Meet your expert guide in your hotel lobby, hop on the train or bus and head out to Sergiev Posad, one of the ‘Golden Ring’ towns which was founded in 1340 by the Russia’s most revered saint, St Sergius of Radonezh.

Be impressed by Sergiev Posad’s top attractions, including its churches with blue-and-gold cupolas offset by snow-white walls, wooden buildings made in old-school Russian style, and elegant squares. Make a pilgrimage to the Trinity Lavra, the spiritual center of Russian Orthodoxy. Take in the peaceful cloister, watch the monks at work and admire their squat, gold-domed Trinity Cathedral. Feast your eyes on icon-festooned interiors, mostly the magnificent work of prominent medieval painter Andrei Rublev and his gild and pay homage to St Sergius near his silver tomb.

You will marvel at onion-domed 16th-century Assumption Cathedral, and 288-foot (88 meter) baroque bell tower as your guide points out the most important benchmarks of the monastery’s history. Peruse the medieval Russian art and folk crafts at the monastery’s Konny Dvor Museum, catch a glimpse of Russian traditional souvenir - painted wooden matryoshka dolls at the Toy Museum. You may choose to extend your tour by 2 hours and make your way to the Abramtsevo Estate (optional, extra cost of $100 to be paid on tour) that used to be a center for the Slavophile movement and artistic activity in the 19th century. Your tour concludes at your hotel in Moscow.