Your Itinerary is:
1st day:
- Meeting at the airport/railway station, transfer to the hotel
- City tour with visiting the Peter and Paul’s Fortress (duration 4 hours)
2nd day:
- Petergof, visiting the Great Palace and park (duration 5 hours)
3rd day
- Visiting the Hermitage (duration 3 hours)
4th day
- Visiting Pushkin (Tsarskoe Selo) and Pavlovsk (duration 7 hours)
5th day:
- Saint-Isaac’s Cathedral or Church on the Spilt Blood (duration 2,5 hours)
6th day:
- Free day
- Transfer from the airport/railway station at the appointed time
* On the first day
On arrival you will be friendly met by our representative who will escort you to your hotel by car. On getting to your hotel you will have a rest and prepare yourselves for an exciting city tour.
The panoramic tour will begin right from the hotel where you will be picked up by your guide. Usually a guide is waiting at the reception of the hotel at the appointed time with a sign in his hand, where your name is written. So, you will recognize each other straight away.
During the Panoramic City Tour we will pass the heart of Saint-Petersburg – the Nevsky Prospect, the main thoroughfare with old mansions standing along, the avenue of expensive shops, restaurants and great variety of entertainments. You will have a look at Kazan Cathedral – the kind of 1812 war memorial, at Admiralty – our naval beauty. You will see the Palace Square – the heart of the Northern Venice. Passing through Vasielvsky Island – the main scientific and educational center – you will see Rostrum Columns which will remind you that Saint-Petersburg is a naval city.
We will visit Saint Peter and Paul’s fortress – the first construction of the city, which was meant to be a fortification, but was turned into an atrocious political prison. You will proceed to the Peter and Paul’s Cathedral and have a look at a marvelous iconostasis. The area of Peter and Paul’s fortress is also a burial place of Russian Emperors, and you will have a chance to see their large tombs, made of semi-precious stones.
On your way you will also get acquainted with the Saint-Petersburg University, Saint Isaac’s Cathedral, the world-famous statue of Bronze Horseman, Smolnij Cathedral, our magnificent churches, graceful bridges and other picturesque places, so beloved by art connoisseurs. And, of course, your guide will not forget to make a number of stops for a “photo session”.
* On the second day
We welcome you to visit Petergof, one of the most exquisite and fascinating residences in the suburbs of Saint-Petersburg.
Your excursion will take 5 hours on the whole, together with the trip to Petergof . If you would like to spend more hours in the residence, please, inform us before the trip. Your excursion will include visiting the Great palace and having a guided walk in the park.
Petergof or Petrodvoretz (its another name) was founded at the beginning of the 18th century as a monument to Russia’s victories in the Northern War with Sweden. Peter the Great, our emperor, was himself at the head of the construction works of the residence, and even made projects for some fountains. Peter the Great’s wish was to compete in splendor and luxury with French Versailles, and he realized his intention completely!
The heart of Petergof is the Great Palace with two parks adjoining it, adorned with golden sculptures and splendid fountains. Both the palace and park are very popular not only with tourists, but also with citizens of Saint-Petersburg, so, do not be surprised if you find a lot of visitors there.
Happily, the park space is very huge: there are more than 10 palaces there and an enormous quantity of fountains, all of which are masterpieces. Everybody will manage to get pleasure from his trip. Children will play with trick-fountains, grown-ups will make photos. We only hope for good weather!
* On the third day
We would like you to get acquainted with the Hermitage.You will be delivered to the museum by car, your guide will have the tickets bought in advance, so, you will not have to queue for a long time.
The Hermitage is one of the largest and oldest museums in the world, which possesses our tsars’ great private collections, outstanding exhibits, genuine works of art. The Hermitage is a museum, situated in Winter palace - the former tsars’ residence. The whole museum buildings is so huge, that if you spend there the whole day long, examining each exhibit only for 2 minutes, you will need 40 years to see everything. Thus, our professional guides will show you “the best out of the best” and help you not to get lost among numberless masterpieces.
* On the fourth day
We invite you to have an unforgettable journey to two residences – Pushkin and Pavlovsk. You will get great pleasure when you visit Pushkin – one of the earliest arquitectural ensembles in the suburbs of Saint-Petersburg, widely known as “Tsarskoe Selo”, which means “the village of tsars”. It lies 15 miles down south from Saint-Petersburg in a spectacular small city Pushkin, called so in honor of the great Russian poet Pushkin.
You will be given excursion in the Catherine Palace. Its exhibition contains exquisite decorative objects, such as antique furniture, Russian and West-European paintings, an outstanding collection of porcelain, arms, bronze, sculpture. You will be fascinated by the most remarkable and unique in the Catherine Palace – “the 8th wonder of the world” – the amber room.
Pushkin is situated at a stone’s throw from Pavlovsk, the former residence of Paul I and his family. Pavlovsk is a beloved place of real art connoisseurs. It is not as sparkling as Petergof, it is not as pompous as Pushkin, but it is cozy, “real” and distinguishes by a special subtle beauty.
* On the fifth day
You can choose an excursion for this day in advance: whether you wish to visit Saint-Isaac’s Cathedral or the Church of Resurrection. Both places are worth seeing, so, please, just make your choice!
Majestic Saint-Isaac’s Cathedral, richly decorated with gold, is the forth highest cupola construction in the world. It took 40 years to built it! Both outside and inside the cathedral is faced with valuable and rare kinds of marble. You will be pleased to contemplate wall paintings and mosaics, three iconostasis, the stained glass “resurrection” and more than 400 sculptures and bus-relieves by best masters. Your guide will have pleasure to acquaint you with the interiors of the cathedral and tell you the detailed story of its foundation.
If you wish you can also come upstairs to the golden dome of Saint-Isaac’s and to see a great panorama of Saint-Petersburg (far not everybody wishes to climb so high, that is why we do not include the fee for climbing into the excursion sum. You can do it for a small extra fee by paying in the museum or “Avenue-Tour” can make this ticket for you).
The Church of Christ’s Resurrection - “the mosaic church” – is one of the city’s most beautiful landmarks. It is called so because it was built on the very spot, where tsar Alexander II was murdered. It is a unique church in pseudo-Russian style, faced with incredibly great variety of mosaics (over 7,000 sq.m). Nothing of the kind can be found anywhere else in Saint-Petersburg! You will be struck by its interior, richly adorned with panels, semiprecious stones and Italian marble.
* On the sixth day
The sixth day is free from excursions. On your request we can make extra excursions for you on this day. At the appointed time in the evening the driver will meet you at the reception of the hotel and you will be made a transfer to the airport or railway station.
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
* Program includes:
- Transport services
- Guide services
- Entrance tickets to the museums
* Listed prices do not include accomodation
* Price for high season (may-september) per person - 752 USD
* Price for low season (october-april) per person - 695 USD
Also see tour packages in:
Europe
Russia
History Whiz
Archeology/History
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