Moscow - St. Petersburg Tour

Day 1. Moscow

Arrival in Moscow. Meeting with the driver at the airport. Transfer to “Ukraina” hotel (4*). Accommodation. Free time.

Day 2. Moscow

8.00 - 9.30 Breakfast at the hotel.
9.45 Meeting with a guide at the hotel lobby. Departure to excursions.
Excursion to the Lenin Mausoleum, one of the masterpieces of the Soviet architecture. Then you will stroll across Red Square, perhaps the most recognizable symbol of Russia along with St. Basil's Cathedral. Visiting to the St.Basil cathedral is included. You will walk through the GUM department store, the largest shopping center in all of Russia. GUM was built in 1893 and it  sits opposite the Kremlin on Red Square.

12.30 City tour around Moscow.
You will see Moscow's main streets, squares and places of interest: the Tverskaya street the most animated and saucy, the former headquarters of the KGB, the Bolshoy Theatre, Russian White House, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and other major city sights.

Visit to Cathedral of Christ the Savior - the main Cathedral in Moscow. Stopover in the Sophiiskaya embankment.
Stopover near the Novodevichy Convent and Cemetery (a pre-Romanov monastery hidden in the center of Moscow).You will visit the main attraction of the convent - cemetery. Such lu  minaries as Gogol, Chekhov, Scriabin, Mayakovsky, Stanislavsky, Prokofiev, Eisenstein, Khrushchev, Chaliapin, and Molotov are buried there.
Then you'll enjoy the panorama of Moscow from Sparrow hills.

Continuing the city tour, you will pass along Kutuzov avenue and visit the Victory Park with its memorials, fountains and churches.
You will see the beautiful Moscow stations with their mosaics and frescoes.
Return to the hotel around 6pm. Free time.

Day 3. Moscow

8.00 - 9.30 Breakfast at the hotel.
9.45 - Meeting with a guide at the hotel lobby. Departure to excursion.
Transfer to the Kremlin.
You'll walk cross the square and through Alexander's Garden along the Kremlin wall to the Kremlin entrance. We'll begin our tour of the Moscow Kremlin complex. A large walled castle situated on Borovitsky Hill, the Kremlin is the former home of the tsars and the seat of Russian government. You will see the Tzar Bell, The Cathedral of the Assumption, The Cathedral of the Archangel.

12.00  excursion to the Armoury. Russia's oldest museum and one of its most impressive. The Armory Museum contains a display of jewels and court regalia, armor and weapons from the Romanov dynasty.

Transfer to the State Tretyakov gallery
The State Tretyakov Gallery is the national treasury of Russian fine art and one of the greatest museums in the world. It is located in one of the oldest directs of Moscow – Zamoskvorechye, not far from the Kremlin.

Transfer to the Arbat Street. Walking tour along Arbat Street.
The Arbat is a true symbol of old Moscow. Along with its shops, cafes, art galle  ri  es, concert and theatre halls and a museum tracing the history of the area, are portrait painters, performance artists and even demonstrators. It is also a frequent site for festivals and carnivals.

Day 4. Moscow - St. Petersburg

8.00 - 9.30 Breakfast at the hotel.
10.00 Meeting with a guide at the hotel lobby. Check-out from the hotel. Departure for Sergiev Posad.
Excursion to Sergiev Posad.The monastery houses the Russian Patriarch's temporary residence. In the monastery you will visit St.Trinity Cathedral where the shrine with St.Sergey's relics is stored, and the Assumption Cathedral that repeats its form after the Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin. The most beautiful part of the monastery is represented by two similar constructions one  of which is the Ecclesiastical Academy and Seminary and the other the Refectory with the Church of St.Sergiy. Free time for shopping, picture taking. Transfer to the airport.
17.45 Departure for St.Petersburg by flight SU 849.
19.15 Arrival to St.Petersburg. Meeting with the driver. Transfer to the hotel “Arbat Nord”. Accommodation in double rooms with breakfasts.

Day 5. St. Petersburg

8.00-9.30 Breakfast at the hotel.
10.00 Meeting with a guide at the hotel lobby. Departure for excursions.
St Petersburg city tour – all major city attractions with visit to Peter and Paul Fortress. You will see the magnificent St.Isaac’s cathedral, Vasilyevsky island, The University, The Winter Palace, the Palace square, Church of the Savior on the Blood, the square of Arts and other famous places and monuments. (the city tour will include visiting to the  Peter and Paul Fortress, St.Isaac’s cathedral, Church of the Savior on the Blood).

Second part of excursion: Excursion to Hermitage Museum - one of the major museums in the world. Its collection consists of nearly three million art treasures. Its collection consists of nearly three million art treasures. Exhibits are displayed in the world famous Winter palace as well as the Small, Old and New Hermitages.
Free time for shopping, picture taking.

Day 6. St. Petersburg

8am-9.30  Breakfast at the hotel.
10am Meeting with a guide at the hotel lobby. Departure for the excursions:
Transfer to Peterhof palace. The world-famous palace, fountain and park ensemble of Peterhof is an outstanding landmark of Russian artistic culture of the 18-19th centuries.

Second part of excursion: Pushkin (Tsarskoye Selo).
Excursion to Pushkin- Catherine’s Palace (you will visit the palace and park ensemble). The Palace-and-Park Ensemble - a former residence of the Russian emperors - is a spectacular monument of architecture and art of gardening of XVIII-XIX centuries. Its three parks cover 600 ha housing over a hundred of buildings from magnificent palaces and monuments to intimate pavilions and sculpture. Free time for shopping, picture taking. Transfer to St.Petersburg.

19.00   Optional performance in Mariinsky Theater.

Day 7. St. Petersburg

8.00 - 9.30 Breakfast at the hotel.
10.00 Meeting with a guide at the hotel lobby. Departure for excursions:
The Yussupov Palace situated on the bank of the Moika River is one of the most interesting places of sightseeing in Saint-Petersburg. It is one of those places which successfully combine a charm of historical building and a fame of cultural center.

Second part of excursion: One of the oldest architectural ensembles of Saint Petersburg, Alexander Nevsky Lavra, was founded in 1710 on that very place where according to the legend Alexander Nevsky defeated Swedish troops. The compositional center of Lavra is the Holy Trinity Cathedral, constructed by architect Starov. The end of the construction works and the sanctification of the cathedral in 1790 marked the end of the forming of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra ensemble.
Return to the hotel. Free time.
19.00  Optional farewell dinner (ballet, folk show)

Day 8. St. Petersburg - Moscow

Breakfast at the hotel. Check-out from the hotel. Transfer to the airport.
11.05 Departure for Moscow by flight SU 696.
12:35 Arrival to Moscow. Transfer to the International airport.
Departure.

Price is USD 1 698 per person (if 4 people travel)

Included in the price:
- Accommodation in Moscow, St Petersburg (4* hotels)
- breakfasts at the hotels
- Moscow - St. Petersburg – Moscow air-tickets
- All transfers according to the program with arrival/departure transfers
- All excursions due to the program with entrance fees, private minivan and individual English speaking guide
- Visa application documents