‘My estate’s not much,’ wrote playwright Anton Chekhov of his home at Melikhovo, south of Moscow, ‘but the surroundings are magnificent’. Chekhov lived here from 1892 until 1899 and wrote some of his most celebrated plays, including The Seagull and Uncle Vanya. Today, the estate houses the museum dedicated to the playwright and his work. Theatre buffs should visit in May, when the museum hosts Melikhovo Spring, a week-long theatre festival.
Suburban trains (R180, 1½ hours) run frequently from Moscow’s Kursky vokzal (station) to the town of Chekhov, 12km west of Melikhovo. Bus 25 makes the 20-minute journey between Chekhov and Melikhovo, with departures just about every hour.