The two most worthwhile excursions from Pskov are both easy half-day trips. Izborsk, 30 kilometres west, is one of Russia's oldest settlements — a small fortress town with a 14th-century stone tower and walls overlooking a wide plain, and the Slovenskoye Springs below the hill, where a dozen streams emerge from the limestone and run into a lake. It is quiet, photogenic, and usually free of crowds.
Pskov-Pechory Monastery (Pskovo-Pechersky Lavra) is 50 kilometres to the west, almost at the Estonian border. It is one of the most beautiful active monasteries in Russia, built partly into a hillside with its buildings descending into a valley — the effect from above, looking down at the gilded domes and painted walls, is remarkable. The monastery has been in continuous operation for over 500 years without ever being closed, even during the Soviet period. Both places are served by regular buses from Pskov's bus station.
