6 most atmospheric estates near Moscow for long walks

Distance from Moscow: 19 km

Where is located: Krasnogorsk urban district, Arkhangelskoye, Moscow region, Russia.

A Versailles near Moscow, the pearl of Russian classicism, the heart of the Russian manor – whatever epithet may be applied to Arkhangelskoye, it is still impossible to describe it in full. Since the times of Ivan the Terrible, the estate has changed several owners significant for Russian history, among them princes Odoevsky, Golitsyns and Yusupovs.

But the most important thing is that it preserved almost untouched elements of planning and building. As a result, the modern Arkhangelskoye is probably the most authentic example of a noble manor, where you can spend a whole day with pleasure. Walk through the spacious park, be inspired by the collection of paintings in the Grand Palace, and if you are lucky – to meet the sunset to the rhythms of festival jazz or instrumental classics.

Distance from Moscow: 82 km

Where is it located: Shakhmatovo estate, Gudino, Moscow region, Russia?

Cozy Shakhmatovo is an example of a rustic, wooden, almost “dacha” manor near Moscow. Not pretending to luxury, not wishing to impress anyone, it charms not with exquisite finishing or strict alleys of regular parks, but with simple, careless freedom. It is all the more surprising to realize that the owner of Shakhmatovo was Alexander Blok, whose urban poem “Night, Street, Lantern, Pharmacy…” contrasts sharply with his own dedication to the house. Just compare:

“And a gray house, and in the mezzanine
Venetian window,
The color of the panes – red, yellow, blue,
As if it should be so.”

Distance from Moscow: 36 km

Where is it located: Vorontsovsky Park, Bykovo, Moscow region, Bykovo.

Bykovo near Moscow is an amazing example of the neighborhood of the pseudo-Gothic church of the Vladimir icon of the Mother of God and a red-brick manor house made in the English Renaissance style. The authorship of the buildings is attributed to Vasily Bazhenov, who built the Pashkov House in Moscow, and Matvey Kazakov.

Despite its absolutely prosaic name, Bykovo is imbued with romance. It is everywhere here: dissolved in the tops of century-old pine trees, passing through the slender Corinthian columns of the Bazhenov arbor, settles in the morning mist over the estate ponds. Bykovo is beautiful, not crowded and almost untouched by modernity. And this is its special elusive charm.

Distance from Moscow: 60 km

Where is located: 6, Vaskino, Moscow region.

“If there is anything interesting, even wonderful, in the whole province, it is only our cherry orchard” – the unenviable fate of the Vaskino estate, or Rozhdestvenno, which became the prototype of Chekhov’s play, seems to cast doubt on Ranevskaya’s firm conviction.

Vaskino is not going through the best years: the territory of the estate can hardly be called well-groomed or at least ennobled. Now it is rather a place for lovers of fading beauty, which is not so easy to find behind overgrown bushes and bent barns. But if you can find it, you’re guaranteed to enjoy reading the literary references.

Distance from Moscow: 89 km

Where is it located: Moscow region, settlement of the sanatorium named after Gertsen. Herzen

Transported to the Moscow region directly from the stories about Sherlock Holmes, Vasilyevsky Castle refers to the Victorian era with its geometric architecture, manicured lawns, exotic plants and greenhouses.

Walking around the territory of the Herzen Sanatorium, which now belongs to the castle. Walking around the territory of the Herzen Sanatorium, which now owns the castle, you want to straighten your back and refresh your memory with a couple of British literary idioms. Even now, almost 150 years after its construction, it looks majestic and a bit arrogant. As, however, and befits a solid aristocratic estate.

Distance from Moscow: 13 km

Where is located: DSK Michurinets, Vnukovskoye settlement, 4 Pogodina St.

Formally Peredelkino is, of course, not an estate, but a complex of writer’s dachas a step away from Moscow. But what is a writer’s dacha but a direct descendant of a literary estate? In recent years Peredelkino has been seriously patched up, turning it into a living creative center with residences, spaces for work and leisure.

Fortunately, the legendary creative atmosphere has been preserved. That’s why the best thing you can do in Peredelkino is to create: literary, fine arts or even music. If you prefer to simply observe, come anyway: there is little to replace the pleasure of a walk among the houses of Chukovsky, Pasternak or Okudzhava.