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On board with Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones, owner of 30m sailing yacht Magic Carpet 3

Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones was the Englishman who turned L’Oréal into a cosmetics giant, and the sailor who helped make Wally famous. David Edwards meets a very dashing knight...

It was love at first sight and the beholder was 10 years old. Lindsay Owen-Jones was on holiday with his family and the life-changing vision of beauty was France, and all its romantic allure. “It was discovering that there was another world out there where they drank wine instead of beer and had all kinds of wonderful things including pretty girls,” he says. “I can put it down to a memory of a tiny hotel in Bénodet, on the south coast of Brittany, called Hotel du Phare, and there was a drop-dead gorgeous waitress and suddenly I was having a really good time.”

If you didn’t know the story of Lindsay’s remarkable subsequent life, his impeccable pronunciation of Bénodet and Hotel du Phare would be a hint that that first taste of France would be much to the young English boy’s liking. He would go on to make France his home and become something of a national treasure by turning one of its best-known companies, L’Oréal, into a global superpower, becoming Sir Lindsay and receiving the Legion d’Honneur in the process.

Sir Lindsay’s account of his first foreign holiday reveals more than just a love of all things French. The first detail he recalls is the vehicle they travelled in. “We had a Humber Hawk, with a roof rack full of stuff, and an overdrive so you could drive it flat out for hours and hours and hours, which my father did.” He was already mad about cars, and racing cars in particular. “Even at six or seven I was really into motor racing. I would listen to the radio in the middle of the night to follow the 24 Hours of Le Mans, or listen to the grand prix at Monte Carlo, which seemed totally magical.”

Home was New Brighton, across the River Mersey from Liverpool, and adventure and excitement seemed very far away. But, thanks to his mother in particular, they were not entirely out of reach. “My mother was a very bohemian, artist sort of character who would draw all day rather than do housework,” he says. “My father was deadly serious, an engineer, sensible sort of chap. But whereas my father thought this was perfect, living in the north of England, with a nice family, I think my mother secretly had hoped for more bright lights and more fun and more excitement and I’m sure she transferred this to me and willed me somehow to escape and do something else.”

He did. First to boarding school 150 miles away in the Midlands, and then further south, to Oxford, where he studied modern languages. “My father wanted me to do science and mathematics and physics and so on, and my mother didn’t even dare say that she would have preferred me to do English and history and modern languages. In the end, thanks to a really good teacher I had, my mother’s side won. That was a decisive moment in my life.”

Sir Lindsay would go against his father in other ways too. Owen-Jones senior had served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War. “He always said the only distinguished thing he ever did was getting sunk, three times, and surviving. That meant that he didn’t think the sea was for fun. My father wouldn’t have got on a sailing boat if you paid him to.”

But fun – and sailing boats – was something that Sir Lindsay was becoming increasingly drawn to. He learned to sail in Alpha dinghies on the Thames while at Oxford and then spent his student summers sailing Vauriens in France, by the Ile de Ré off La Rochelle. “Vaurien means literally ‘worth nothing’; they were made out of plywood and you had to put plastic bags inside to stop them sinking. But they were great fun.”

Sailing in France was different from sailing on the Thames. “It was compatible with being in the sun, and I thought this is serious fun; seriously exciting. And it was something you could do, whereas motor racing you could watch but for a hard-working middle-class chap like myself, actually racing cars oneself was beyond my imagination.”

While at Oxford he’d met Olivier Giscard d’Estaing, the brother of the future French president Valéry, who’d founded a business school in Paris called INSEAD. Sir Lindsay was intending to take the Foreign Office exam, but “Olivier said, diplomacy tomorrow is going to be in business, it’s not going to be in the embassies; that’s just for cocktails”.

So Paris it was, and that’s where he stayed after landing a job at L’Oréal. “It sounded like a wonderful, exciting thing to do. Doing marketing for shampoo and hairspray, in French, in a French company, living in Paris; and being paid to look at and study women and their motivations. Of course, I took to that like a duck to water.”

As his career progressed, so did the cars and the boats – and the racing. There were go-karts and classic cars, and 420 dinghies and a Bénéteau First Class 10 prototype, which was the recommendation of Bruno Troublé, the French America’s Cup sailor who Sir Lindsay had befriended while working in the US. Sir Lindsay loved racing but also wanted a boat on which he could cruise with his Italian wife Cristina, and Céleste, his daughter from his first marriage to a French woman. Troublé steered him towards an American-designed, Italian-built 17 metre ULDB, then a 24 metre aluminium CNB. “That was lovely but it was heavy, traditional, and there were wire cables coming out of everywhere. I could see it was going to require a serious number of crew without really going very fast, which didn’t seem like a good combination to me.”

All of which led him to a second love-at-first-sight moment, this time aged 50. “I was looking at a magazine, dreaming about boats, and I saw a photograph of Genie of the Lamp . It took about a minute to realise it was exactly what I wanted.” Genie was the revolutionary 24 metre sloop launched in 1995 by Luca Bassani , and its flush, clean deck left Sir Lindsay stunned. “Nobody had ever told me that such a boat existed.”

Meeting Bassani was similarly momentous for Sir Lindsay. “We’re very different, but I like people who are very different to me. We complete each other. He too was a mixture of a creative person and a sensible person. But I would say he’s 80 per cent creative to 20 per cent sensible, maybe even 90-10. I’m more like 50-50.”

Bassani let Sir Lindsay and his wife sail from Saint-Tropez to Corsica and back on board Genie , with a crew of two, and Sir Lindsay was sold on her. Unfortunately Bassani had sold her to someone else but he had an idea. He wanted Sir Lindsay to build a new boat, “like Genie but better” and in effect be Bassani’s first customer for a brand he was hoping to establish. “He convinced me to do it.” And so Wally was born.

Eighteen months later Sir Lindsay took possession of the first Magic Carpet – “because Genie of the Lamp, the Arabian Knights… Magic Carpet!” Twenty-one years on and here we sit, around a table in the saloon of Magic Carpet 3 , moored in Saint-Tropez and being readied for a new season of Wally Class regattas. “ Magic Carpet has, I think, been on the podium of the Wally championship every year for 20 years,” he says proudly, and at the age of 72 he’s as excited as ever about the impending competition. “Every year we try to improve the boat for the next season, and we have tweaked a whole lot of little things this winter.”

For him, business life was like racing a car or a yacht. “Absolutely. I think it’s the same drive, I would accept that completely. I wanted to win, I wanted to earn a lot of money.” He stepped down as chairman of L’Oréal in 2011, after 42 years at the company. During his 22 years as chief executive he delivered double-digit growth every year, taking the company into every major global market and raising its value from €1.5 billion to €53 billion.

As a racing car driver, that same competitiveness took him to a remarkable fifth place at the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 1996. “Fifth doesn’t sound great compared to a professional but if you’re a privateer finishing fifth is like climbing Everest.” He is similarly proud of winning overall at the 2015 Giraglia Rolex Cup with Magic Carpet 3 . “We won it twice on scratch but that’s having the fastest boat. Winning it on corrected time, which usually favours the small boats, is much more difficult and we tried how many times, 12 or 13 or something, before we finally won it on corrected time. That was a great moment.”

He spends much of his time these days at his homes in Lugano and Saint-Tropez, as well as on the golf course, but the competitive fires still burn. “I don’t want to get any less competitive,” he says. “I make a point of sailing this boat three or four hours running without taking one minute’s rest while we’re racing it. As long as I can do that I feel that I’m going to stay young for longer. I want to stay that way as long as I possibly can and build a new Magic Carpet before I’m too old.”

Images: Carlo Borlenghi; Martinez Studio; Guido Grugnola; Rolex

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Magic Carpet 2

28.8m Wally

Sold. 28.8m | Wally | 2002 Designed by German Frers and Wally, 28.8m Magic Carpet 2 is a high performance sailing yacht with luxury living.

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Maya, Aladino, Magic Carpet I, and Magic Carpet II.

About aladino.

Swiss and Italian Boatbuilder and Sailor

Before boats, it was bikes. While still in high school, Aladino did several long distance bike trips around Europe. When he graduated, he decided to fly himself and his bike over to Seattle WA, and begin a long journey down the coast. The goal was to get all the way to the southern tip of South America, but he only made it as far as Mexico. There, he met an older sailor and boatbuilder who changed his life. Miguel was an American man who took Aladino under his wing and taught him how to sail.  

Growing up in Switzerland, Aladino only ever saw sailing as something reserved for the rich. But with Miguel’s guidance, Aladino saw a different side of sailing: the liveaboard lifestyle, full time travellers, moving around the world with the wind. He was enthralled. From that point on, he vowed to do whatever possible to make sailing his life.  

When he returned to Switzerland, he enrolled as an apprentice boatbuilder. In the evenings, he began working on his own project: Magic Carpet I.  

Canadian Musician, Filmmaker, and Sailor.

Maya’s sailing roots run deep. Her parents met on a tallship during a voyage around the world. But Maya’s own sailing aspirations started in highschool, when she learned to sail in local BC waters on board a small fibreglass keel boat. In second year university, Maya’s life changed when she was gifted a gorgeous wooden sailboat for $1 under some very strange circumstances… that story is told here . With her own boat to care for and sail, Maya’s love of sailing grew.  

Now, Maya combines sailing with her love of music, art, and filmmaking to produce the Sailing Magic Carpet films. A violinist since age 3, you may catch Maya (and her oddly identical sisters!) playing some live music for the films.  

We met in the summer of 2017. I (Maya) graduated from a 4 year university degree in Canada, and accepted a job on a tall ship in the Mediterranean.

Aladino was also sailing around the Mediterranean that summer, on a little fibreglass boat with a friend.

When I met Aladino, I could tell he was very special. Our boats were sailing to different places, but we kept in touch, and when the summer season ended I decided to go visit him in Switzerland.

On my first day in Switzerland, I texted my best friend back home in Canada: “I think I just met my future husband.”

I was correct!

Together, Aladino and I finished the refit on Magic Carpet I and set sail for the Mediterranean in 2018. We began filming a few episodes just for fun. Neither of us had any idea how to make a film, but I enjoyed storytelling so I just stitched together a few iPhone shots over top of a written narration. Surprisingly, people began to watch them. We started learning more about filmmaking and invested in better equipment, and today we’re absolutely over the moon to say that the Sailing Magic Carpet channel is our full time job.  

About Magic Carpet I

From Tragedy to Triumph

Magic Carpet is a 28ft Vindo 32. The “32” in the name refers to sail area, not length.

In 2013, before she was ours, tragedy struck. In an accident at a boatyard, she ended up falling 20ft from a crane onto concrete below.

She was a total write-off. Her keel was crushed, the entire transom blew out, the rudder was mangled, and there was a giant crack on her port side.

That’s when Aladino found her. He saved her from the junkyard and gave her new life. He spent four years expertly rebuilding the hull and turning her into his masterpiece.

During the last year of the restoration, Aladino and Maya met, and Maya helped with the last pieces of the restoration.

We launched Magic Carpet in June of 2018 –– just a few days after we got married! We took her through the French canals on a two week journey to the Mediterranean. After two Mediterranean seasons, we decided to go North, and underwent a massive journey through Europe via canals and rivers. We finally stepped the mast again in The Netherlands, and enjoyed a season sailing there.  

Magic Carpet I has been an incredible first boat together, and her adventures aren’t done yet! There’s still more European exploration to come.

About Magic Carpet II

Around The World... Coming Soon

Magic Carpet II is a Cape George 36, a bluewater boat that can circle the globe with ease. We bought her sight unseen from halfway around the world during the first wave of Covid… it was a bit nuts. That whole story is here . She’s in need of a lot of work, but when done she will be our around the world vessel.  

Current and Future Plans

We want to sail around the world as slowly as possible.

We love sailing, and we don’t want to rush around the world to get it over with.

We plan to make videos documenting every aspect of our journey, from sailing the oceans, to journeying down rivers, to long days in the boatyard.

Our videos focus on sailing, music, storytelling, and serenity. We hope our videos inspire you to pursue your own dreams.

About The Films

The Evolution

We didn’t set out intending to be filmmakers.

We both just loved sailing, and I (Maya) loved art in general. I enjoyed writing little accounts of our journey, taking photos, and playing music. Video seemed like a convenient way to combine all of those interests — but video itself was not really a big interest of mine.

As is plainly obvious from our first few episodes, I didn’t really know what I was doing. I remember when I made the first episode, I googled “how to make a great video.” One thing people talked about was colour grading. I didn’t really know what that was or how to do it, but I gathered it meant editing the colour of the film. So, I decided to mess with the colours of my shaky iPhone footage… and that’s why the whole first episode looks strangely purple.

Over time, our audience inexplicably grew. Initially, people were simply attracted to the storytelling. I enjoyed writing narrations about our travels — the films were almost more of a narrated travelogue with a slideshow than an actual film. But slowly, I started paying more attention to the actual video side of things. I learned how to properly use a camera, how to edit interesting scenes together, and how to tell a story through film.

Now, I’m comfortable calling myself a filmmaker. Every week for four years, I’ve condensed our adventures and misadventures into short stories to share with our ever growing audience.

At their core, the films today maintain that same dedication to story and the written word. But now the footage is slightly less shaky, the audio slightly less wind blown, and Aladino and I have gotten used to actually speaking in front of the camera as well.

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Channel Information

Documenting the sailing adventures, restoration endeavours, and life changing moments in the lives of Maya and Aladino. We aim to tell beautiful stories about worthwhile adventures. The main story: Maya and Aladino fell in love, finished restoring Magic Carpet, and are now sailing on her and documenting the journey. Maya's back story: Before Maya met Aladino, she owned a sailboat in Canada which she got for $1. We have a mini series on this channel all about that. Aladino's back story: Before Aladino met Maya, he bought a shipwreck that had fallen 20 feet off a crane onto concrete. He then fixed that boat up, and it is now Magic Carpet. We have a mini series on this channel about what Aladino learned during that restoration.

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Sailing Magic Carpet: Maya’s Secrets and Net Worth (2023)

Everything you always wanted to know.

Joshua Smith

Founder and Editor at Cruising Freedom

This is the definitive guide on Sailing Magic Carpet for 2023.

Over the last 3.5 years, I have spent 27 hours watching and researching everything I could about Sailing Magic Carpet to learn more about their story.

(Yes, I really am *that* obsessed with Maya and Aladino 😃 ever since the early days of their YouTube channel)

If you wanted to know:

➜ How Sailing Magic Carpet afforded their 2 boats

➜ How they make their money via creating content

➜ What boat do they have today and its upgrades

➜ How old they are and their net worth

➜ A unique way to achieve your freedom

Then you’ve definitely come to the right place.

Before we start, a quick introduction from me…

The Cruising Freedom Author

Ahoy, Matey! I’m Joshua from Australia.

I’ve built the perfect business to sail the world.

A business model which can allow me to:

➜ Own a catamaran debt-free

➜ Go for weeks without WIFI

➜ Create semi-passive income

➜ Inspire others to dream big

But more on that later… 🙂

Sailing Magic Carpet FAQs (April 2023)

S/V Magic Carpet II

Crew Members

Aladino who is Swiss/Italian

Maya who is Canadian

Their boat – Magic Carpet II – is a 1982 Cape George 36.

They are currently going through an extensive refit process.

Their boat renovation project was done in Port Townsend, WA, United States.

With their boat finished, they are now sailing in Sweden:

They’ll work their way around the world, slowly but surely!

Past Cruising

Before embarking on this ambitious restoration project, they had sailed Magic Carpet 1 throughout the Mediterranean.

Affording It

Both kept very basic budgets and did simple things to save most of their expenses. They aren’t rich but did work normal jobs to save up enough money to sail permanently.

As of 2023, Sailing Magic Carpet has a net worth of $195,000.

Making Loot

Sailing Magic Carpet makes $4,700/month on their channel through:

➜ Referral links to Total Boat Products

➜ Links to other gear they use and wear

➜ Subscriptions to their Patreon account

➜ Allowing YouTube to put ads on their channel

They are constantly evolving and will have enough to continue sailing once the refit is complete.

Collaborations

They have been featured on The Duracell Project most notably.

Big Moments

Their boggest moments include smashing their hull when beaching their boat.

Future Plans

Where to next? They’re planning on a circumnavigation once their boat has been built. While Aladino is a qualified boat builder, he’d rather be out there with his mermaid!

Key Takeaways

What can we learn from this knowledgeable couple on YouTube?

➜ Always chase your dreams, no matter the risk

➜ Be willing to put in the hard work today for success

➜ It takes time for good things to come to fruition

➜ Be patient yet persistent to achieve your freedom

And of course, find a partner who supports your dreams!

I have thoroughly enjoyed their boat building process, and certainly can’t wait until they launched their new boat for good!

Create Your Own Cruising Freedom

Hey! 😃 it’s Joshua again…

Clearly I’ve been very inspired by Sailing Magic Carpet and their travels…

Some say I’m obsessed, but sailing the world is my childhood dream.

They’re living the dream, but that dream isn’t actually that far away.

I mentioned earlier about discovering the #1 cruising business model.

With this exciting opportunity, I’ll be able to:

➜ Generate a sustainable full-time income through learning basic skills

➜ Fund the purchase of my first sailing catamaran without any loans

➜ Do it without selling to friends and family (I found a better solution!)

➜ Share my lifetime passion for sailing, cruising and global adventures

Keen to discover more? Jump on the free training right now. 👨🏻‍💻

(I share more about it on the next page…🙂)

 MAGIC CARPET sailing out of Edgartown Harbor,                                                    

Sail     magic carpet, for those who yearn for the sea, love to sail, and  would like a more traditional way to navigate the waves, we’d like to introduce you to the sailing vessel  magic carpet,  a classic sparkman & stephens 56 foot wooden yawl  ~    .

PRIVATE  SAILS      SCHEDULES & RATES   CALL    508-627-2889

  ⓒ   2024  island classic charters, inc.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                .

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Looming Deadlines and Major Progress with Sailing Magic Carpet

In their second-to-last video before relocating their boat to Canada, Aladino and Maya of Sailing Magic Carpet had a lot on their to-do list. Their main goals for this video were to install port holes, hatches, cockpit drains, and do some painting. The urgency stemmed from Aladino's expiring U.S. visa, which required them to move the boat within a week. So let's dive in and take a closer look at their progress!

Aladino began by working on the bulwark foam, cutting and shaping it to fit on the boat. This foam serves as protection and insulation for the hull. Once fitted, he moved on to the transom and got it glued in place. In the cockpit, significant progress was made in a relatively short time.

Maya, on the other hand, worked on various interior tasks, like the head countertop and engine cover. She discussed the challenges of moving their boat to Canada and the concerns about invasive species regulations. The concern specifically regarding untreated lumber, and more specifically, their Alaska Yellow Cedar they cut down from a friend’s yard. Therefore, getting the Alaska Yellow Cedar wood for the head countertop and engine cover glued up, coated in High Performance Epoxy and situated within the boat lessened their chances of having issues there.

Aladino focused on fairing the cabin sides and sanding the glass tape on the deck, preparing the surface for paint. They were out of TotalFair , so he used High Performance Epoxy mixed with West System 410 Filler which worked well as a stand in. He also removed the peel ply from the deck section and started adding fiberglass tape to protect the end grain of the plywood.

With their impending move, they felt the pressure to waterproof and paint the boat, especially before installing the port holes with their bronze flanges, which could make sanding a challenge.

Aladino progressed with fairing and used a high build epoxy primer for the next step to achieve a smoother surface on the cabin sides. The sanding was a tedious but necessary step to prepare for painting. Luckily, Aladino is ‘a force of nature’ according to Maya, and made tremendous progress on the cabin sides.

In addition to the interior work, Maya unveiled the beautifully finished chart table and drawers. They both marveled at how different components were coming together to create a cohesive look on the boat.

With the boat primed, they discussed their upcoming plans, which included the truck transporting the boat to Canada and their possible future travels to Europe before resuming the refit work.

Maya expressed gratitude for the support they received from viewers and patrons and acknowledged the challenges and toll that a project of this magnitude can take.

As always, their videos give viewers a detailed insight into the boat refitting process, as well as the dedication and hard work that Aladino and Maya put into their project. Despite the looming deadline of their visa expiration and the move to Canada, we see their commitment and perseverance in the face of daunting challenges. Make sure to check out their latest video and stay tuned for their next- which will be their last before the big move!

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Take a walk through the most ancient Kremlin in Russia

The Novgorod Kremlin, which is also called ‘Detinets’, is located on the left bank of the Volkhov River. The first fortified settlement was set here during the reign of prince Vladimir Yaroslavich, the son of Yaroslav the Wise. During these times, all the state, public and religious life of Novgorod was concentrated here. It was the place where people kept chronicles and copied the texts of books. The Novgorod Kremlin, the most ancient one in Russia, was founded here in the 15th century.

St. Sophia Cathedral (11th century), The Millennium Of Russia Monument, Episcopal Chamber (15th century) and the main exhibition of The State Novgorod Museum-reservation located in a public office building of the 18th century are all situated in the Novgorod Kremlin. The exhibition will tell you about the whole Novgorod history from ancient times to the present day. There are also restoration workshops, a children’s center, a library and a philharmonic inside the Kremlin walls.

Send a letter with the State Novgorod Museum-reservation stamp

While visiting the main building of the Novgorod Kremlin museum, you’ll see a small bureau near the souvenir area. Two more bureaus like that can be found in the Fine Arts Museum and the Museum information centre. This is the Museum Post, the joint project of the State Novgorod Museum-reservation and Russian Post.

The tradition to exchange letters (at that time written on birch bark sheets) dates back to the 11th century so it’s hardly surprising that such a project appeared here. The bureaus are desks and mailboxes at the same time, so you can send your friends a postcard with a view of Novgorod right from the museum.

Find the famous Russian poet Alexander Pushkin among the figures of The Millennium Of Russia Monument

In 1862, 1000 years after the Varangians were called to Russia, a monument dedicated to this event was launched in Novgorod. To tell the story of Russia’s one thousand years, the sculptor used 129 bronze figures: from state and military leaders to artists and poets.

One of figures portrays Afanasy Ordin-Nashchokin, a politician and reformer who was responsible for Russia’s diplomatic relations in the middle of the 17th century. He is believed to be the father of international and regular mail in Russia. He was also the person who came up with the idea of the first Russian Post official emblem — a post horn and a double-headed eagle.

Cross the Msta River over the first arch bridge in Russia

The steel bridge in Borovichi town that connects two banks of the Msta river was built at the beginning of the 20th century. The project of the bridge was created by Nikolay Belelyubsky, engineer and professor of St. Petersburg State Transport University. This is the first arch bridge in Russia.

In 1995, it was included in the national cultural heritage register. More than 100 bridges across Russia were developed by Belelyubsky, but only this one is named after him.

Cast a virtual bell

When in the Novgorod region, you’ll definitely hear bells ring and learn about the Novgorod Veche Bell. During the siege of the city, tsar Ivan III ordered to remove this bell from the bell tower and send it to Moscow. Legend says that the bell didn’t accept his fate, fell to the ground near the border of the Novgorod region and broke to pieces against the stones.

In the biggest Museum Bell Centre in Russia located in the Valday town, you can see bells from across the world and learn why Novgorod bells are unique. The museum’s collection represents bells from different countries and ages, some of them dating back to the 3rd century BC. You’ll learn about the history of casting and modern bell-making technologies and also play games on a touch table. For example, harness virtual ‘troika’ (three) horses with bells or cast a virtual bell.

Spot the pigeon on the cross of St. Sophia Cathedral

St. Sophia Cathedral was built in Novrogod between 1045 and 1050 by Kievan and Byzantine masters. It was conceived as the main cathedral of the city, and during its first years it was the only stone building in Novgorod. So where does the pigeon on the cross of the cathedral’s biggest dome come from?

Legend says that while tsar Ivan the Terrible and his Oprichniki were cruelly killing peaceful city folk in 1570, a pigeon suddenly sat down to the cross of the city’s main cathedral. It looked down, saw the massacre, and was literally petrified with horror. Since then the pigeon has been considered the defender of the city. People believe that as soon as the pigeon flies away from the cross, Novgorod will come to an end.

Visit a monastery, that was founded by Patriarch Nikon

The Valday Iver Monastery is situated on the island in the middle of the Valday lake. It is considered to be one of the most important and picturesque orthodox shrines.

The monastery was founded in 1653 by the initiative of Nikon who had just been elected Patriarch. Nikon wanted the monastery to look like the Iviron Monastery on Mount Athos, including the architectural style and monk’s clothes. Legend says that Nikon saw the spot for the monastery in a dream.

Check out Fyodor Dostoevsky’s country house

Fyodor Dostoevsky, a famous Russian writer, first visited Staraya Russa town in 1872 during a summer trip with his family. They liked it so much that the next year they rented a house near the Pererytitsa River’s embankment and spent every summer here ever since.

Dostoevsky loved this house, called it ‘his nest’ and considered it the perfect place to work and to be alone. In Staraya Russa he wrote his novels ‘The Adolescent’, ‘The Brothers Karamazov’ and ‘Demons’. Today, this place is a museum where you can explore what Dostoevsky’s house looked like and see his family’s personal belongings, photos and letters.

Visit an authentic Russian ‘izba’ (wooden house)

If you want to really enjoy the atmosphere of the old Novgorod, you should come to the Vitoslavlitsy Museum of folk wooden architecture that is located on the Myachino lake not far away from Veliky Novgorod. In this open-air museum you’ll see the best examples of Russian wooden architecture, including authentic old ‘izbas’ (wooden houses), rural chapels and churches.

During the year, the museum hosts fairs of crafts and folklore, christmastides, and even an international bell ringing festival.

Learn what Brick Gothic looks like

The Episcopal Chamber of the Novgorod Kremlin is the only non-religious German Gothic building of the 15th century preserved in Russia. You can have a good look at the facets of the gothic cross-domed vaults inside the chamber. This is why this building is also called ‘Faceted Chamber’ or ‘Chamber of Facets’.

The chamber was part of Vladychny Dvor, the place where all important city events took place: court hearings, gatherings of the Council of Lords of the Novgorod Republic, ambassador’s receptions and feasts. The seals of the city’s lords were kept here. The decree of tsar Ivan III on merging the Novgorod Republic with the Moscow State was first announced in 1478 in Episcopal Chamber. This is when the name of the new state, Russia, was first pronounced.

See the murals by Theophanes the Greek

The Byzantine Empire had a huge impact on the development of the Russian culture. Many works of art and architecture in ancient Russia were created by Byzantine artists and masters. Theophanes the Greek was one of them. He was born in Byzantine and created icons and murals in Constantinople and Caffa (modern Feodosia). After that he moved to Novgorod where he was commissioned to paint the walls of the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior on Ilyina Street. You can enjoy his unique and expressive style if you look at the murals inside the dome of the church and the Trinity side chapel.

The most recognizable and the only monumental work of Theophanes the Greek that is preserved today is the chest-high portrait of the Savior the Almighty in the dome of the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior.

Take a photo with an ancient Novgorod citizen who is learning how to read and write

In 1951, a letter written on birch bark dating back to the 14–15th centuries was found in Veliky Novgorod. Many decades later, in 2019, a sculpture designed by Novgorod artist and sculptor Sergey Gaev appeared on this exact site.

The sculpture portrays an 8–year old boy sitting on a stool and holding a piece of birch bark. At this age children in Novgorod started to learn how to read and write. During archaeological excavations in Novgorod, scientists often found ancient handwriting practice books and children’s drawings on birch bark sheets.

Feel like an ancient viking or prince Rurik’s guest

Novgorod is one of the waypoints of the famous trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks. The route passed through the Volkhov river. In the 9–10th centuries there was a fortified settlement of the Viking Age here.

Some scientists believe that Novgorod is named after this area which was called ‘Stary Gorod’ (‘Old City’) at that time. Some historians and archeologists consider this place to be the residence of Prince Rurik who was asked to rule the city in 862. That’s why this ancient settlement is called ‘Rurikovo Gorodische’ (‘Ruruk’s Old City’).

Learn more about the Soviet modernist architecture

On the bank of the Volkhov river near the Novgorod Kremlin, there is an incredible building that looks like a spaceship and contrasts strongly with the ancient buildings of the city.

This is the Fyodor Dostoevsky Theater of Dramatic Art that was built in 1987. It is one of the most striking examples of the Soviet modernist architecture. The theater was built for 10 years according to the project of architect Vladimir Somov.

See what an everyday life of Old Believers looks like

The Krestsy town in the Novgorod region has always been considered to be the center of the Novgorod Old Belief community, and it still is. Before the Soviet revolution there were three Old Believers churches here.

The Lyakova village, which is located not far from the town, used to be inhabited completely by Old Believers. You can learn more about their lifestyle in the local interactive museum. You’ll be introduced to Old Believers’ traditional crafts and ceremonies, drink tea with healing herbs and learn how to chop wood and use an old spinning wheel.

Buy a traditional embroidered tablecloth

A unique embroidery style that is now famous all over the world was born in the Staroye Rakhino village in the Novgorod province. By the middle of the 19th century, it had become a folk craft. Since then, linen tablecloths, towels and clothing items decorated with unusual ornaments have been popular not only among the locals, but also travellers.

In 1929, the first cooperative partnership of embroidery masters was created in Kresttsy. Later it turned into a factory that still operates today. The factory has a museum where embroidery traditions are preserved and new ornaments and technologies are created.

Find yourself in the Middle Ages

In the Middle Ages, Staraya Russa town could be called ‘the salt cellar of Russia’. That’s because salt making was the main trade here up to the 19th century. A few years ago, the old craft was brought back to life, and construction of salt works began. Later, an interactive museum was launched based on the results of archaeological findings.

This museum recreates a typical medieval manor of Staraya Russa of the 12th century with living rooms, a bathhouse, workshops, a livestock pen and traditional peasant household items. In this museum, you can also buy salt which is made in the same way as 1000 years ago.

See the place where Suvorov started his Italian campaign

Alexander Suvorov’s manor in the Konchanskoe village, which has now become the museum of the great commander, was originally the place of his exile. Suvovor openly disagreed with the reform of Russian’s army based on the Prussian model, and Emperor Paul the First didn’t appreciate such behaviour. He first fired Suvorov and then sent him away to his family estate.

However, the exile lasted for only two years. The great commander started the military campaign straight from his house in the Konchanskoe. During this legendary expedition, he crossed the Alps and defeated the French army.

Become a real hiker

If you dream of having a hike in the Novgorod region, but at the same time you are afraid that a tourist’s life may be too hard, you should try the Big Valday trail. This is a five-day 59-kilometer walking route. Its central part goes right through the Valday National Park’s territory.

You won’t have to cope with difficulties and inconveniences of camping life here. The route is marked with signs, and there are camping sites where you can find everything you need for an overnight stay from shelters and places for a fire to toilets. The trail finishes at the Dunayevshchina village where you can take a bus back to Valday. To take the trail, you have to fill out a special form and register on the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation website.

Russian Post has launched a limited series of products dedicated to the cultural heritage of the Novgorod region.

In autumn 2020, Russian Post announced an open contest to create the design for its limited series dedicated to Novgorod region. The project was supported by the Government of the Novgorod region, ‘Russ Novgorodskaya’ (Novgorod Russia) project, the State Novgorod Museum-reservation and Yandex.

Stamps and envelopes are traditionally used to spread information about historic dates and figures and famous landmarks. Now we can also use parcel boxes, packaging tape and postcards. The limited series products will travel around the world, introducing the most popular Russian attractions to six million Russian Post clients daily.

The participants were to create the design for the limited series featuring three iconic attractions of the Novgorod region, the Novgorod Kremlin, the Millennium Of Russia Monument and the Belelyubsky Bridge in Borovichi. Moscow designers and graduates of the Higher School of Economics’ Art and Design School Alena Akmatova and Svetlana Ilyushina won the contest. Their project was chosen via an open vote and by the expert jury.