For a Half Day

Arkhangelskoe: Arkhangelskoe is the perfect place to escape the grind and grime of Moscow while still being accessible by metro (Tyshinskaya). In addition to fresh woodland air, it also provides an insightful glimpse into how the city’s elite lived in their heyday before reforms such as the emancipation of the serfs got in the way of their aristocratic fun. Begun in 1670 the estate passed through several hands before it was bought by Prince Nikolai Yusupov (1751-1831), a latter-day playboy. Yusupov is remembered for keeping a harem at the palace but he was also an influential patron of the arts who debated philosophy with Voltaire, welcomed Pushkin into his library and hung Van Dyks on the walls of this palace, parts of which are open to the public. Its formal gardens, which stretch down to the Moscow river, bloom in summer time with scented roses and feature a temple to Catherine the Great, a two-storey summer house and a Stalin-era military convalesence home. Arkhangelskoe is 22km (14 miles) west of central Moscow and accessible from Tushinksaya metro then bus 549. Summer opening times are Wed-Sun 1000-1800 and in winter 1000-1600 although it is advisable to call in advance to confirm times (tel: (495) 363 1375).

For a Whole Day

Sergiyev Posad: One of the most magical sights in Russia is the monastery of Troitsko - Sergieva Lavra (The Trinity - St Sergius Crypt) in the town of Sergiyev Posad (formerly Zagorsk). Onion domes in gold and bright blue with gold stars come into view from the last rise in the road from Moscow. The monastery is one of Russia’s most important pilgrimage sites and one of only four in the Russian Orthodox Church to have the honorific ’Lavra’. It is part of the Golden Ring, a group of ancient Russian towns to the northeast of Moscow that are, in effect, open-air museums. The monastery complex, begun in the 1340s by St Sergius of Radonezh (the Russian Orthodox Church’s greatest saint), comprises churches, cathedrals and monastic buildings that are once again in use. Troitsky Sobor (Trinity Cathedral) is the oldest (1422-23) and finest of the churches and its iconostasis included paintings by Rublyov, some of which are now visible in the Tretyakov Gallery. The monastery (tel: (495) 281 6020; website: www.stsl.ru) is 80km (50 miles) north of the city and can be reached by train from Yaroslavsky Vokzal station in Moscow. It is open daily 0800-2000 and admission to the church is free (the monastery itself is not open to the public).

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