5 Best Sights in Side Trips from Moscow, Russia

The 100-foot-tall "candle" is actually a belfry for two churches, Ioann Zlatoust (St. John Chrysostom, 1649) and the miniature Tserkov Vladimirskoi Bogomateri (Church of the Vladimir Virgin, 1678). The former is a larger summer church, ornately decorated with colorful tiles; the latter is the more modest and easy-to-heat winter church. From the Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Savior, it's a 1-km (½-mile) walk (or two stops on bus 4) across the bridge and along the mouth of the Kotorosl to the churches and belfry.

The mid-17th-century Church of Elijah the Prophet (Tserkov Ilyi Proroka) stands at the center of town on ploschad Sovetskaya (Soviet Square), some say on the site of Yaroslav's alleged wrestling match with the bear. Tall, octagonal belfry and faceted green onion domes make the church the focal point of the town. Inside the ornamental church are some of the best-preserved frescoes (1680) by Gury Nikitin and Sila Savin, whose works also adorn Moscow Kremlin cathedrals, as well as churches throughout the region. The frescoes depict scenes from the Gospels and the life of Elijah and his disciple Elisha.

Although it looks as though it's made from wood, the 17th-century five-dome Church of St. John the Baptist (Tserkov Ioanna Predtechi) is actually fashioned from carved red brick. The church is on the same side of the Kotorosl River as the Candle of Yaroslavl, but it's west of the bridge by about 1 km (½ miles). The church is the biggest in Yaroslavl and is depicted on the 1,000 ruble note.

The large, redbrick, blue-cupola Church of the Epiphany (Tserkov Bogoyavleniya) is renowned for its fine proportions, enhanced by splendid decorative ceramic tiles and unusually tall windows. Inside are eight levels of wall paintings in the realistic style that began to hold sway in the late 1600s. The church is directly west of the Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Savior.

Surrounded by white, 10-foot-thick walls, this attractive complex was the site of northern Russia's first school of higher education, dating to the 13th century. It houses several magnificent churches and is where Ivan the Terrible took refuge in 1571, when the Mongols were threatening Moscow. Dating to 1516, the Holy Gates entrance to the monastery, on the side facing the Kotorosl River, is the oldest extant structure in the compound. A six-story belfry rises high above the round-dome Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Savior.The clock in the belfry hung in the famous Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin until 1624, when it was purchased by the merchants of Yaroslavl.