Art tours

ArtEs offers exclusive art tours of the Moscow surroundings, fascinating for anyone who is interested in the Russian history, culture and art. We can show you places, which regular tourists rarely get to see – places, where you can see and experience genuine Russian antiquities.

Moscow is surrounded by ancient monasteries, churches and rich estate ensembles of the Russian nobles and tsars. You will have the chance to visit outstanding monuments of the Russian architecture and both marvel at their facades and admire their interiors, decorated with famous ancient murals, icons and frescoes.

You will get an insight into the lives of the Russian nobles of the 17th to 19th centuries, visit the tsars’ living quarters and palaces of the grand nobles of the court, hiding rich collections of graphic arts and sculptures and surrounded by splendid parks.

With us, you can visit the estates, where famous Russian poets, authors and artists – such as Pushkin, Tolstoi, Repin and many others – have lived and perfected their works.

We can also arrange and organize any type of individual tour just for you according to your wishes, interests and time available.

Ancient Russian art and architecture

Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra

The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius is one of the most fascinating architectural ensembles near Moscow. It includes outstanding monuments of the Russian architecture of 14th through 18th century. Marvellous examples of ancient Russian architecture as well as several icons and frescoes by the greatest Russian icon painter Andrei Rublev (late 14th – early 15th century) and his students (mural fragments and iconostasis of the Trinity Cathedral).

Savvino-Storozhevsky monastery

In 15th century, this monastery was built to serve as a military outpost of Zvenigorod city. It is situated on a high hill called Storozhi Holm (Watching Hill). Its position grants the monastery guests a picturesque view of the Moskva river and its surrounding lands. The white stone cathedral of the Virgin's Nativity occupies the central place in the monastery. Some of the frescoes in its altar date back to the 1420s. The rest of the interior was painted in 1656.

Nowadays, the monastery hosts the Zvenigorod regional museum and the Museum of the royal and boyar everyday life.

Kolomenskoye

Kolomenskoe village near Moscow, situated on the high bank of the Moskva river, was the ancient royal country estate of the Russian princes and tsars. Nowadays, Kolomenskoe has been converted to a museum of history, architecture, applied art and life of the 16th and 17th centuries. Several interesting examples of the Russian architecture of those times can be found in Kolomenskoe, such as the wooden house of Peter I the Great, which was brought there from Arkhangelsk city, and the Gate Tower, which was built in the 17th century and later transported to Kolomenskoe from the the St. Nicholas Monastery from the White Sea coast of north-western Russia. The museum often hosts folk festivities, concerts and plays. During seasonal holidays, the museum’s visitors can participate in traditional Russian three-horse drawn sled rides, boat tours along the Moskva river and various other traditional Russian folk amusements.

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