Perhaps Russia's most famous souvenir is the rotund, rosy-cheeked matryoshka, and the town of Semyonov can proudly claim to have made Russia's largest, which stands at a metre tall and contains a whopping 72 dolls. Apparently the largest doll is big enough to hide a five-year-old child inside, so make sure you bring one. The creatively inclined shouldn't miss the 'Golden Khokhloma' museum centre, which runs masterclasses in matryoshka painting (130Rbl per person). The town itself is a collection of smallish merchant houses dating from the late 19th - early 20th centuries, lining the main street in sweet-shop colours, and wooden houses decorated with traditional carvings.