Itinerary

Day 1

Arrival in Moscow. Transfer to the hotel. Accommodation. Dinner

Day 2

Breakfast. About 10.00 depart for city tour. Sightseeing tour of Moscow with stop at Vorobievskie Hills. Experience the grandeur of Red Square and the Russian White House. See Moscow University , the former KGB headquarters building and central Moscow. Walking trip of the city-center: the Red Square, St. Basil's cathedral, GUM. PM free. Dinner.

Day 3

9.30 AM depart for Kremlin with Cathedrals. Excursion to the Kremlin. This former Moscow citadel - the name means Fortress - houses exquisite palaces, presidential buildings, lovely churches and scores of major historical monuments. Kremlin tour with three cathedrals (the Armory Chamber optional tour - The State Armory is the oldest museum in Russia . As its name implies, it contains many ancient weapons and armor, but you will also find a treasure trove of gorgeous crown jewels, gold-encrusted icons, bejeweled royal scepters and exquisitely carved thrones). PM - Moscow metro tour and Arbat street. Walking city tour, Moscow Metro (subway). Moscow Underground (or Metro as it is called in Russian) makes that of the great western capitals look tawdry in comparison. It is already 66 years old. The first line opened on 15 May 1935. The Metro was turned into an underground kingdom of socialism. The stations became luxurious palaces of the new social order, and they are breathtaking in the originality of their architecture, sculptures and mosaics. With over 150 stations throughout the city, the Moscow Metro is an unparalleled example of architecture and design. Refreshingly free of graffiti, some of these beautifully constructed stations, are frescoed, marble faced and even have some works of art. Although constructed by a tyrant for people living in terror, this subterranean proletarian paradise offers an ironically humane vision of public social space, both beautiful and functional. The Moscow underground, with its over 200 kilometers of track, serves 10 million people each day and is perhaps the most extravagant architectural phenomenon of the Stalinist era. The metro is cheap, easy to use and by far the quickest way to manoeuvre around the city. The layout is comprehensive and simple which means there is no excuse not to see any of Russia's amazing sights. Many stations worth checking out — a few in particular are as worthy of a visit as any sight in the city. Mayakovskaya Station, completed in 1938, features a central hall supported by lovely stainless steel and red marble columns, which soar up to a ceiling festooned with socialist realist mosaics. Other notable stations include Ploshchad Revolyutsii, where the passageway arches are supported by vivid sculptures of Red Army soldiers, and Kropotkinskaya Station, with its elegantly-columned platform and upper galleries. Arbat Street is one of the oldest streets in Moscow. The word arbat (d) is of oriental derivation and means suburb.During the second half of the 18th century when most of the neighboring streets were becoming a fashionable aristocratic area, Arbat Street was the only local shopping center. Many of its shops have been preserved from those times. Many great writers, artist and painters lived on Arbat Street and houses have been carefully preserved. For example: Alexander Pushkin, Alexander Blok (the famous Russian poet), the famous composer Skryabin and others. Also there are situated the Vakhtangov Drama Theatre, Shchukin Drama School and the Opera Studio of the Moscow Conservatoire etc. Returning to Arbat Street you can see on the left the Prague Restaurant famed for its Czech national cuisine. Ahead lies Arbat Square once more where this itinerary comes to an end). Dinner. Late evening take overnight train to St. Petersburg

Day 4

Arrival in Petersburg. Transfer to the hotel. Accommodation. PM - city tour. 3-hour coaching tour of a city, rightfully described as «Northern Venice» or «Pearl of the Baltic»; Drive along the «Great Perspective» world famous today as Nevsky Prospect lined with marble palaces of Russian royalty and aristocracy, with most fashionable boutiques and art salons arranged in old settings of the 18th century, trading rows and arcades, with impressive classical and Renaissance cathedrals and churches as its backdrop, enjoy this 4.5 km long thorough-fare cut through woods and marshes from the Admiralty with the city's symbol (2 ship) on top of its gilded spire to the Monastery of Alexander Nevsky, one of four Russia"s Lavras with its magnificent Trinity Cathedral and its cemetery where Dostoevsky, Tchaikovsky and other world celebrities were buried; Stop over at an excellent picture opportunity with a stunning panorama along the Neva's embankments, by the city's Rostral Columns you will have a view of the 5 buildings of the State Hermitage Museum and the fortress of St.Peter and Paul - the cradle of Russia's new capital, the first public museum of the country - the Chamber of Curiosities, founded by Peter the Great and the 4th world's largest domed structures - St.Isaac Cathedral with «The Bronze Horseman» unveiled in Senate Square. Drive by Summer Garden with the oldest royal stone palace and breathtaking collection of Italian statues and sculpture set in a natural environment of linden trees and ponds with ducks and swans, all surrounded by cast iron fence whose beauty is frequently described as every kilo of cast iron being worth a kilo of gold;
Stop in the Field of Mars with the eternal flame lit in the center of the monument to victims of revolutions and wars, take pictures of the Resurrection Cathedral on the Spilt Blood at its background, one of the most unusual monuments of Russian Orthodox architecture built on the spot where Alexander II was assassinated; Drive through the Square of Arts which is a perfect classical ensemble of the city; Stop to enjoy an overwhelming beauty of the third largest square in the world - the Palace Square with the Alexander Column at its center being the world's biggest free-standing architectural monument, nearly 50 meters high to the top of the cross and over 600 tons in weight, the Alexander Column has become surprisingly harmonious element of the Palace Square together with the Triumphal Arch of the general Staff building on its one side and the Winter Palace complex on another.Dinner

Day 5

The Hermitage tour. Enjoy the many wonders of the elegant Winter Palace, which now houses the Hermitage Museum , one of the largest art and cultural museums in the world. This vast collection (about 65,000 items) includes some of history's most important art. Free time. Dinner

Day 6

Peterhof palace tour a former summer residence of the Russian tsars' in the 18-19-th centuries. Explore Peterhoff designed to the request of Peter the Great to rival Versailles. 300-acre parks on the shore of the Finish Gulf, spectacular fountains, the Grand Palace, crowning the hill above the fountains and about 20 smaller Palaces and pavilions represent «Russian Versailles» now. Enjoy picturesque Lower Gardens with three unique cascades, dozens of powerful water jets and miniature palaces - Monplaisir, Marly and Hermitage. Take a deep breath looking at the centre of the composition, the Grand Palace and Grand Cascade, including staircases, waterfalls, an avenue of 64 fountains and 37 gilded statues. Take a picture of the symbol of Peterhoff, «Samson killing a lion» fountain, an allegory of the crucial victory of Russians over the Swedish army at Poltava in 1709. Have a guided tour of the Grand Palace, one of the most spectacular Russian palaces, representing architectural styles of the 18-19-th centuries: modest Peter's Baroque, shining Elisabeth's Baroque, elegant Catherine's Classicism and exotic oriental style. Free time. Dinner

Day 7

Departure transfer to the airport. Fly home

Extra Information

Inclusions -

Accommodation at 4-star hotel

Exclusions -

Russian visa