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Russian Art & Culture Deluxe

Category: Private Tours

 

 

 

A Deluxe Private Tour 10 Days
  Moscow - Sergiev Posad - St. Petersburg - Novgorod Veliky


Moscow and St. Petersburg, such richly historic cities, lend themselves to the style and comfort you will enjoy when staying at some of Russia’s finest hotels. And what better way to travel from the new capital to the old than by a High speed day train

 

 Tour Highlights: 


• Accommodations at deluxe downtown Hotels

• Private expert guides for sightseeing, in each city

• Visit the historic Kremlin, Red Square with its iconic St Basil’s Cathedral

• View the opulent collection of Czar’s Treasures in Moscow’s Kremlin including famous Faberge Eggs

• Marvel the artistry of the massive Moscow Subway, amazingly efficient, clean and graffiti-free

• Admire the world’s largest collection of Russian icons at the Tretyakov Art Gallery

• Lose yourself amid the artistic treasures & Imperial interiors of the Hermitage

• Admire the Grand Cascade’s symphony of Fountains of Petrodvorets

• Feel your jaw hit the parquet floor as you take in the gilded splendor of Catherine Palace

• Russian Cuisine tasting  

 

 

 

Sightseeing:

 

 
In Moscow:


• an extended City Highlights tour with special visits

• Tour of the Kremlin Grounds, Czar’s Treasures collection in the Kremlin 

• A tour of the Tretyakov Art Gallery

• A trip outside of Moscow to Sergiev Posad to visit Trinity Monastery of St. Sergius

 

 

In St. Petersburg:

 

• a panoramic City Highlights tour

• a tour of Peter-and-Paul Fortress with a visit inside Saints Peter & Paul Cathedral

• an overview tour of the Hermitage Museum

• a trip outside of St. Petersburg to spectacular Peterhof, the Summer Palace of Peter the Great, on the shores of the Gulf of Finland

• a trip outside of St. Petersburg to Pushkin to visit Catherine’s Palace with its fabulous Amber Room

 

 

 

 

Day-By-Day Program:

 

 

Day 1   THU        Depart Canada  
Depart Canada on your transatlantic flight via Europe to Moscow


Day 2   FRI         Welcome to Russia's Capital Moscow

A private car transfer to downtown Metropol Hotel *****, a proud member of Luxury Collection (or similar)

 

Day 3   SAT        Moscow, Sightseeing

Your private city sightseeing tour features dramatic Red Square with its St. Basil's  Cathedral, the iconic view of the Kremlin, the renovated Bolshoi theatre, Moscow University and the Russian White House.
Drive to the Sparrow’s Hills to get the best view of the city. As a Special Feature your tour includes a visit inside the New
Maiden’s Convent, one of the most impressive and historic sites of Moscow.
You will also visit the other remarkable site – the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, quite a noticeable feature of Moscow’s skyline today. The history of this Cathedral is as striking as its huge façade.
You will also have an opportunity to explore Moscow Metro system famous for being highly efficient, graffiti-free and palatially ornate

 

Day 4   SUN        Moscow, Sightseeing

Today visit inside the Kremlin - view the Kremlin Palace, the czar’s cathedrals, the Bell tower and the world’s largest Czar’s Cannon and Czar’s Bell.
Also explore the breathtaking Czar’s Treasures collection at the Armory Museum – a priceless collection of Czar’s regalia, crown jewelry, court carriages and the world famous Faberge Eggs.

In the afternoon, visit the Tretyakov Art Gallery, the home of an outstanding collection of pre-revolutionary Russian art, and the world’s finest collection of Russian icons

 

Day 5  MON        Moscow, trip to the Golden Ring town 
Today travel 70 km outside of Moscow to the ancient town of Sergiev Posad on the Golden Ring, to visit the impressive Trinity Monastery of St. Sergius, the key pilgrimage site in Russia, the religious and spiritual centre of Russian Orthodoxy

 

Day 6   TUE         Day Train to St. Petersburg  
Morning is free for independent activities. In the afternoon transfer to rail
station for your Bullet Day train to St. Petersburg, dep 1.30 pm arr 6 pm. Upon arrival in St. Petersburg, you will be met and transferred to your downtown Corinthia Hotel ***** (or similar). Check-in for a 5 nights’ stay

 

Day 7   WED         St. Petersburg, Sightseeing  
Your private
city sightseeing tour will introduce you to the beautiful views of the Winter Palace, the Admiralty, St. Isaac’s Cathedral, Palace Square, Mariinsky Theatre, fashionable Nevsky Prospect. Continue sightseeing with a visit inside the historical Peter & Paul Fortress, now containing tombs of the Romanov Dynasty rulers

 

Day 8    THU        St. Petersburg, Sightseeing 
Today tour the incomparable
Hermitage Museum, unquestionably one of the finest art galleries in the world. Housed within the magnificent baroque Winter Palace, this impressive collection contains the works of masters such as Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Rubens and Rembrandt as well as many contemporary pieces by Kandinski, Matisse and Picasso! Your tour includes State Rooms of Winter Palace, the Old Masters of the Western European art collection, and the French Impressionists.

In the afternoon, travel outside of St. Petersburg to Pushkin, to visit the exquisite Catherine’s Palace set in 1,500 acres of beautifully landscaped parklands. Lunch at a premier Russian-style restaurant   

 

Day 9    FRI           St. Petersburg          Playground of the Czars

After breakfast travel outside of St Petersburg to Peterhof, the sumptuous Grand Palace of Peter the Great, also known as the Capital of Fountains

 

Day 10  SAT          Full day trip to ancient town of Novgorod Veliky

Today enjoy a Full day trip to the soul of Ancient Russia! Travel 200 km south of St. Petersburg to the history-filled town of Novgorod Veliky (in English: Novgorod the Great). Established in 862 by a Viking Prince Rurik, Novgorod is a beautiful town of solid old churches, peaceful tree-lined streets and a magnificent Kremlin full of historic treasures. Visit city’s historical core with its St. Sophia Cathedral, the oldest church in Russia. See the impressive Monument of 1000 years of Russia, visit the functioning Yuriev Monastery with a museum of wooden architecture

 

Day 11  SUN          St. Petersburg, See You Again  

After breakfast your tour ends

 


We'll be able to assist you in getting theatre tickets for the ballet, opera, folklore or other performance at one of the world famous theatres, be it the Bolshoi in Moscow or no less renowned Mariinsky (by someone known as Kirov).

We would be able to secure the tickets for you being 1 to 2 months prior.    

  

 

 

  

Dates & Prices:

Start Dates, Moscow 

Price,
Per Person 

 

Start Dates, Moscow 

Price, Per Person 

         

May 27, 2022

$ 4,515

 

September 23, 30

$ 4,475

June 17, 24

$ 4,625

 

October 07, 14

$ 4,425

July 08, 15, 22

$ 4,575 

 

Oct 21; Nov 04, 18

$ 4,375

Aug 05, 12, 19, 26

$ 4,515

 

Nov 25; Dec 09

$ 4,315

September 09, 16

$ 4,475

 

December 23 *)

$ 4,525 
         

  

The above prices are in Canadian dollars, per person, twin share

  

Not Included: international airfare, Russian visa, insurance, optional tours, expenses of personal nature 

 

The above program is open for customization and can be offered on other dates, throughout the year.

Please  contact our office for a quote and best advice.

 

 

Need help in obtaining the Russia visa? Please click here 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Hi Serguei, 


Sorry to be tardy in getting back to you.

Our Russian tour was fabulous. Liz and I enjoyed all of it. All the arrangements worked like clockwork and i really 
appreciated you sending the second car to ge me when my flight to Moscow was delayed.

The National Hotel was great. Just perfect for us. The locations could not have been better right next to the Kremlin, the staff were lovey and we really liked the historic building. The included breakfasts were excellent.

The best thing about Moscow for us was our tour guide, Violet. Her incredible knowledge of history and obvious love and understanding of Russian art and culture were the perfect combination for a tour guide. She had a lovely quiet manner and we enjoyed every minute of our time with her. She was perhaps the best guide either of us has ever had. 


The Kremlin Armoury and the Tretyakov Gallery were highlights and we also enjoyed the outing to the monastery oat Sergiev Posad.

The Garage art gallery in Gorky Park was a real treat and a nice glimpse of modern cultural life in Moscow We would recommend all those sites to anyone going to Moscow.

We also enjoyed a visit to the city market on our own (Violet gave us precise instructions on the subway) and of course would not have missed a visit to Lenin's tomb.

And by the way, we went to the White Rabbit restaurant which is rated the 18th best restaurant in the world and we had a wonderful time. We would highly recommend it. The food was great and it wasn't as expensive as we might have expected.


One small quibble is that there were no plans for lunches on our touring days in Moscow.  

Most days didn't end until
well after 2 pm and it would have perhaps been better to plan a lunch stop.
We were pretty hungry by the time the tours were done and ended up eating a big meal around 3 or 4 pm which wasn't always ideal.

But that's just a suggestion and, as I said, we couldn't have asked for a better guide. (In both cities, it would might been good to have a list of suggested restaurants to try.) 
 

The arrangements for the train to St Petersburg were excellent and we enjoyed the ride. It was during day time and we could see the countryside.


The Astoria Hotel in St. Petersburg was also an excellent choice. The food was very good and the location was just great.

Valery (Valera) was a good guide and took very good care of us. We enjoyed all the tours. The Hermitage and Catherine Palace were very crowded but that's just the reality of St. Petersburg. The art and architecture were incredible. We enjoyed the hydrofoil to Peterhof and it was great to get out of the city to visit Novgorod and see some of the countryside.


It was good to have free time to explore the city on our own and we discovered some interesting renovated galleries and young business spots in the downtown.

Again, in St. Petersburg, all arrangements worked perfectly.


Thank you for all help and advice and excellent planning.



Best wishes,

Linda Hughes (and Liz)

 

Calgary Alberta Canada 

 

October 10, 2016

 

 

 

 

Hi Serguei, 


What a wonderful trip you arranged for us to Moscow and St. Petersburg. Everything was just as you had described. I don't think Nancy and I were expecting such wonders as we saw in Moscow and St. Petersburg.  


Specifically: 


Moscow 

- the room with the Kremlin view was well worth it. Most of the rooms in the National Hotel do face the Kremlin but they do have some rooms that are facing a courtyard and that would have been sad.

The breakfast was exceptional as it too faced the Kremlin.

- Violetta was a great guide. She had many interesting facts and stories to tell about the history of Moscow and the Czars - up until the revolution. She did not speak too much about what happened after the revolution. Perhaps it is not such a great story to tell tourists.  

- the Kremlin with its Diamond Fun and Armory were well worth the visit. The jewelry and crowns were extraordinary - unlike anything i have ever seen and i have seen the crown jewels in London. This far surpasses the crown jewels in England. I especially liked seeing where Putin lives. He was in residence the day we were there and I was surprised that there was not more obvious security. I am sure there was lots of security but it was not noticeable once you entered the gates of the Kremlin.

- We enjoyed the opera at the Bolshoi - The Damnation of Faust. It was the first full opera for both Nancy and I and what better place than the Bolshoi in Moscow. We felt so lucky to be there.

- the whole experience in Moscow was great. We only had one bad meal and that was at the Cafe Pushkin restaurant that was recommended by the concierge in the National Hotel. Our food was cold and not very good. The place was full and not enough staff. The inside was very interesting to see but it seemed to be full  of tourists like us. All the other restaurants were very good.  

- If someone else was to go to Moscow - i would tell them to do exactly what we did - including the day we spent going to Sergiev Posad and seeing the Trinity Monastery of St. Sergius. it was so beautiful and I especially liked to see the priests. We were so happy to have a private car and private guide. So worth it.

 

- my favorite thing was probably to be in Red Square and seeing St Basil's cathedral. A real sense of history especially with seeing Lenin's and Stalin's tomb.

 

- we needed the day off before the trip to St. Petersburg. We did some shopping and relaxed.    


- the train trip was great. Having someone drive us to the train station, someone else meet us and take us to the lounge while we waited for the train then come back for us and put us on the train - we could not have done this by ourselves. This is highly recommended for everyone

 

St Petersburg

 

- Astoria Hotel - beautiful, very high end hotel. We had a nice room looking out over St. Isaac's Cathedral..

 The manager was great and quickly moved us to a room with a view. I will send pictures.

 

- The Hermitage was more that we could have imagined and we were happy to have spent two days there. The Impressionist art has now moved to another building on the other side of the square. It would have taken another whole day to see all of the art but we managed to see a lot of it by moving very quickly and focusing on impressionist paintings.

No one can imagine the grandness of the Hermitage or the architecture or the art - breathtaking. It was the highlight for both Nancy and myself. 

 

- Catherine's Summer Palace - a must see. It is very different from the Hermitage and in a town outside St. Petersburg so it was great to see the countryside.  

 

- Gold and Diamond Rooms - very impressive. Very different from what we saw at the Kremlin as the collection is so much older - some pieces were thousands of years old. Unbelievable. The special guide from the Hermitage was wonderful and spoke perfect English. 

- our guide in St. Petersburg was excellent. Very interesting and professional lady and very kind to us (as was Violette).

Again the private guide and private car was the best idea. We felt very safe. We did walk around St. Petersburg on our own and went shopping one day to the big mall - all went well. 

- Ballet and symphony in the two different Mariinsky theatres were both a delight. We had very good seats - both with the aisle seats that i required (thank you)

 

So we had a great trip and enjoyed everything. Thanks again for all your help in planning and executing the trip.

 

 

Lisa Idenhartog & Nancy Gavin

 

November 06, 2017

Toronto Ontario 

 

 
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