A trip to Tarusa can be planned around Paustovsky-related sites: one combined bus-and-walking route is 12 kilometres long, while a second route to Ilinskiy Omut covers 9.6 kilometres. Museums and memorial sites complement this literary focus with art, family history and local history.

Literature, History and Art in Tarusa

On 22 March 1790, the Peter and Paul Cathedral in Tarusa was consecrated in honour of the holy apostles Peter and Paul. On the high bank of the Oka stands Marina Tsvetaeva’s cenotaph: a stone bearing the inscription “Here Marina Tsvetaeva wanted to lie.” The Tsvetaev Family Museum in Tarusa is housed in the restored building known as “House Tyo”. Marina and Anastasia Tsvetaeva stayed there during their winter visits to Tarusa from 1907 to 1910. The museum displays materials about Marina Tsvetaeva and her family.

The main exhibition at the Tarusa Art Gallery features Russian artworks by artists from the 18th to the 20th century whose lives and work are closely connected with Tarusa. Eduard Steinberg’s museum workshop preserves his working environment unchanged and displays documentary materials. Tarusa thus offers different ways to experience art: works in a gallery and a glimpse into an artist’s preserved working environment.

The “Cherdak” Museum was established in Tarusa in December 2018. Its exhibition includes objects from the 19th to the 21st century that illustrate the Soviet and pre-Soviet eras. Visitors can listen to old records on a 1977 record player made by Moscow’s Agregat Experimental Factory. The private museum of Sergei Zharov displays his imaginative sculptures made from scrap metal; the collection also includes more than 100 antique irons. If you plan a specific visit to “Cherdak” or the private museum, check current visiting arrangements in advance.

Routes and Practical Planning

The 12-kilometre combined bus-and-walking route “Po tarusskim mestam K.G. Paustovskogo” passes the local history museum, K. G. Paustovsky’s house and grave, and the grave of V. E. Borisov-Musatov. It runs through the valleys of the Tarusa and Oka rivers and also passes the memorial stone to M. I. Tsvetaeva and the N. P. Rakitsky Arboretum. These named stops connect literary and artistic memorial sites with the river landscape.

The 9.6-kilometre “Ilinskiy Omut” route connects the local history museum and K. G. Paustovsky’s house with the Tarusa River and Ilinskiy Omut. For the routes listed in 2025, confirm with the museum its current opening arrangements and transport organisation for the combined bus-and-walking route, as well as the current conditions for “Ilinskiy Omut”.

The audio play “Pamyat lyubvi” takes listeners along a route from Eduard Steinberg’s workshop to the Oka river promenade. Along the way, figures from the past come to life in the town’s landscape. Check the current project page before making plans.

At the K. G. Paustovsky Memorial House Museum, guided tours run every hour from 11:00 to 18:00, Wednesday to Sunday; the last tour starts at 17:00. As opening hours may change, check the museum’s current visitor information before travelling.

The Tarusa Tourist Information Centre offers a town tour, an excursion to Tarusa’s manor estates, and a walk and treasure hunt following in Paustovsky’s footsteps. The programme also includes workshops in pottery, painting and mosaic art. Contact the centre to check the current availability of these activities.

Discover more destinations: Razdol, Kudinovo, Karaskovo, Polotnyanyy Zavod, Inino, Annenki, Lapshinka, Mokroye

For the broader travel guide, see Kaluga Oblast.