The small towns of the Golden Ring are a win-win option for a leisurely short trip. If you have already been to Suzdal, Vladimir or Sergiev Posad, pay attention to Rybinsk and Uglich.
We have prepared a route through these corners of the Yaroslavl region, where you will be able to plunge into the atmosphere of Ancient Rus’ and become immersed in provincial Russia.
How to get there
You can get to Uglich in four hours, and to Rybinsk in about five. Both routes run along the P-104 highway from the Yaroslavl highway in the direction of Sergiev Posad and Kalyazin.
Direct trains to Uglich from Moscow run only on Fridays, departure at 21:10, the journey is five hours. The fastest way to get to Rybinsk by train is with a transfer through Yaroslavl. More than 10 trains depart per day, and then you can go to Rybinsk by train (1–2 hours on the way).
Where to stay
In Rybinsk
- In the three-star hotel complex “Rybinsk”, which is located in the very center of the city, a five-minute walk from the Volzhsky Park and the embankment (score 8.3) – from 1,900 rubles per night*.
- In the two-star hotel “Hotel on Vvedenskaya”, located in a beautiful historical building with views of the Volga (rating 8.9) – from 3,600 rubles per night*.
- In the four-star Vikonda hotel with free breakfasts, spacious rooms in a modern style, a fitness club and a cinema (score 9.9) – from 4,000 rubles per room*.
In Uglich
- At the Uspenskaya Hotel, which occupies an 18th-century shopping mall building on a square next to the Uglich Kremlin (rating 8.5) – from 2,700 rubles per night*.
- In the three-star Volzhskaya Riviera hotel, located in an elegant palace building with high columns and sculptures of lions (score 10) – from 3,800 rubles per night*.
- In the four-star country eco-park “Legends of the Forest” with a bath complex (rating 9.3) – from 7,200 rubles per room*.
What to see in Rybinsk
Rybinsk is a striking example of an ancient pre-revolutionary city. Previously, it was the capital of the grain trade on the Volga and the place where the country’s first provincial stock exchange opened. Now it is the second largest settlement in the Yaroslavl region, attracting with its ancient signs on houses, a landscaped embankment and entire merchant quarters with buildings of the 18th–20th centuries.
Volzhskaya embankment
A favorite place for city dwellers to walk along the Volga. Here you will come across the bright building of the new grain exchange, similar to a medieval castle. Inside are collections of paintings from the Rybinsk State Historical, Architectural and Art Museum-Reserve.
Another attraction located on the embankment is the bright yellow Rybinsk Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral. It was built in the 19th century on the site of a wooden church. Step inside to see the tall 15th-century iconostasis and the chair in which Catherine II sat during her visit to Rybinsk.
The cathedral with a high bell tower, the building of the new stock exchange and Volzhsky Bridge with two large arches for navigation along the Volga are often depicted together on tourist postcards of Rybinsk as three main symbol of the city.
Red Square
The courtyard of the new stock exchange building overlooks Red Square. The atmosphere of past centuries with buildings in the medieval style has been preserved here, and in the center of the square there is a stone monument to V.I. Lenin. The buildings around the square house museums, souvenir shops, local shops and cafes.
On Red Square, check out the museum “Russian Atlantis“, in which talk about the history of the flooding of the city of Mologa and the formation of the Rybinsk reservoir. In the nearby Piano Museuma private collection of antique grand pianos and upright pianos from the USSR, Germany, France and England is on display.
Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
The maroon building in the neo-Gothic style is located near the train station. Tourists are not allowed inside, but it is worth coming here to see the facades and external decoration of the monument, perfectly preserved after the revolution. On either side of the central entrance the church is symmetrically decorated with two red brick towers, each of which is crowned with a weather vane.
Museum of Admiral F.F. Ushakova
Learn how to tie a sea knot, load a cannon, hold an ancient musket and sword in your hands, or find yourself in the role of sailors on a warship – the Memorial Museum of Admiral F. F. Ushakov conducts interesting excursions with interactive activities, where adults and children will not get bored. Among the permanent exhibitions you will see ancient navigational and optical instruments, ship gear and weapons, battle paintings and naval paraphernalia.
In good weather, go explore all the most interesting places and unusual tourist locations as part of the author’s excursion “Around ancient Rybinsk on a bicycle!” In addition to the city’s business cards, the guide will show locations from the film “12 Chairs”, antique-style advertising signs and a five-story steam mill.
What to see in Uglich
One of the oldest cities in Russia, founded in 937, is located on the Volga and is included in the Golden Ring tourist route. This place is the embodiment of Ancient Rus’ with a Kremlin on the river bank, elegant temples and wooden houses decorated with carvings and platbands. It is convenient to walk around Uglich, because all the main locations and interesting museums are located within the historical center and the embankment.
The Kremlin has many attractions and a large territory – to see everything at once and hear some interesting facts about each place, go here with the “Fairytale Uglich” tour.
Uglich Kremlin
The Kremlin is located between the Volga and Kamennoye Brook rivers. In the middle of the 10th century, the first defensive fortifications appeared here, and by the 19th century the Kremlin had grown into a large architectural ensemble. Look at the stone Transfiguration Cathedral with a bell tower, inside of which there are paintings by serf painters – copies of works by Italian artists.
Near the cathedral you will see elegant princely chambers of the 15th century, which are considered the oldest monument of civil architecture in Uglich. After walking through the Kremlin courtyard, take a look inside the building of the former City Duma. You are unlikely to miss this ceremonial building in the classicist style. Previously, royal meetings were held here, but now a historical exposition has been arranged and exhibitions and concerts are held here.
Church of Demetrius on the Blood
The most famous and striking temple of Uglich was built on the steep bank of the Volga in the place where the son of Ivan the Terrible, Tsarevich Dmitry of Uglich, was killed. The church is painted red for a reason – in this way the symbol of shed blood was imprinted for centuries. Large blue domes with golden stars rise above the building, and the facades of the temple are decorated with snow-white ornaments. These two shades, blue and white, according to the architect’s plan, give hope for resurrection and supreme forgiveness.
Museum of Prison Art
Despite the gloomy name, in the museum you will see interesting artistic exhibits that the convicts made with their own hands – crafts from bread and paper, wooden backgammon and chess, tattoo machines, drawn cards and much more. A separate hall of the museum has been converted into a prototype of a double cell for prisoners, and the entrance to the room is equipped with a real prison door. Inside, on an area of only 9 square meters. m, a metal table, a toilet, a bunk bed and two wax figures in striped suits.
Volga embankment and Uglich hydroelectric power station
The Volzhskaya embankment stretches from the central park to the outskirts of the city and makes a sharp turn. Previously, such a bend in the river was called “Uglich”, hence the name of the city Uglich. Walking along the embankment, opposite the pier, you will see the Church of Saints Florus and Paul in the Moscow Baroque style and a panorama of the Church of Demetrius on the Spilled Blood. At the end of the walk there is a view of the Uglich hydroelectric power station, which was built in the middle of the 20th century by prisoners from the Gulag camp.
Museum of Folk Toys
The private museum has a rich collection of toys from 30 countries, and next to each exhibit there is a QR code by which you can learn about the history of the item you like. Educational master classes are held for adults and children – modeling an upside-down whistle from clay or sewing soft toys, for example, a Desire doll.
What and where to eat
In Rybinsk
- Gray cabbage soup from crocheva, pasta with shrimp and stracciatella and a duet of bruschetta with roast beef and salmon in the gastropub “Berry soup” (Stoyalaya street, 16) .
- Imperial fish soup, potato pancakes with mushrooms in creamy sauce, duck breast with carrot cream and premium dessert “Rastorguev” in the restaurant “House of Culture and Rest” (80 Krestovaya Street).
- Homemade liqueurs, signature and warming cocktails and delicious desserts, for example, lemon curd with mango sorbet at the bar “Yavka” (Volzhskaya embankment, 67 -75).
In Uglich
- Home-made Volga pike-perch fillet, sauerkraut cabbage soup, baked quail or rabbit in the restaurant “Brunch” (Yaroslavskaya street, 60/2 ).
- Homemade liqueurs, craft beer, signature cocktails and lemonades, snacks and dishes of Russian and European cuisine in the bar “Honey mushrooms” (Ostrovskogo street, 1 ).
- Hearty breakfasts, dishes from the children’s menu, farm cheeses, dried meats and crispy Volga pike perch donuts in a family restaurant with a stylish interior “Guests” (Yaroslavskaya street, 4).
*Prices are current at the time of publication.
