TWO CAPITALS OF IMPERIAL RUSSIA

TWO CAPITALS OF IMPERIAL RUSSIA 
Moscow and Saint Petersburg
 8 Days / 7 Nights

Dates of departure

Itinerary 

Hotels

Saint Petersburg – Courtyard by Marriott St.Petersburg Vasilievsky 4*  www.marriott.com

Moscow – Marriott Tverskaya 4*+     www.marriott.com

Rates, including commission for Travel Agents

April – October, except “High Season” Period*

*High Season Period  (June, July, August)

The package includes:

-          Accommodation in double room, hotel 4* with breakfasts;

-          Airway tickets for iternal flight Saint Petersburg – Moscow or Moscow – Saint Petersburg in economy class;

-          Transfers (in – with guide, out – without guide assistance);

-          Excursions in San Petersburg: sightseeing tour,  the Hermitage museum;

-          Excursions in Moscow: sightseeing tour, Kremlin (territory and cathedrals)

DETAILED ITINERARY 

Mon.  DAY 1. Arrival to Saint Petersburg. Transfer to the hotel. Accommodation.

Tue. DAY 2. Breakfast. City sightseeing tour.

During the tour you will be acquainted with architecture, history and present day life of the former capital of Imperial Russia, the history of the Romanov dynasty.

Among the rich parade of sights to be enjoyed will be Palace Square with the Winter Palace, the Square of Arts with the Russian Museum, the Smolny Convent, the famous Nevsky Avenue, the Summer Garden and the Field of Mars. You will enjoy the classical ensemble of the Senate Square with its famous “Bronze Horseman”, the spit of Basil island, many other architectural monuments, gorgeous palaces, marvellous bridges and picturesque embankments.

n the afternoon you can have a relaxing cruise by boat along the main rivers and canals. The tour will take you to see the palaces and mansions on the banks of some out of the 66 rivers and canals of this “Northern Venice”(optional).

Your visit to Russia will be incomplete without a visit to folklore show. The best professional ensembles of our country will show you the masterpieces of Russian folk art (optional).

Wed. DAY 3. Breakfast. Excursion to the State Hermitage museum, one of the oldest and the largest museums in the world. The collections of the museum are located and displayed in 5 historical buildings, including the Winter Palace – the former residence of the Russian tsars. Empress Catherine II initiated the collection of the Hermitage in 1764. In the end of the 19th century the museum was opened to public. You will be acquainted with magnificent works of the Dutch, Flemish, Italian, German, French and Spanish art schools. Among the great collections of the museum you will see the masterpieces of Leonardo da Vinci, Rafael, Titian, P.P. Rubens, Rembrandt, A. El Greco, N. Poussin, P. Gauguin, P. Picasso, A. Matisse.

In the evening you can enjoy the classical Russian ballet performance in one of the St. Petersburg theatres (optional).

Thu. DAY 4. Breakfast. Free day. Optional - Tour to Pushkin, It is a fascinating example of the world’s architecture and gardening. Peter the Great ordered to construct the small palace for his wife, future empress Catherine I. In the middle of the 18th century the palace was rebuilt and became the purl of that period architecture. The grandeur of the artistic decor of the facades, the moulded decorations, the gilding of architectural and sculptural details, all echoes the majesty and elegance of the interior decoration of the Catherine Palace. The Amber Room, which was presented to Peter I by the Prussian King in 1716, known as the Eighth Wonder of the World, used to be in this Palace. The amber ornamentation of this room, missing since 1945, is now reconstructed by Russian gem carvers. The park of Tsarskoye Selo (Tsar’s Village) was the favourite recreation place of the Russian Tsars. The paths around the Catherine Palace invite for a walk to see park pavilions built by the famous architects and sculptors of Russia. To the North of the Catherine Palace there is marvellous Alexander Palace which was build by the Catherine’s order for her favourite grandson Alexander, the future Russian Emperor Alexander I.

Fri. DAY 5. Breakfast.  Transfer to the airport for a flight to Moscow. Arrival in Moscow. Meeting at the airport. Transfer to the hotel. Accommodation. 

Sat. DAY 6. Breakfast. City sightseeing tour. During the tour you will get to know the history of the city and see the main places of interests – the Red Square, the Moscow State University, the Bolshoi Theatre. You will drive along the main Moscow streets: Tverskaya, Novy Arbat Avenue, Kutuzovsky Avenue, Sadovoye and Bulvarnoye Rings. In the evening you will have an opportunity to visit the metro (optional) of Moscow, which is famous all over the world. The length of the underground lines exceeds 250 kilometers to more than 160 stations. The palace–halls of the metro stations are considered to be the most beautiful and decorated in the world.

Sun. DAY 7. Breakfast. Visit to Kremlin, the historical centre of the city, the heart of Moscow.  Kremlin is located on a hill washed from one side by the Moscow–river and from the other by its inflow – river Neglinnaya. On the Kremlin grounds you will see the Tsar Bell and the Tsar Cannon and visit several cathedrals – the wonderful monuments of Russian church architecture with unique richly decorated interiors.

In the evening we offer you to visit Moscow Circus (optional).

Mon. DAY 8. Breakfast. Transfer to the international airport  in Moscow.