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Day 1 |
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8.00 Transfer to Vladimir (~180 km) located on the Klyazma River, 200 kilometers (124 mi) to the east of Moscow.(2-3 hours’ drive) The first mention of Vladimir, a fort in the Rostov-Suzdal principality founded by Vladimir Monomakh of Kiev, appears in the Primary Chronicle in 1108, but they believe that the city is much more older. A lot of Russian, German, and Georgian masons worked on Vladimir's white stone cathedrals, towers, and palaces. Unlike other examples of northern architecture, their exterior was artfully carved with high relief stone sculptures. Only three of these constructions stand today: the Assumption Cathedral, the Cathedral of St. Demetrios, and the Golden Gate. The city's Golden Age, which lasted until the Mongol invasion of Russia, when it was totally overrun. After the Mongols, Vladimir never fully recovered, but nevertheless Vladimir of today has kept its fascinating ancient streets with small two-storey houses and square buildings. |
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13.00 Lunch in a cafe. |
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14.00 Panoramic city tour: You will visit the Golden Gates — inscribed by UNESCO on the World Heritage List and considered to be the door to Vladimir built in 1158–1164 by Prince Andrei Bogolubsky, the magnificent five-domed Assumption Cathedral painted by the great Andrei Rublev and Daniil Chyorny in 1408, and also Cathedral of St. Dmitry (Dmitrievsky sobor, 1193-97) — a masterpiece of Vladimir-Suzdal stone carving which represents a truly international project of Russian and Byzantine masters, Friedrich Barbarossa's masons, and carvers sent by Queen Tamar of Georgia. |
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17.00 Hotel accomodation. Free time. |
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19.00 Dinner in the hotel restaurant. |
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Day 2 |
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08.00 Breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Check-out. |
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09.00 Transfer to Suzdal (~ 30 km). First mentioned in 1024, Suzdal was made the capital of the Rostov-Suzdal principality by Yury Dolgoruky in the first half of the 12th century. In 1157-1158 Vladimir was made the capital, and from then on the principality was known as Vladimir-Suzdal. Today, the town is an important tourist center in Vladimir region, featuring many outstanding examples of old Russian architecture — most of them churches, monasteries and wooden houses. The Cathedral of the Nativity in Suzdal is one of the eight White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal, a World Heritage Site. |
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10.00 Panoramic City Tour, including a visit to the heart of the city — Suzdal Kremlin (X century) wich has kept the original earth walls and graffs of an ancient fortress, few churches. Our tour will show you Voskresenskaya church (the church of the Resurrection) that is among the most interesting architectural monuments on the territory, Spaso-Yevfimievsky Monastery (Suzdal's biggest monastery) founded in the 14th century to protect the town's northern entrance, and Transfiguration of the Saviour (Spaso-Preobrazhensky sobor) which was built in the 1590s in 12th century Vladimir-Suzdal style with 1689 frescoes inside recounting the monastery's history. |
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14.00 Lunch in a city cafe. |
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16.00 Transfer to Moscow. |
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22:00 Approximate time of arrival in Moscow. |
