskovskaya Street).
Where to stay:
In the Sleep&Go hostel (rating 9.4) — from 1,000 rubles per day*.
In the four-star hotel “Volkhov” (rating 9.2) – from 4,900 rubles per day*.
In the four-star hotel “Bianki” (rating 9.5) — from 6,700 rubles per day*.
Vira
So, we have already entered the Leningrad region. Take the time to stop at the Partisan Glory memorial complex and in the village of Krasny Mayak, where the ruins of the Mikhailovskaya estate are located. Vyra is a small village, but people have settled here since the 11th century. At the beginning of the last century, this settlement was the Nabokov estate. Vyra is primarily known for the surrounding estates: Sivoritsy, Nizhnyaya Dacha with a beautiful park and Rozhdestveno with the Nabokov Museum inside.
What to see: museum “The Station Warden’s House”, opened in the former buildings of the postal station, burial mound and burial ground of the 11th-14th centuries.
What and where to eat: pancakes and solyanka at the tavern “U Samson Vyrin” (Bolshoi Prospekt, 34a).
Gatchina
Before entering St. Petersburg, you can go a little off the route and explore one of the most beautiful suburbs of the northern capital – Gatchina. In pre-revolutionary times, it was not only the possession of the royal family, but also the center of progress: electric outdoor lighting appeared here for the first time in the Russian Empire, and the inventor Stepan Karlovich Dzhevetsky demonstrated his submarine to the royal family.
What to see: Great Gatchina Palace, Dvortsovy, “Menagerie” and “Sylvia” parks, Priory Palace, Birch House and Venus Pavilion, ensemble Hospital town, Orphan Institute complex, Shcherbov and Rozhdestvensky estates, St. Nicholas Church, Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
What and where to eat: farm chicken tobacco with homemade adjika at Josper House (Dostoevsky Street, 2).
Where to stay:
At the Priorat Hotel (rating 8.1) — from 2,800 rubles per day*.
In the four-star hotel Garden House (rating 7.2) – from 2,800 rubles per day*.
At the Gatchina Hotel (rating 8.8) — from 3,500 rubles per day*.
*Prices are current at the time of publication.
