Not many routes can boast that they have their own brand, recognizable all over the world, a very interesting history of origin, amazing popularity, and such a popular love. The set of routes under the general name "Golden Ring of Russia" stands apart in the entire tourism business.
The author of the idea
A little more than 44 years (valid since 1970) marked the Golden Ring route. Alive is the author of the title - writer and artist, director of the Melikhovo Museum-Reserve, Yuri Alexandrovich Bychkov, author of the wonderful plays “Dream Me, Dusya!”, “Love a Mockingbird” and others. But world fame, one might say, brought him a series of articles on ancient Russian cities, published in 1967 in Soviet Culture (often referred to as Soviet Russia) under the general title Golden Ring of Russia. And later he wrote a lot about it: “Through the cities of the Golden Ring” (1980-1984), “Through the Golden Ring of Russia: Photo Guide” (1984). The term was liked and settled down so much that a route appeared that was incredibly popular.
Huge family of routes
The route has many options, because in 6 areas where 8 major cities are located, there are still a lot of large and small settlements of undoubted tourist value. There are no specifically specified cities in the list of the Big Ring (there are about 20 in total), one or another item of particular interest is constantly being added: an old temple or silver workshops that survived the perestroika years. Other folk crafts, ethnographic museums, etc. are also of interest. This happens because all the places through which the journey along the Golden Ring of Russia passes are reserved. One list of cities makes us worried not only connoisseurs and connoisseurs of Russian history and culture, but any Russian person, because this is a real treasury of our country.
Reasons and route options
Now, due to the amazing popularity of the route, there are wedding excursions and educational nurseries. There are two varieties of the route: bus and river.
Of course, both directions are interesting, and each of them has its own advantages, but the “Golden Ring of Russia” cruise on the boat adds opportunities to enjoy incomparable river landscapes and spend a vacation in comfortable conditions on the water, which is not without its pleasantness. According to some authors, at least a little understanding of the mysterious Russia will help the totality of tourist routes, united by one name.
Water option
The “Golden Ring of Russia” on the boat is the pearl of this tourist family, if only because of its uniqueness. This is the only ring route in the world with a length of 1800 kilometers (automobile - about 1000 km). And here there are a lot of options: terms, visited cities, the category of the ship on which the Golden Ring of Russia cruise is carried out. The price of the trip also depends on these indicators. On average, the cost of a route of 6-8 days, carried out by a medium-comfort motor ship, will vary from 12,000 to 50,000 rubles per person (bus route - about 16,000). We must immediately make a reservation that there are several river excursions, and not one of them covers all the cities that are considered to be the original representatives of the Golden Ring route - these are Suzdal and Sergiev Posad, Vladimir and Yaroslavl, Ivanovo (formerly Ivanovo-Voznesensk) and Kostroma, Rostov the Great and Pereslavl-Zalessky. In addition, there is a list of the most visited settlements of the family of these routes, consisting of 12 cities (according to the 1974 guidebook - only 20), which does not include Ivanovo.
Some reasons for the variety of options
There are two of the eight traditional points that can only be reached by car - Suzdal, Pereslavl-Zalessky. This explains the number of excursions along the Golden Ring of Russia route. On the boat you can visit only some of them. But, as noted above, the trip on the boat itself is a wonderful pastime, and river routes are laid right in the heart of Russia. It is here that the cities that embody the ancient Russian culture are concentrated. Is the Assumption Cathedral of the Ryazan Kremlin, decorated with unique white-stone carvings, standing on the highest hill and being 70 m high, therefore visible from afar and reflected in the river, falls out of the general mood?
One of the most favorite routes
The most popular route starts at the South River Station in Moscow and ends near the North pier. Visited open-air museum towns are interconnected by the Moscow River, Volga and Oka. In addition, the waterway passes through the canal named after Moscow and the Ivankovo reservoir. If you leave the ship from Moscow, the route passes through Uglich and Myshkin, Kostroma and Ples, Yaroslavl and Tutaev, Rybinsk, Kalyazin and Sosenki. This cruise on the Golden Ring of Russia is designed for 7 days. With a shorter time excursion, some cities drop out of the route. Sometimes a stop happens in Konstantinovo, where Sergey Yesenin was born.
The reserved places of Russia
Actually, all these places (and not only the territories of 6 areas of the Golden Ring) are the territory where every meter is saturated with Russian history, and an Orthodox church is reflected in the water behind every turn. And all this is sung by poets and writers and captured on the canvases of artists. Therefore, this set of routes is so popular, these places are so loved, the verses “... Vladimir, Suzdal, Kostroma are universally significant a little!” And every Russian wants to go on deck at least once in his life in the morning and feel “... drops of spring chime on the Golden Ring of Dawn ...” And all these pleasures will be fully presented by the Golden Ring of Russia excursion on the boat. Reviews in these areas have the most positive. An example is the ship "Arabella", the rest of which is fully consistent with advertising.
Route Attractions
Dozens of destinations under very original names (not only on the ship, but even on the train) - “Under the Prince's banner”, “Ancient Russia with a folklore program”, “Star of Russia”, “Epic Russia” and many others - are offered by travel agencies, and not only our homeland. Because the attractions of the Golden Ring (and some of them are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, for example, the ensemble of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra) for the most part are included in the world treasury of culture. In order to attract tourists following the route, folk crafts revive. Gzhel products, Palekh and Khokhloma paintings, lace, Russian folk toys in themselves can become a reason for traveling in this direction. Because it crosses the historical regions of Russia: Moscow and Vladimir, Ivanovo and Kostroma, Yaroslavl and Tver.