On one fine autumn morning, I woke up early to catch a train to Vladimir. I was staying in Moscow at that time and had a long unplanned weekend. The trip to Vladimir and Suzdal, which are collectively parts of the Golden Ring circuit, was pending for some time. So, when that autumn morning dawned clear and mild, I hurried to the nearby Kursky Station to buy tickets for the morning train to Vladimir. I decided to do slow travelling on that trip and focus only on Vladimir and Suzdal, instead of trying to cram the entire Golden Ring destinations in 4 days. Though most popular multi-day trips from Moscow include a 4 days Golden Ring tour, I prefered to take it easy. I read in a guide book that the Golden Ring circuit is like settling down into the heart of Mother Russia and under no temptation, rushed to hurry through that experience.

one of the parks in vladimir

The warm sunshine of Vladimir

The origin of the Golden Ring circuit in Russia

Consisting of a string of bucolic and beautifully preserved medieval towns like Vladimir, Yaroslavl, etc. the Golden Ring lies in the northeast of Moscow. The highlight of this trip is a very pretty countryside dotted with whitewashed churches with golden onion domes, flower-filled meadows, and quaint farmers’ markets in which babushhkas wearing headscarves ell forest foraged mushrooms. This image is enough to drive anyone away from Moscow’s cosmopolitan madness (at least for some time) and it is no wonder that the Golden Ring is one of the most popular tourist circuits in Russia. Now, despite all its prettiness and heritage, Russia‘s Golden Ring is a man-made attraction created for the purpose of boosting tourism. The photogenic route was drawn up during the Soviet era it remains one of the most popular routes for both tourists and domestic Russian tourists. The name, ‘Golden Ring’ was coined in 1967 by the art historian and journalist Yuri Bychkov. He was journeying through the towns of Vladimir Oblast to pen down a series of evocative travelogues and the last city on his trip was Yaroslavl. When he looked at his route, he saw that it resembled a ring and so published his travel series under the name of “The Golden Ring”. 

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Rich autumn colours of Vladimir

Vladimir Oblast is a historic region

Despite the popularity of the circuit, there is no official list of the cities that make up the Golden Ring. With the exception of eight main cities of Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Ivanovo, Suzdal, Vladimir, Sergiev Posad, Pereslavl-Zalessky, and Rostov Veliky, which are officially known as the Golden Ring cities, the whole region may be passed off by the same name. This area of Russia is the heart of the Orthodox Church and is rich in historic architecture, interesting folklore, religious art, traditional cooking, and time-honoured handicrafts. For detailed information on the Golden Ring cities, read this post.  Apart from the glittering eight attractions, the cities of Palekh, Plyos, Shuya, Gorokhovets, Gus-Khrustalny, Murom, Yuriev-Polsky, Rybinsk, Tutaev, Uglich, Kasimov, and Kaluga are also considered to be a part of the Golden Ring.

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Vladimir is one of the eight historic cities of the Golden Ring

Vladimir is one of the eight historic cities of the Golden Ring

Riding with the Moscow metro dogs to Kursky Station

The Moscow Metro was blissfully empty that morning. I rode in silence to the Kursky Station sharing the space with only some sleepy street dogs. Being an autumn Friday morning, none other than mad foreigners and street dogs were awake in Moscow. The hard-working citizens of the megacity worked hard to party harder and on weekends Moscow did not stir until late noon. The sight of furry street dogs getting inside the Moscow metro trains to escape the cold of the city is a common one and on weekend mornings, one gets to see more of them than usual weekdays. Cocooned in the warmth of the train compartment, the Moscow metro dogs and I kept to our own territories peacefully and I contemplated on my weekend trip to Vladimir. Considered to be one of the most beautiful places for viewing fall colours, Vladimir is famous for its cluster of exquisite churches and cathedrals, some of which are the oldest in the country.

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All around and in Vladimir, one can find these ornately carved wooden houses

Vladimir is the creation of a visionary prince

The history of Vladimir fascinatingly dramatic in contrast to its placid beauty. The development of the historic city began in 1108 when a mighty fortress was built by the legendary Prince Vladimir Monomakh for protection of the area. The new fortress also helped protect the principality which was founded by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky, the son of Vladimir Monomakh. The new prince was a visionary and he built many new fortresses along with establishing numerous other cities like Moscow, Zvenigorod, etc. Vladimir meanwhile thrived well and in the 12th century and reached its peak under the patronage of Prince Andrei Bogolubsky, the son of Yuri Dolgoruky. The new ruler ambitiously added to the city’s grandeur and between 1158-1165 new ramparts encircled Vladimir. The grandiose construction boom was wholeheartedly carried on by Andrei Bogolubsky’s successors and they multiplied the city’s splendor by creating the Cathedral of Saint Demetrius, the Nativity monastery with the white church, Kniaginin monastery, and the main shrine of the principality, the Assumption Cathedral.

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Vladimir surrounds have lots of these old wooden houses

The fall of the historic city of Vladimir

Vladimir’s luck, however, soon ran out and the devastating Mongol invasion in the 13th century caused its rapid decline. The Mongols heartlessly ruined the grand capital by looting and burning the marvelous churches, magnificent palaces, and monasteries. The sacked city of Vladimir lost its political significance too and the shifting of the new capital to Moscow was the final nail in its coffin. The present-day Vladimir had none of its erstwhile glory though many of its magnificent old monuments have been lovingly restored. This sporadic restoration has turned Vladimir’s skyline into a unique mix of concrete and glass towers interspersed with beautiful onion domes of churches. The city is the jumping-off base of Russia’s famous Golden Ring tour and is highly dependent on tourism for its economy.

The downfall of Vladimir was led by the Mongol invasion of the city

The downfall of Vladimir was led by the Mongol invasion of the city

A train ride through the bucolic Russian countryside

I thought of all these details as my early morning electrichka (local train) rumbled towards Vladimir. It took four hours to reach Vladimir and the warm autumn sun filtering through the glass windows livened up my fellow Russian commuters. There was a melee of activities happening inside the train and the scene reminded me of Mumbai locals. The sub-urban Russian passengers knitted, chatted, dozed, minded babies, refreshed their make up, smoked and practiced their rusty guitars in the smoking areas as the autumn colours of Russia whizzed past in a series of stations. The scenery which began by looking grey and listless got prettier became as Moscow got farther away. Soon amazing street art on the suburbia walls was replaced by soft green meadows, patchwork harvested fields, and forests of red and gold. Ancient looking gingerbread cottages stood amidst farms and rolled bundles of hay were scattered on the harvested fields. Old stooping babushkas in headscarves looked up from their cabbage patches and they stared curiously at our passing train.

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A lovely autumn experience in Vladimir

Meet Maria from Pilgrim Hostel of Vladimir

The historic town of Vladimir arrived on time without much fanfare and I flagged down a taxi to reach the Pilgrim Hostel, where I was booked for the weekend. The hostel was located in a nice residential area of Vladimir and life seemed very peaceful there. At first glance, even though the city’s beauty did not look grand like St Petersburg, Vladimir seemed homey and inviting enough to make me happy. The Pilgrim hostel, with its set of clean, comfortable rooms was a comfortable place to stay and its friendly young hostess Maria showed me around for the next two days. I truly believe that people make places and Maria from Vladimir proved this right. An American university-educated girl, she was my Vladimir guide and she took me to watch a sensational sunset near the Cathedral of the Assumption. With her as my guide and friend, I indulged in some aspects of local life in Russia: tried my hand at making pelmeni, the famous Russian dumpling, ate at quaint taverns and rode a public bus to a village outside Vladimir to visit her old friend.

Maria bidding me goodbye as I was leaving for Suzdal

Breaking a Russian myth in Vladimir

The lovely Russian countryside with its little brooks, green meadows, and ornate wooden huts was bedecked in rich autumnal gold and green. Painting like pretty, richly carved traditional wooden houses stood in rows and Maria’s old friend lived in one of them. She invited us over for an evening of tea, slices of tangerine and freshly baked cheese puffs and that tete-a-tete is the highlight of my Vladimir trip. Throughout the world, Russians have the reputation of being a dour bunch of people and the evening tea dispelled that myth from my mind forever. To be honest, though Vladimir pales in comparison to its Russian counterparts in an aesthetic sense, that trip remains one of my favourite travel memories and it is because of the warm Russian hospitality on a beautiful autumn day.

The serene beauty of Vladimir Oblast

Vladimir Travel Guide and Tips

How to Reach from Moscow: Vladimir is accessible from both Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod, thus making it a suitable destination in the Golden Ring circuit. Vladimir’s Semyazino airport is connected by flights from St Petersburg’s Pulkovo airport and the closest international airports at Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod. Buses, cars, and trains connect both the cities with Vladimir. The main train station is located next to the central bus station and all trains arrive there. It is also close to the historical center. From Moscow, the local train (elektrichka) for Vladimir departs from the Kursky Station and there are 3 connections per day. The most convenient and the most expensive option is the high-speed Moscow — Nizhny Novgorod train (“Lastochka” or “Strizh”) which takes 1 hour 39 minutes — 1 hour 47 minutes to reach Vladimir.

How to Reach from Nizhny Novgorod: All the trains to Vladimir from Nizhny Novgorod depart from the main railway station Gorky Moscovsky. A direct express train runs on this route and the journey takes 3.5 hours.
Tickets can be bought two months in advance on the Russian Railways website as well as private company websites like http://www.russiantrains.com/.

How to Reach by bus: Vladimir has two bus stations. The central bus station which is located next to the railway station operates bus to every town in Vladimir Oblast along with many connections to Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Ivanovo, Ryazan, etc. Tickets are available inside the station.

Exploring Vladimir: The historical center of Vladimir can be easily explored by foot. The must-see UNESCO recognized monuments which are also in the World Heritage List include the Cathedral of the Assumption,
Cathedral of St. Demetrius, Golden Gate, Nativity Monastery, Princess Convent, Church of the Assumption of our Lady, Church of St. Nikita, etc.

How to book a Vladimir-Suzdal organized/private tour: Rusmania Travels offers day trips to Vladimir and Suzdal. An overview of the trip is 

  • Depart Moscow by the 09.30 hrs train to Vladimir
  • Arrive at Vladimir at 11.17 hrs and proceed to city tour
  • After lunch proceed to Suzdal and city tour
  • On the way back slight detour for Bogolyubovo church
  • Depart Vladimir by the 20:14 hrs train and arrive at Moscow at 22:00 hrs.

The tour includes pick up and drop off in Moscow along with a three-course traditional Russian dinner.

An autumn afternoon at a Vladimir park

Is one of the most enjoyable

Out of the two Golden Ring cities that I visited,

Vladimir was less aesthetically appealing,

Although I loved it more than Suzdal.

The reason was the warm hospitality

Of Maria who became my hostel owner, guide and a friend.

She introduced me to the

Warm Russian hospitality,

Took me to explore the bucolic countryside,

And shared bits of local life with me.

People make places and

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Maria forever represents

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The historic town of Vladimir in my eyes.

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