DAY 1: Moscow, RUSSIA
Upon arrival at the Moscow airport you will be met in the arrivals hall
by your local English speaking assistant and privately transferred to
your hotel in the city centre. Your local guide will meet you there, welcome you to Russia and assist with
check-in procedures.
DAY 2: Moscow, RUSSIA
Today you will enjoy full day sightseeing tour of Moscow with a private
vehicle and your English speaking guide. The tour will start at the
Moscow Kremlin, where you will visit the State Armoury museum. The
museum dates back to 1485 and has a great collection of rifles and
ammunition, horse ware, carriages, royal dresses, jewellery, silverware
and world famous Faberge Eggs. Also visit the Assumption and Archangel
or Annunciation cathedrals.
Proceed to Aleksandrovsky Garden to see the change of guards by the
Eternal Flame.
After lunch visit the Moscow metro, considered to be the most beautiful
in the world with its chandeliers, mosaics, paintings and bronze
statues. Make a wish at the station “Ploshad Revolutsii” (Square of
Revolution). This is where all schoolchildren and students wanting to
pass exams with flying colors go to. Your guide will also tell you many
mysterious stories about this huge underground city.
Travel by subway to visit the Cold War museum based on the former
top-secret Soviet Command Post, N42, known more simply as GO-42. Thanks
to "Perestroika" you have the opportunity to visit one of the Soviet
"command posts", 60 meters underground.
►For Moscow hotel suggestions, see above.
DAY 3: Moscow, RUSSIA
Today you will travel to the newly opened Space museum, located at the
base of the 110m high Monument to Space Conquerors and near to the
Astronauts Alley. The new museum consists of 9 independent sections and
features many authentic space artifacts from space food in tubes to real
space rockets and capsules which bear the traces of burning after going
through the dense layers of the Earth’s atmosphere. The most exciting
thing about this museum is that your private tour will be held by
Russian Cosmonaut who can share his own experiences with you.
Afterwards travel to the Experiementarium, an interactive museum of
puzzles, games and physics sure to fascinate curious children with the
wonders of science. Visit the musical room with its electric guitar and
drum kit, find out how tornadoes are formed, discover how magnets work
and be perplexed by optical illusions.
This evening, enjoy a unique chance to explore the backstage world of
the famous Moscow Circus before seeing the cast in action during the
live performance. As private, invited guests of the circus company you
will be able to see the acrobats and clowns warming up and practicing
before the performance. See the circus animals being groomed for the
performance, step into the circus ring and enjoy a master class in
juggling with the circus performers.
►For Moscow hotel suggestions, see above.
DAY 4: Moscow, RUSSIA - St Petersburg, RUSSIA
FD Pushkin and Catherine Palace, Troika ride in Pavlovsk park, Monument
to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad.
In the morning you will be privately transferred to Moscow airport with
English speaking guide assistance for your flight to St Petersburg. Upon
arrival into St Petersburg you’ll be met by your guide at the arrival
hall.
On the way from the airport, drive to the village of Pushkin (formerly
known as Tsarskoye Selo), renamed in 1937 on the centenary of the famous
Russian poet's death. Visit the grounds of the sparkling Catherine
Palace. This palace was built in the mid-18th century for Tsarina
Elizabeth, who named it the Catherine Palace in honor of her mother. The
yellow and blue façade with its snowy white columns is one of the most
famous examples of Russian baroque architecture.
Enjoy lunch in a rustic country restaurant with traditional folk
entertainment. Afterwards, have fun while riding a brightly painted
Russian Troika, harnessed with 3 horses through the magnificent Park at
Pavlovsk.
On the way to St. Petersburg make a stop at the Monument to the Heroic
Defenders of Leningrad. The monument, built in the shape of a huge
broken ring and lit with gas torches, represents all the efforts it took
to break the 900-day Siege of Leningrad. Inside the monument, in a vast
underground memorial hall, there is an exhibition devoted to the Siege.
Your guide will escort you to your hotel and assist with check-in.
►Some suggested St Petersburg hotels (in alphabetical order): Grand Hotel Europe, An Orient-Express Hotel (V) Renaissance St Petersburg Baltic Hotel Rocco Forte Hotel Astoria, St. Petersburg (V) Taleon Imperial Hotel (V)
►Together, we will find the best choice for you!
DAY 5: St Petersburg, RUSSIA
Today you will have full day sightseeing with your English speaking
guide and private vehicle. Begin with a visit to the Peter & Paul
Fortress which is the oldest building in the city and sits on its own
island on the Neva Delta. At the heart of the fortress at the Cathedral
is the burial site of most of the pre-revolutionary leaders of Russia.
Visit prisoners’ cells of the fortress from which nobody managed to
escape.
Afterwards, visit the Museum of Artillery that displays an enormous
collection of arms and heavy artillery from the Middle Ages to the
present day.
Have lunch at leisure and afterwards travel by private boat across the
Neva River. You will pass by the Cruiser Aurora built at the end of 19th
century for battle in the Russian-Japanese War. Subsequently used for
training, and later turned into a museum, the ship was decorated with
the Order of the October Revolution. Continue on the boat tour of rivers
and canals of St. Petersburg which will end at St. Isaac’s Square.
Visit near-by Yusupov Palace, which belonged to Prince Felix Yusupov,
who organized the assassination of the infamous Siberian monk Gregory
Rasputin. Also visit the room where the assassination took place.
On you journey you will see other famous sites: The Winter Palace,
Admiralty, St. Isaac’s Cathedral, and the monument to the city founder –
Peter the Great.
►For St Petersburg hotel suggestions, see above.
DAY 6: St Petersburg, RUSSIA
Today you will have a full day sightseeing with your English speaking
guide and private vehicle. First visit the Central Naval Museum. Here
you will trace the development of the Russian and Soviet fleet starting
with the famous Peter the Great boat. You will see models of sailing
vessels from the 18th and 19th centuries, models of battle ships from
the 19th and 20th centuries, the first ever known submarine with an
electric engine and salvages from different sea battles.
After lunch at leisure drive to the Museum of Water. Everything here is
dedicated to water: water as the great mystery, water as medicine, water
as destructor, water as standard, water as music. Multimedia
technologies and effects are combined with exhibits that are permitted
to be touched with hands. The sounds, pictures and light surrounding
visitors is as changeable as the water itself.
►For St Petersburg hotel suggestions, see above.
DAY 7: St Petersburg, RUSSIA
Today travel with your private vehicle and guide to the Hermitage
museum. The museum is situated in the lavishly decorated Winter Palace
and occupies six magnificent buildings with 3 million pieces of artwork
from the Stone Age to modern times. The main building and largest part
of the museum is the rococo-style Winter Palace, residence of the Czars
from 1762 to 1917. The museum was commissioned by Catherine the Great
and she and her successors built the Hermitage collection in large part
with purchases of private collections from the Western European
aristocracy and monarchy.
This afternoon you will learn the Russian traditional art of Matryoshka
doll painting under the guidance of professional masters. These colorful
dolls have become a symbol of the country and today you will have the
chance to create one yourself.
►For St Petersburg hotel suggestions, see above.
DAY 8: St Petersburg, RUSSIA - Peterhof - Petersburg, RUSSIA
This morning drive out to the countryside of Peterhof, the great summer
estate and artistic gem of Peter the Great, nestled on the shore of the
Gulf of Finland (part of the Baltic Sea). After his victory over the
Swedes at Poltava in 1709, Peter decided to build a palace “befitting to
the very highest of monarchs” and a visit to Versailles in 1717
furthered these ambitions. This magnificent estate was officially opened
in 1723. A prominent highlight is the Grand Cascade, a delightful
sequence of 37 gilded bronze sculptures, 64 fountains and 142 water jets
descending from the terraces of the Great Palace to the Marine Canal and
the sea. The park features numerous palaces, summer houses and
pavilions.
Enjoy a hydrofoil ride back to St. Petersburg where your day and evening
is at leisure.
►For St Petersburg hotel suggestions, see above.
DAY 9: St Petersburg, RUSSIA
Today you will be privately transferred to the airport to take your
flight back home.