A veritable fortress on a bend in the Moskova River, this monastery for women is inseparable from the regent Sophia Alekseyevna, who had it rebuilt in the 1680s before living in confinement here until her death after being deposed by her half-brother, Peter the Great. Novodevichy Monastery boasts several lakeside sanctuaries, including the beautiful Baroque Church of the Transfiguration, and above all the imposing Cathedral of Our Lady of Smolensk. Stroll along the alleyways in the cemetery, where many great literary and political figures are buried.