Having arrived in the middle of the night at Moscow-Domodedowo airport from Germany, I spent the better part of my first day in Russia making my way to Yaroslavl. On arrival, I had stayed near the airport, figuring I could save myself some stress and the cab fare and also get myself some much needed rest. Truth be told, it didn't work out that way, as the hotel wasn't close enough to the airport, so I had to take a cab nonetheless. And the next day I still had to make my way to Moscow and lost another 1-2h just to get to Moscow.

When I had finally made my way to Paveletskaya metro station in Moscow, I took the metro in the wrong direction. To explain, all signs where in Cyrillic letters and I mistook Киевский вокзал (Kiev Station = west) for Курская (Kurskaya = east); both start with a K. Eventually, I managed to get to the train station to Yaroslavl and board the train. My original plan of doing some sightseeing in Moscow that day had fallen flat as I had spent all day in commute. So you may understand, it was with great relief and exhaustiation that I finally dropped my bag off in the hotel in Yaroslavl.

At that point, it felt like one of those travel days lost in transit. But then on my evening walk around town I saw the Volga... I was standing on the hills overlooking the river. The Volga at Yaroslavl is already a great, huge river and you get great views from the waterfront. The walkway along and atop the river with the pavilions and other architectural elements manages to frame and augment the great scenery. This felt like I had finally arrived in Russia.

Looking back, Yaroslavl was a great start to Russia. It's not as urban/westernized as Moscow or St. Petersburg. And it's not as rural and backwards as other places (e.g. Suzdal, Rostov). The town offers everything you would expect from a Russian city, palaces, churches, a kremlin. And it has a  consistent feel to it, missing from other places. And you have the Volga, the one Russian river.

Getting There

The trains from Moscow leave from Yaroslavskiy Railway Terminal in the North East of Moscow. Travel time is around 4h to Yaroslavl. The train station is on the outskirts of town and I ended up taking a taxi into town (recommended). Information may have changed, though, as I visited in 2016.

While You Are There

Nearby Rostow (T) is not to be missed. There are busses and trains you can take between both towns. If you are travelling between Yaroslavl and Moscow you should also include a stop at Sergiev Possad. I went by bus from Rostow and then took a train to Moscow.