• Rostov Veliky
  

  
  Rostov Veliky stands for the Great because of its age. It was first mentioned in 862 in the Primary Chronicle, and two centuries later it was joined by Rurik to his Kingdom, since then it became a big political center and the throne of Church.
  
  

• Suzdal
  

  
  Suzdal is a historic small town in Vladimir Oblast. It was once the capital of several Russian principalities and has many examples of early Russian architecture. It is probably the most interesting of the Golden Ring cities.
  
  

• Vladimir
  

  
  The city is one of the most visited destinations within the popular Golden Ring circuit, as it preserves several of the finest monuments of white-stone medieval architecture in Russia, along with a number of later buildings from the 16th–20th centuries.
  
  

• Sergiev Posad
  

  
  The reason why one should see the city is the monastery. The monastery of Sergiev Posad is one of the most beautiful monasteries in Russia and one of the principal spiritual centers of the Russian Church.
  
  

• Kostroma
  

  
  Kostroma is a historic city, founded in the 12th century, and served as a sort of northern retreat for the powerful in Muscovy when threatened by southern and western invaders. Visitors should not miss the Hypatian Monastery and the historic city center around Susaninskaya ploshchad.
  
  

• Spaso-Yakovlevsky Monastery
  

  
  Spaso-Yakovlevsky Monastery (Monastery of St. Jacob Savior) sits on the shore of the Nero lake, on the outskirts of Rostov. Founded in the 14th century, but most of the monastery structures were built in the late 18th and early 19th centuries in the fine neoclassical style.
  
  

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