The Sovereign's Road

"Serednikovo" Estate

The first stop on the route is the "Serednikovo" Estate. This is where Lermontov's poetic talent flourished: he wrote over a hundred poems and the poem "Demon" here. The estate was restored a few years ago by a descendant of the poet. You can walk around the main house, see peacocks, ride hourses, and have a photoshoot among 18th-century England scenery at the Piligrim Porto film set.

Address: Serednikovo Estate, Mtsyri Sanatorium Settlement, Solnechnogorsk Urban Okrug, Moscow Oblast

Opening hours: Monday-Sunday 10:00 am–8:00 pm

Website: serednikovo.su

Solnechnogorsk

Enjoy the picturesque views. The city was named by Catherine the Great: while passing by, she saw a divine sunrise over the hills. Today, a fountain springs right from Lake Senezh, and a mermaid with an accordion stands on the shore. The architectural decoration of the city is the Travel Palace, where tours are led by merchants and stationmasters.

Address: 84 Krasnaya Street, Solnechnogorsk, Moscow Oblast

Opening hours: Wednesday-Saturday 10:00 am–6:00 pm,
Sunday 10:00 am–4:00 pm

Blok's Estate "Shakhmatovo"

A preserved place where the poet Alexander Blok loved to spend his summers. The house has been restored according to historical records. Here you can play traditional Russian games like "gorelki" and leave your own poems, written by hand, in a special mailbox.

Address: Shakhmatovo Estate, Gudino Village, Moscow Oblast

Opening hours: Wednesday-Sunday 9:30 am-6:00 pm (ticket office until 5:30 pm),
Monday: closed

Website: шахматово.рф

Klin

In Klin, head first to the Postal Yard. Centuries ago, Pushkin and Dostoevsky changed horses here, and Radishchev dedicated an entire chapter of his "Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow" to this place. Nearby are the red-brick Trading Rows in the "Byzantine" style – a postcard symbol of Klin. The city also preserves the 16th-century Dormition Cathedral, where the future Emperor Peter I was baptized.

Address: 1 Sovetskaya Square, Klin

Address: 20 Building 2 Sovetskaya Square, Klin

Address: 16a Papivina Street, Klin

Opening hours: Monday-Sunday 8:00 am–5:00 pm

P.I. Tchaikovsky Museum-Reserve

The Tchaikovsky House-Museum is a cult place for music lovers. In Klin and its surroundings, the composer completed "The Queen of Spades," the ballet "The Nutcracker," and the opera "Iolanta." Here you can see the piano Tchaikovsky played for seven years and even hear its sounds at concerts.

Address: 48 Tchaikovskogo Street, Klin, Solnechnogorsk Urban Okrug, Moscow Oblast

Opening hours: Monday-Sunday 10:00 am–6:00 pm (ticket office until 5:30 pm);
Wednesday: closed

Website: tchaikovsky.house

Church of the Nativity of the Virgin in Gorodnya village

Provincial Gorodnya is a village on the high bank of the Volga, surrounded by picturesque hills. Here stands the oldest stone church in the Tver lands – the one-domed Church of the Nativity of the Virgin from the 14th century. Right behind the church is an observation deck with a view of the forests of the Trans-Volga region.

Address: 105 Leningradskaya Street, Gorodnya Village, Konakovsky District, Tver Oblast

Opening hours: Monday-Sunday 8:00 am–4:00 pm

Tver

Tver is an amazing city featuring a "shot glass" house, monuments to the navigator Afanasy Nikitin and chansonnier Mikhail Krug, as well as an Imperial Palace – a monument of palatial architecture with paintings by Levitan, Shishkin, and Korovin inside. Tver once had its own kremlin: to see it, take a city tour with VR glasses.

Address: 3A Sovetskaya Street, Tver

Opening hours: Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday 11:00 am–6:00 pm,
Friday 11:00 am–8:00 pm

Tver Railway Station

A must-see place – Tver Railway Station, which shares an architect with the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow — Konstantin Thon. The exterior is decorated in the Russian-Byzantine style, and inside, the rooms for the imperial family's rest have been recreated. Everything is as it was in Romanov times: silk wallpaper, oak parquet, and a marble-clad fireplace.

Address: 18 Kominterna Street, Tver

Torzhok

The museum-city of Torzhok has stood on the hilly banks of the Tvertsa River for over 1,000 years. Come here to learn the secrets of gold embroidery at the Gold Embroidery Museum: take a needle with gold thread in hand and embroider a souvenir – a map of your journey along the Sovereign's Road. Opening hours: Monday-Friday, 9:00 am-6:00 pm, Saturday-Sunday, 9:00 am-5:00 pm Website: zolotoshveya.com
Come here to see a 12-meter protective belt in the "House of the Belt" Museum, the embroidery of which required 6,500 Swarovski crystals and 52 km of gold and silver threads. Opening hours: Monday-Saturday, 10:00 am-6:00 pm, Sunday 10:00 am-5:00 pm Website: zolotoshveya.com
Here you can watch a performance by jumping jack toys that tells about life in the town in the early 19th century, at the "Pozharsky Hotel". Opening hours: 10:00 am-6:00 pm, daily Website: viemusei.ru

Address: 12 Kalininskoye Avenue, Torzhok

Address: 73 Dzerzhinskogo Street, Torzhok

Address: 73 Dzerzhinskogo Street, Torzhok

Vyshny Volochyok: Museums

Vyshny Volochyok is called the Venice of Tver: it has a large reservoir, four rivers, four canals, seven islands, and over 40 bridges. It's pleasant to boat along the Vyshnevolotsky Canal, stroll across countless bridges, and admire the European beauty of the houses. You can easily spend half a day in Vyshny Volochyok. The city’s history is revealed at the local history museum, where scale models clearly illustrate the system of waterways of Vyshny Volochyok and how it was formed during the reign of Peter the Great. Opening hours: Wednesday-Sunday 11:00 am-6:00 pm, Monday-Tuesday: closed Website: tvermuzeum.ru
Another cozy spot is the Valenki (Felt Boot) Museum with a two-meter-high valenki-bogatyr and cat-shaped benches. Opening hours: Wednesday-Sunday 10:00 pm-5:00 pm; Monday-Tuesday: closed

Address: 63/2 Kazansky Prospekt, Vyshny Volochyok, Tver Oblast

Address: 37/26 Parizhskoy Kommuny Street, Vyshny Volochyok, Tver Oblast

Kuzhenkino Station

The next stop on the way is Kuzhenkino Station: a wooden building with carved decoration, a beautiful attic, and a spire with a weathervane. On weekends, you can see a retro steam locomotive arriving at the 1906 station among the clouds of smoke.

Address: Pochtovaya Street, Kuzhenkino Settlement, Tver Oblast

Valdai

Ancient Valdai with its picturesque lakes and secluded islands is the center of spirituality and culture in Novgorod Oblast.

Address: Coordinates: 57.980690, 33.246406

Iversky Bogoroditsky Monastery

Take a tour of the Iversky Bogoroditsky Monastery, located on Selvitsky Island, almost in the center of holy Lake Valdaiskoye.

Address: Selvitsky Island, Roschinskoye Rural Settlement, Valdaisky District, Novgorod Oblast

Opening hours: 8:00 am-8:00 pm

Website: iveron.ru

Museum Bell Center

Listen to bells from all over the world at the Museum Bell Center (you can also cast a virtual bell or harness a virtual troika with bells here).

Address: 2A Truda Street, Valdai

Opening hours: 10:00 am-6:00 pm
Tuesday: closed

Website: novgorodmuseum.ru

Museum of the County Town

Discover history at the Museum of the County Town: you'll see harnesses with famous Valdai bells, a ticket for travel on the Moscow-St. Petersburg tract, and ancient money made from metal rods.

Address: 7 Lunacharskogo Street, Valdai

Opening hours: Tuesday-Sunday 10:00 am-6:00 pm,
Monday: closed.

Website: novgorodmuseum.ru

Kresttsy

The next county town is Kresttsy. Krestetskaya stitch embroidery is a true brand of Novgorod Oblast. The local history museum houses a collection of unique embroidery made with a "broken needle" technique, surprising with its patterns and lace-like quality.

Address: 19 Moskovskaya Street, Kresttsy

Opening hours: Monday-Friday 9:00 am-6:00 pm,
Saturday-Sunday, 10:00 am-3:00 pm

Website: vk.com

Yaroslav's Court

A UNESCO World Heritage Site with seven ancient temples resembling wax candles.

Address: 1 Bolshaya Moskovskaya Street, Veliky Novgorod

Lyuban

An important point on the route is the town of Lyuban in Leningrad Oblast. Here stands the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, a monument to all builders of the Sovereign's Road. Previously, the church housed a memorial plaque with the names of seventy-three construction engineers.

Address: 1 Zagorodnoye Shosse, Lyuban

Opening hours: Monday-Friday 9:00 am-2:00 pm;
Saturday 9:00 am-6:30 pm;
Sunday 9:00 am-3:00 pm

Maryino Estate

The ancestral nest of the Counts Stroganov and Princes Golitsyn. Here you can swalk or ride in a carriage through the English landscape park, take photos in historical costumes, and have tea in lavish noble interiors.

Address: 72 Andrianovo Village, Tosnenskoye Settlement, Leningrad Oblast

Opening hours: Monday-Friday 10:00 am-6:00 pm
Saturday-Sunday 10:00 am-8:00 pm

Website: usadbamaryino.ru

Tosno Museum of Local History and Tradition

The Tosno Yamskaya Sloboda (Coachmen's Settlement) was founded in the early 18th century thanks to Peter the Great. At the local history museum, you can learn about the emperor's role in building the Sovereign's Road. The museum is located in the house of the wet nurse of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II. One of the multimedia exhibitions is dedicated to the history of wet nurses in Russia.

Address: 47A Lenina Prospekt, Tosno

Opening hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 10:00 am-6:00 pm,
Monday: closed

Website: vk.com

Gatchina

Gatchina is a palace built in a knightly style. The museum-reserve and the city center are a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Address: Coordinates: 59,568410, 30,122892

Gatchina Palace

The Great Gatchina Palace was built by Catherine II for her favorite, Count Orlov. You can walk through the dining room, throne room, and other halls. Nearby is an amazing park with three lakes and the Venus Pavilion.

Address: 1 Krasnoarmeysky Prospekt, Gatchina

Opening hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 10:00 am-5:30 pm (ticket office until 5:00 pm),
Monday: closed
Park entrance: 6:00 am-10:00 pm

Website: gatchinapalace.ru

Priory Palace

The Priory Palace resembles a medieval Catholic monastery. Paul I built it for the Knights of the Order of Malta, but courtiers and imperial choristers lived in it.

Address: 22 Chkalova Street, Gatchina

Opening hours: Wednesday-Sunday 10:00 am-5:30 pm

Chesma Travel Palace

An unusual building in the pseudo-gothic style, adorned with pointed windows, reminiscent of a knight's castle. Catherine the Great loved to stop here when traveling to Moscow or Tsarskoye Selo. Now the palace houses university departments, so it can only be viewed from the outside.

Address: 15 Gastello Street, St. Petersburg

Chesma Church

Next to the travel palace stands the Chesme Church, decorated with pointed turrets and sculptures of "Faith" and "Hope."

Address: 12 Lensoveta Street, St. Petersburg

Opening hours: Monday-Sunday 9:00 pm-7:00 pm