Most definitely recommended. Easy to get to. You will be going right by Torzhok whether travelling directly to Saint-Petersburg or taking a detour though my dacha near Staritsa, or even visiting Sergiev Posad first. A well-preserved ancient city. Very friendly people, which is not common for Russia. The Wooden Architecture display and the Gold Embroidery factory are a welcomed change from the usual monastery, local history, and military museum. The city is cheap. A room in an excellent hotel was 800 roubles ($30) for one and 1500 ($50) for two in August of 2011!

Torzhok
(also spelled "Torsjok" or "Torzok" on some maps)

Where is Torzhok

It is a couple of miles west off the the Moscow to St. Petersburg highway. That is, if you are travelling from Moscow to St. Petersburg, Torzhok will be on your left, about 60km after Tver. Your next major city if Travelling to Saint-Petersburg will be Vyshny Volochek.

Or if you are travelling from Staritsa, Torzhok will be 90km north via a winding ancient (but quite smooth) road full of attractions that include Krasnoye [link] with its unusual (for the Orthodox branch of Christianity) baroque church, a place with Holy Springs [link] that are believed to cure it all, and of course Bernovo [link], where the main building of an old estate and its park somehow escaped burning and looting, or just falling apart from neglect. The Bernovo Estate is now used as one of the centers of the Pushkin cult.

Here are a few bits of travel info based on my several trips through Torzhok.

Accommodation

Lots of hotels for a town of 40 thousand. Probably no need to book in advance. We stayed in Tvertsa, ulitsa Tveretskaya 26, tel. +7-48251-92708 and +7-48251-52141. Single rooms from an equivalent of $30/night, double at $50-60 (valid as of August 2011).

A view onto the Tvertsa river. The Tvertsa Hotel is about the middle of the block.

The hotel entrance

Other hotels recommended by the Tvertsa staff or listed in the telephone directory:

Na Konnoy. Ulitsa Konnaya 8, tel. +7-48251-53090. Beds around 500 roubles ($17) per night. Said to be clean and quiet. The whole city looks and feels that way actually.

Okolitsa. Right on the Moscow to St. Petersburg highway, a couple of miles from town. Tel. +7-48251-58471  or +7-48251-55245. I haven't looked into it but judging from the location it is a place for truck drivers.

An old-fashioned address marker. In Moscow these sell in antique shops.

Gostinitsa. Poselok Zeleny, tel. +7-48251-64561.

Railroad carriage factory hotel. Ulitsa Dzerzhinskogo 107, tel. +7-48251-51639.

Fire Department hotel, Leningradskoye shosse 34, tel. +7-48251-50309.

Mitino. It is a "sanatorium" (health resort) that will usually welcome just travellers. Tel. +7-48251-52466 / 64336 / 64325 / 64317. In Mitino you'll also find the Wooden Architecture Museum, Devil'd Bridge, and The Pyramid. Sounds like a good place to stay.

Sosny. It is a "dom otdykha" (house of relaxation). Village of Polomenitsy, tel. tel. +7-48251-55509.

Click Types of rural accommodation to see the meaning of "turbaza", "kemping", "sanatoriy", "dom otdykha", "gostevoy dom" etc.

Also you may be able to get accommodation hints and other info at the Regional History Museum at ....., tel. +7-48251-51843.

Transportation

Bus station: +7-48251-91031

Train station: +7-48251-50520 or -50992 to buy tickets, or -50527 for general info

Taxi companies:  +7-48251-92888, +7-48251-99000, +7-48251-52777, +7-48251-97000.

Things to see in or around Torzhok

Golden Embroidery Museum. Kalininskoye shosse (south-east from the city center, follow "to Moscow" signs), near the railroad. I think on the other side of the railroad bridge. Ask for "zolotoshveynaya fabrika" the then for "muzey zolotogo shitya".

The Rayek Estate. A successful statesman of Katherine the Second era (late 1700) attempted to build a paradise for his beloved wife. About 30km back to Moscow till the Logovezh river. Turn right just before the bridge. Drive another 3-4 kilometers and turn right. There.

Vasilyevo. An open air wooden architecture museum. Devil's Bridge built from boulders by architect Nikolay Lvov.  The Pyramid, also his project. Mitino, a sanatorium where you can probably stay, at least off season. Exit Torzhok towards Saint-Petersburg. It is about 5km from the city.

Nikolay Alexandrovich Lvov (1753-1803) is a famous architect born in the vicinity of Torzhok. His projects in Saint-Petersburg and area: Neva gates of the Peter and Paul Fortress, the main post office, the "Kulich and Paskha" church, the medieval castle in Gatchina. In his days he was also known as a writer, a poet, and a musician. I believe he is behind the school to prepare masters of packed earth construction in Torzhok..

The Bakunin Estate and Museum. West from Torzhok, about 40km. Look for the village of Pryamukhino on your map. Active efforts are being made by the Bakunin Fund to restore the estate to be used as a literary and cultural center.

Russia produced not only slaves and tyrants but also anarchists. There are sub-cultures here that are happy and do quite well with no authorities and with no hierarchical structure. Bakunino seems to be back to its former role as the center of the anarchist movement. Symposia dedicated to anarchism and related subject are held there regularly. Last time I spoke to Pryamukhino people they were quite open to receiving guests. They visited my dacha about 2003 and I'm planning to drop by on them sometime before the end of 2011.

The estate has a Bakunin museum which was visited some time ago my Tom Stoppard who was there to  collect materials and impressions for his The Cost of Utopia). 

A clearly marked WC on the main square is highly unusual for a Russian town. Usually toilets, if at all there, are well out of site thus forcing people to do what they have in back alleys. Torzhok is the ONLY Russian city with clean, visible, and numerous washrooms.

Special interests

Torzhok district is famous for flax production and research.

One notable institution is a huge (800 beds) insane asylum in Gruziny, 12 or so kilometers to Torzhok if driving from Staritsa.

Lots of old-style kolkhozes (collective farms) for those who can appreciate the aesthetics of the Soviet era.

Souvenirs from Torzhok

Try the clay figurines shop at Ostashkovskay 15. Or the Golden Embroidery factory at Kalininskoye Shosse 12, tel. +7-48251-54032.

Good photos of Torzhok, mostly churches:
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