TWO CAPITALS OF RUSSIA

GENERAL INFORMATION

We invite you to visit the most beautiful and significant Russian cities – MOSCOW, the nowadays capital of Russia and St. Petersburg the former Capital of Imperial Russia. Moscow is the largest city in the country and Europe, and one of the largest cities in the world. Moscow refers to global cities having a great influence on the world due to its high economic level and population. It is the main transport hub of Russia, its political, economic, cultural, and scientific center. Founded more than 800 years ago Moscow presents both the Russia of yesterday and the Russia of today.

Moscow, being the capital of the largest country on the planet, is supposed to be something impressive and it really is. This city always makes an impression on its visitors with the centuries-old Red Square, the Kremlin and Bolshoy theatre… And now also boasts the largest sports arena, the tallest building and the largest residential complex in Europe, the largest museums, the largest Orthodox Church dome in the world. You will surely be impressed by wonderful panoramic views and sights that you will visit during this tour.

St. Petersburg is younger than Moscow, it is just a bit more than 300 years old but is considered to be the cultural capital of Russia. World-famous museums, theaters, cultural and educational institutions: Hermitage, St. Isaac's Cathedral, Russian Museum and Mariinsky Theater are just only four of them.

These cities could not be compared, they are different but both unique and worth of visiting. Take an opportunity to visit both cities and make your own opinion.

Enjoy the beauty and charm of this unique museum under the open air.

PRICES

UPON REQUEST

Prices are guaranteed from 2 guests and include all local taxes, entrance fees to the museums mentioned in the program, transfers from/to the airport/train station, transportation as per the program, guide services for the excursions and transfers, tickets to Fast Speed train SAPSAN in Economy Class. Upgrade to the Business Class is available for the extra payment and upon request.

ACCOMODATION

The rates are based on accommodation at double / twin rooms at AZIMUT HOTEL 4* or similar in St. Petersburg and IZMAILOVO VEGA HOTEL 4* or similar in Moscow. Other hotels are available upon request.

GUIDE

Licensed English-speaking guide services throughout the program and transfers are included. Other languages are available for an additional payment upon request.

MEALS

Breakfast at the hotel.

TRANSPORTATION

Private car transportation for 2 persons; VIANO / VITO minivan for 3-5 persons; SPRINTER MERCEDES VAN – for 10-15 persons and deluxe buses for groups from 15 up to 30-35 persons.

ACTIVITIES:

• Orientation City tour with inside visits to Peter & Paul Fortress
• Visit to the State Hermitage museum
• Visit to the Gardens of Peterhof
• Moscow City tour without entrances
• Tour to Kremlin Grounds
• Walk along Arbat Street and metro ride
• Visit to the State Tretyakov Gallery

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE TOUR

ITINERARY

DAY 1

Arrival to Moscow, meet & greet at the airport by your guide.

On the way to the hotel you will have a panoramic tour around Moscow.

Moscow in one of the largest cities in the world with its population over 12 million people. You will be surely impressed by wonderful panoramic views of the old town from different locations.

Enjoy the City tour by vehicle featuring the most attractive sites of Moscow such as Red Square, Kremlin, St. Basil's Cathedral Lenin's Mausoleum, Bolshoy theatre, Boulevard Ring, Novodevichy Convent, Patriarch Ponds, Peter the Great Statue, Garden Ring, the marvelous building of Moscow University and Sparrow Hills – the highest point of Moscow with fascinating view to the city.

Continue by the stop at the Church of Christ the Savior that is located in the very heart of Moscow, nearby "Kropotkinskaya" metro station. It was originally built in 1881 but then it was ruined by the order of Stalin. The first explosions rocked the Church at noon on December 5, 1931. The memorial to military glory and the most important church in Russia was brutally vandalized and destroyed. Its reconstruction took place 10 years ago and was sponsored by Moscow Government and citizens. Today it is the main Orthodox Church in Russia.

We will finish our tour at IZMAILOVO COMPLEX.

Vernissage in Izmailovo is considered to be the world's largest exhibition-fair where one can find a variety of items of decorative and applied art, fine art and of folk handicrafts as well. This complex exists for more than 10 years and is situated in a picturesque and historically unique area of Moscow – IZMAILOVO.

There you'll have an unique opportunity to see Old Style Russia. Even more – it is an ideal place to find a memorable gifts and presents such as handicraft and applied art gifts.

Evening free

DAY 2

Breakfast at the hotel.

Morning visit to Kremlin Grounds.

The Moscow Kremlin is the chief architectural ensemble of the city. Along the South wall of the Kremlin, overlooking the Moscow River, you will find the Grand Kremlin Palace. Within the Kremlin there is a Cathedral Square, the so-called "City of God". Six buildings, including 3 three enormous cathedrals edge the square. Most of them, the work of Italian architects during the late 15th and early 16th Century. Entry includes the visit to the Kremlin Territory and three cathedrals.

The Kremlin is the historical center of the city, the heart of Moscow. The Kremlin is located on a hill, protected on one side by the Moscow-river, and on the other by its tributary, the Neglinnaya, which since the year 1819 has flowed through the underground tunnel near the Alexandrovski Gardens.

In the Kremlin you will see the Tsar Bell and the Tsar Cannon and visit the Annunciation (Blagoveschensky) or Arkhangel (Arkhangelsky) and Assumption (Voznesensky) Cathedrals, the Bell-Tower of Ivan the Great and the Church of the Twelve Apostles all wonderful monuments of Russian church architecture with unique richly decorated interiors.

Recommended optional
Visit to St. Basil Cathedral

Time for Lunch (the guide will recommend the guests the restaurant in accordance with their requirements and expectations).

In the afternoon the day continues with Old Arbat Street walk and Metro tour.

The Arbat street is located between Arbatskie Vorota Square and Smolenskaya Square is one of the most famous streets in Moscow. The Arbat Street is also one of the symbols of old Moscow, which was celebrated in poems, novels, songs and movies. Nowadays the Arbat is the name of the pedestrian street, but actually the Arbat is the whole district of Moscow that marked its 500th birthday in 1993.

Moscow's Famous Metro survives in all its constructional glory, walled in marble and decorated with chandeliers. Most of its stations have been designated as architectural landmarks. Old stations were built according to Stalin's plan of communist propaganda. Planners pretended to prove the superiority of communism by fantastic amazing design and decorations of marble, bronze statues and mosaics. Some stations look like real underground palaces.

Recommended evening activity
"KOSTROMA" Folklore Show

DAY 3

Breakfast at the hotel.

In the morning visit to Tretyakov Gallery (the old building).

The National Museum of Russian Fine Art, the State Tretyakov Gallery, is one of the largest museums in the world. Its collections embrace the period from the 10th to 20th century and all schools of Russian painting – from ancient icons to avant-guard. Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov, a rich Moscow merchant and textile mill owner, started collecting Russian paintings in the 1850s. It was then he bought several works by Russian artists and it was then the Tretyakovs moved to their new estate in the Lavrushinsky Lane – the mansion that would become a world famous museum.

Time for Lunch (the guide will recommend the guests the restaurant in accordance with their requirements and expectations).

Afternoon free for the leisure or for the optional tours.

Recommended optional
Tour to KOLOMENSKOYE
Cosmonauts museum
TSARITSINO Estate

Recommended evening activity
Visit to Moscow Circus

DAY 4

Breakfast at the hotel.

Check-out.

Transfer to the Railway Station.

Fast Speed train SAPSAN to St. Petersburg.

SAPSAN is a fast train between Moscow and St. Petersburg. The travel time between Moscow and St. Petersburg is around 4,5 hours that makes SAPSAN one of the fastest and easiest means of communication between two cities. SAPSAN consists of ten cars: 1st class car, business class car, seven economy class cars and a restaurant car. Train is equipped to utilize passengers on the wheelchairs.

SAPSAN is operated between Leningradsky Railway station in Moscow and Moskovsky railway station in St. Petersburg, both located in the city centers with the easy access to main hotels of the both cities.

Arrival to St. Petersburg, meet & greet at the railway station by your guide. Transfer to the hotel.

After some time for rest your guide will invite you to the City tour. Saint Petersburg is known as the city of palaces. City tour will feature the main St. Petersburg attractions – St.Isaac's Square, embankment of the Fontanka River, Church on the Spilled Blood, Summer Garden, Art Square, Kazan Cathedral, Nevsky Avenue, Palace Square, Neva River Embankment, Spit of the Basil Island and will end on the territory of the Peter & Paul Fortress.

The Peter and Paul Fortress is a small ancient city in the center of modern megalopolis. From each side the fortress is enclosed by water and high gloomy walls. If you visit this place, soon you'll forget in which century you are, in twentieth or eighteenth? Cobble stoned paths, fortified bastions, cells with lattices on windows. For many years the fortress was prison for state convicts, where many famous Russian people: writers, poets, statesmen were imprisoned.

After the tour around the Fortress enjoy inside visit to Peter & Paul Cathedral, the first Cathedral appeared in St. Petersburg and the burial place of all members of the Russian Royal Family.

Recommended optional
Boat trip along rivers and canals of St. Petersburg

DAY 5

Breakfast at the hotel.

Morning visit to the State Hermitage Museum.

The Hermitage, one of the world's greatest art museums and Russian largest art repository, consists of 5 buildings created by celebrated architects of the 18th to 19th century.

The Winter Palace, formerly the residence of Russian Emperors was constructed between 1754 and 1762, its interiors empress visitors by gilding and semiprecious stones used in its decoration. The collection of the State Hermitage includes over 3 million works of art and world culture artefacts. It contains paintings, graphic works, sculptures, works of applied art, archaeological artefacts and numismatic objects.

The Hermitage is considered to have been founded in 1764, when Empress Catherine the Great acquired an impressive collection of works from the Berlin merchant Johann Ernst Gotzkowsky.

Time for Lunch (the guide will recommend the guests the restaurant in accordance with their requirements and expectations).

In the afternoon continue the day by the trip to Peterhof, summer residence of the Russian Tsars and enjoy the walk in its Gardens with the famous fountains.

The Necklace of Pearls – this is what we often call the palace and park ensembles around St. Petersburg, all of them being places of architectural and historical interest. These summer residences for tsarist family and St. Petersburg nobility were built and decorated by the best architects and masters of two centuries.

Today as we enjoy the view of splendid Petrodvorets (Peterhof), we witness the wonder made by dedicated restorers Petrodvorets lies on the shore of the Finnish Gulf, 30 km away from St Petersburg. Peter the Great intended to build a summer residence as splendid as the Versailles palaces. The initial layout of the summer residence was drawn by Peter himself.

Recommended optional
Excursion to the Grand Palace

Recommended evening activity
Ballet Performance at the Hermitage or Alexandrinsky Theaters

DAY 6

Breakfast at the hotel.

Free day to explore St. Petersburg. As an option we recommend you a tour to the Catherine’s Palace & Park in Pushkin.

Catherine’s Palace located in Tsarskoye Selo, or 'Tsar's Village', surrounded by a romantic park with mysterious arbours, pavilions, grottoes and statues. Upon arrival, admire the palace's beautiful, 984-foot (300-metre) azure facades; then ascend the Great Staircase in route to the beautiful staterooms on the second floor. See the gilded and opulent Great Hall, the Amber Room and the famous Green Dining Room. After the palace tour, take a brief guided stroll in the 1,400-acre (566-hectare) park.

Time for Lunch (the guide will recommend the guests the restaurant in accordance with their requirements and expectations).

In the afternoon continue the day by optional tours or enjoy the free time.

Recommended optional
Excursion to the Catherine's Palace & Park in Tsarskoye Selo
Excursion to the Palace & Park ensemble in Palovsk

Recommended evening activity
Folklore Performance at Nikolaevsky Palace
Dinner with the show at Troika Restaurant

DAY 7 / DEPARTURE DAY

Breakfast at the hotel.

Check-out.

Depending on your flight time you can explore the city by yourself or book any optional tours we will be glad to offer you.

Transfer to the airport. Departure.