Sergiev Posad is essentially a one-attraction town, and that attraction is outstanding. The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius dominates the hilltop above the town — a walled monastery complex whose ensemble of churches, bell towers, and domed cathedrals constitutes one of the finest examples of Russian Orthodox religious architecture anywhere. It is an active monastery and a major pilgrimage site, drawing thousands of worshippers on feast days and a steady stream of visitors every day of the year.
Within the Lavra, the Assumption Cathedral with its starry blue domes is the largest and most impressive building, but the older Trinity Cathedral — the first stone building of the complex — is the spiritual heart, containing the tomb of St. Sergius himself. The great bell tower completed in the 18th century is the tallest in Russia after the Ivan the Great bell tower in Moscow. A day is enough to visit the Lavra and the town's small museums; two days lets you reach the Chernigovsky Skete on foot.