Vladimir city

Vladimir city in the gold ring

Vladimir is one of the most visited cities of the Golden Ring: several amazing monuments of Russian white stone medieval architecture have been preserved here. First, these are three attractions included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites:

the Assumption Cathedral, Dmitrievsky Cathedral and the Golden Gate. But the later development of the city of the 16-20 centuries is also very interesting. There are so many beautiful churches in Vladimir that you can hardly see them in one day; at least two inspections of museums with old church murals; and no more than an hour in three of the city you can reach many interesting places in the Vladimir region: Bogolyubovo, Suzdal, Gus-Khrustalny, Vyaznikov, Yuryev-Polsky or Sudogda.

Vladimir Central, known here, brought Vladimir a completely different kind of fame. Since 1783, it contained well-known prisoners, ranging from Prince P. Dolgorukov to Vasily Stalin, and today a museum still operates in the territory of the prison.

Some history

In the history of Russia, Vladimir has been the capital of the old Russian state for over 250 years. Until 1432, the Grand Dukes were crowned reigning in the Vladimir Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The city was founded at the end of the 10th century by the prince of Kiev, Vladimir Svyatoslavovich, shortly after the baptism of Kiev. Vladimir’s glory was composed of the famous Russian princes and commanders: Andrei Bogolyubsky, Vsevolod III, Alexander Nevsky.

How to get to Vladimir

Vladimir is located approximately in the middle of the road from Moscow to Nizhny Novgorod, on the main “eastern” road, which goes beyond the Urals. Therefore, getting to the city is not difficult: the mass of direct and passing trains and buses circulates. And even by car, drive comfortably and quickly, no more than 3 hours.

Train

From Moscow, suburban trains depart from the Yaroslavl, Kursk and Belorussky stations, the travel time is approximately 2.5-3.5 hours. Express trains start from Kursk station and arrive in Vladimir after 2 hours and 20 minutes. Conventional trains exceed the same distance in 3-3.5 hours. The rate is about 400 RUB. The fastest train is the Swift, which runs from the capital to Nizhny Novgorod and stops at Vladimir (a record of 1 hour and 40 minutes on the road, tickets from 1300 RUB). The prices on the page are for October 2018.

You can arrive from St. Petersburg by passing the trains that depart from the Moscow train station, the journey takes 10 to 11 hours (in the same “Swift”, respectively, faster). The second option is by plane. Twice a week, flights from St. Petersburg to Vladimir Semyazino airport are operated by the Pskovavia airline, in flight for approximately 2 hours.

By bus

From Moscow, direct and transit flights to Vladimir depart from the Schelkovsky bus station, the travel time is 3-3.5 hours, the fare is approximately 440 RUB. In addition, the Vladimir bus station accepts mass flights from surrounding cities: Nizhny Novgorod, Kovrov, Gus-Khrustalny, Ivanov and many others.

By car

By car, you can reach Vladimir via the M-7 Volga motorway: from Moscow about 170 km and 3 hours by car, from Nizhny Novgorod – 240 km and 3 hours and 15 minutes on the road.

How to navigate

The design of the city is quite simple: the main street runs from west to east parallel to the Klyazma river through the entire historical center, changing their names along the way: from the direction of Moscow begins the Moscow highway – then Lenin Avenue – Studenaya Gora Street – Dvoryanskaya Street – Bolshaya Moskovskaya Street – Bolshaya Nizhny Novgorod Street – Dobroselskaya Street and – at the end of the city, exit to Nizhny Novgorod. Several main streets diverge from this road: Gorki in the direction of Yuryev-Polsky, as well as Muromskaya Street and the Suzdal Highway.

Most of the attractions and hotels are concentrated along that section of the street called Bolshaya Moskovskaya. The old city starts from the Golden Gate and ends after the Monastery of the Nativity, near the turn to the train station.

Transport

Walking around Vladimir is the easiest and most convenient way to walk: the compact historic city center can be covered in 30-40 minutes. However, if the hotel is in the distance, you can use minibuses, trolleybuses or buses. The fare is approximately the same: 22 RUB, but occasionally (for suburban flights) a ticket will cost a little more, depending on the distance. Tickets can be purchased from the driver or driver.

A really useful route for tourists is trolleybus number 5, which follows from the station square along ul. Greater Moscow in the center.

In summer, you can rent a bicycle and take a trip, for example, to the Spas-Kupalishche Monastery (about 40 km) or to the Church of the Intercession in the Nerl (12 km, avoid the road, it is better to go on the road for small roads). The rent, as a rule, starts from RUB 150 per hour, plus a deposit.

Vladimir Hotels

Being one of the most popular cities of the Golden Ring, Vladimir simply cannot disappoint in terms of quantity and quality of its hotels. The hotels here are for all tastes and budgets, but most of them are quite comfortable small hotels, where there are no more than 20 rooms. The cost of one night in them starts from 2000-2500 RUB depending on the season.

There are two “giants” in the city to receive tourists: these are “Vladimir” and “Golden Ring”, where in addition to, in fact, night accommodation offers many services. You can save money by staying in one of the hostels in the city somewhere in the outskirts of a rather battered “kopeck piece” (from 1000 RUB). And to relax with the soul, it is better in nature. Near Vladimir there are several excellent campsites and complete hotel complexes, where you can spend the night. But without your own car, it is better not to intrude.

Finally, tourists with religious goals should contact the Pilgrimage Service of the Diocese of Vladimir, there they will be helped to find a place within 300-400 RUB.