Torzhok Old Town

Torzhok sat on the main road between Moscow and St Petersburg, which is why it has more architecture than a town of its size normally would: Nikolai Lvov, an architect and polymath who was born nearby, gave it a set of classical buildings in the 1780s and 90s, including the Boris and Gleb cathedral in the old monastery, a rotunda chapel and works on surrounding estates. The town runs along both banks of the Tvertsa with the monastery on a hill, wooden and brick houses on the slopes and a chain of churches on the skyline. Two other things are attached to its name. Gold embroidery has been made here since at least the eighteenth century and still is, with a factory and a museum. And Pushkin, who stopped here often on the road, recommended the Pozharsky cutlet in a verse letter - a minced chicken cutlet in breadcrumbs invented at the local inn, which is now served in every restaurant in town.

What you actually see

• The Lvov buildings - a set of 1780s and 90s classical works by a local architect.
• The Tvertsa banks - churches on the skyline above both slopes of the river.
• The gold embroidery - a craft made here since the eighteenth century, with a museum.
• The Pozharsky cutlet - the dish Pushkin recommended, invented at the town's inn.

When to go

May to September. Half a day. It works as a stop on the Moscow to St Petersburg road.

Honest expectations

Several of the churches are ruined or shuttered and restoration is slow. The monastery is partly closed. Museums keep short hours. The town is worn away from the main streets and the riverside can be scruffy.

Nearby

Vasilyovo wooden architecture museum is a short way out; Nikolskoye-Cherenchitsy is Lvov's own estate.