(Source: http://www.hometravel.ru/nnov/tury/weekend/sergiev_posad)

A full day private tour  departing from  Moscow  to the Golden Ring town of Sergiev Posad will allow visiting impressive Russian sights including the famous Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius Monastery, Chernigov Skit (monks retreat) and its undgergound cave church as well as Matryoshka painting masterclass and Abramtsevo estate (XIX century retreat for Russian writers and painters). You will learn about Russian history, culture and enjoy gorgeous countryside landscapes.

The Golden Ring is a modern name for a loop of very old towns north-east of Moscow. The towns’ churches, monasteries, kremlins (city forts) and museums make an incredibly picturesque portfolio of early Russian craftwork. Another attraction of the region is that some of the towns are really little more than villages, providing a peaceful glimpse of country life as it is all over European Russia.

The Golden Ring is one of the most popular routes among the tourists who want to explore the heart of Russia. The major point of the tour is to present the most ancient and magnificent Russian towns in all there glamour and beauty.

Sergiev Posad is obviously a town that deserves a special visit. Despite incredible number of old towns in Moscow Region, Sergiev Posad is the only one of them that is always included in the famous Golden Ring excursions. The major point of attraction here is Troitse-Sergieva Lavra (The Trinity - St Sergius Lavra).

Holy Trinity Lavra

UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site in 1993, calling it “a fine example of a working Orthodox monastery, with military features that are typical of the 15th to the 18th century.” The heart of Holy Trinity Lavra is the Holy Trinity Cathedral (Troitsky sobor), built in the 1420s and distinguished by its white-stone architecture and many-tier completion. It contains the revered holy relics of St. Sergius in its southeast corner. A memorial service for the saint is conducted in the cathedral twenty-four hours seven days a week. The interior, lit by oil lamps, is covered with icons that present mostly  the work of the great medieval Russian painter Andrei Rublev.