Fodor's Expert Review Toy Museum

The world's first matryoshka (that colorful, wooden nesting doll) was designed in Sergiev-Posad at the beginning of the 20th century, and most of the matryoshkas you see for sale in Moscow and St. Petersburg are made here. Although the Toy Museum is rarely included on organized tours, it is well worth an hour of your time and is within walking distance of the Troitse-Sergieva Lavra monastery. Its toys have amused, educated, and illuminated the lives of Russian children for generations.