The Golden
Ring of the Old Russian cities is an
historical-cultural itinerary of very great value,
which was developed during the Sixties by the
State tourist organization. Exploiting the
importance in the past of some of these cities, it
was decided to establish a network of
infrastructures (now rather neglected, which is
regrettable), in order to allow the traveller to
appreciate the charm of these old places, whose
destinies varied according to the moods and the
political strategies of the princes. Certain
cities, very significant in the past, are today,
only small villages of countryside (an example is
the town of Rostov Veliky). The second aspect
of the route, for the modern traveller, is surely
the marked ethnographic character of the trip: the
peace of small somnolent cities, where time and
money still have their former value and where the
countryside prevails, interrupted only by woods
and forests.
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We thus touch the essence of
"the Russian heart", by observing the people,
the roads, the extent of the forests and meadows
as far as the eye can see, by enjoying the true
Russian countryside cuisine. Sometimes, even
cellular phones that don’t function for lack of
signal, kilometre after kilometre. The whole,
very near to the capital, Moscow, a
frighteningly enormous and modern
city. |
The principal cities of this route are as
follows: Vladimir, Suzdal, Kostroma, Yaroslavl,
Rostov Veliky, Sergiev Posad.
The excursions limited to
Vladimir and Suzdal can be carried out in one
day or in an overnight stay; The same is true
for Sergiev Posad.
The visit to
Kostroma, Yaroslavl and Rostov requires on the
other hand a more complex itinerary, since the
system of transport between the cities is
extremely poor. |
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