Savior's Cathedral, Pereslavl Zalessky

Pereslavl Zalessky (Russian: Переславль Залесский, pe-re-SLAHVL za-LESS-ki) is a city in Yaroslavl Oblast and a part of the Golden Ring route.

Understand

The city was founded in 1152 by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky 5 years later than Moscow. In medieval times its fort was besieged and the city was ransacked by Mongols and later on by Polish-Lithuanian armies. Next to the city is Plescheyevo lake, the cradle of Russian Fleet, where young tsar Peter I did his marine military excersises. Besides, the site is a birthplace of Alexander Nevsky.

Get in

Pereslavl Zalessky is located on M8 and R74 highways. Moscow bus station at Schyolkovskaya metro station serves buses to the city and the travel will take 2-3 hours. There are also buses to Yaroslavl and Sergiev Posad. The town is not served by train though. If you're going to the town from the north, you can consider changing to the bus in Yaroslavl or Rostov Veliky (from train) or in Petrovsk from elektrichka.

Get around

Panoramic view of Pereslavl Zalessky

The city is rather small with basic historic attractions in the center and easily explorable by foot. Usually it needs two days to get acquainted with the city.

See

Museums

• Pereslavl History and Art Preserve (take a bus#1 from the bus station to the stop 'Museum'), ☏ +7 48535 3-81-00, fax: +7 (48535) 2-31-24, museum@pereslavl.ru. The preserve operates from May to September from 10:00 to 18:00 except Mondays. There is an original small boat botik of tsar Peter who was to become Peter the Great located inside the museum in the area. You can also order excursions around the city. 
• Pereslavl Kremlin surrounded by the rampart hill.
• Museum of Narrow-gauge Railways Kukushka, a wide open-air area showing steam-engines, cariages, hand cars, trucks, automobiles and a tank . Museum is situated about 25km to the west of the town, if you don't have a car, you'll most probably have to hitchhike there, as the only transport to get there is 2 buses to Kupanskoe in the morning. Detailed route with pictures is on the russian version of the site with pictures . Working hours: 10.00–18.00, except Mo, Tu. E-mail: info@kukushka.ru.
• Museum of irons (Музей утюга), an exhibition of old irons.
• Museum of kettles (Музей чайника) , a private collection of copper, porcelain and nickel silver kettles. On the route to Kukushka museum, but only 3km from town, so it's possible to walk. Across the street from the museum of kettles - museum of history of money (Музей истории денег).
• Plescheyevo lake National Park with a dendrological garden.

Monasteries

• Goritsky Monstery
• Nikitsky Monastery (on the northern shore of the lake in some distance of the city)
• Saint Trinity Danilovsky Monastery
• Sretensky Novodevichy Monastery
• Fedorovsky Monastery

Do

Kite-surfing in summer.

Buy

• Embroidery, fabrics of the local factory.

Sleep

• Rest bases on the lakeshore.
• Hotel Pereslavl (Переславль), 27 Rostovskaya st (City center), ☏ +7 48535 3-17-88, +7 48535 3-26-87, +7 48535 3-15-59. The biggest hotel with a travel agency, a bar, a cafe. Organization of horse-riding. from 2200RUB for double room. 

Cope

• Pereslavl agency of travels and excursions, 27 Rostovskaya st, ☏ +7 48535 31353, pbp.05@mail.ru. Excursions around the city. 
• YarOblTour, office 4, 1 Kuznetsova st, ☏ +7 48535 3-07-76, yarobltur.peresl@mail.ru. Acceptance of foreign tourists and excursions in the city and Yaroslavl Oblast. 

Go next

Depending on the direction of your journey you could move clockwise/counterclockwise along the Golden Ring cities like Rostov Veliky, Yuryev-Polsky, Yaroslavl or get back to Moscow. All routes are served by bus.