St. Petersburg to Moscow

Day 1: Arrive at St.Petersburg airport. You will be met by our representative who will coordinate your transfer to the hotel. Check in and enjoy the rest of the day at leisure. Join us for a Welcome Dinner in the evening. 

Day 2: Breakfast at the hotel. Meet your guide in the morning and enjoy a half day bus City Tour including the most attractive city sights such as the split of Basil’s Island, the Church of our Savior on Spilled Blood, St.Isaac’s, Kazan and Smolny cathedrals, Alexander-Nevsky Lavra and others.

We’ll visit one of the city’s most important buildings - the Peter & Paul’s Fortress. The first structure to be built in St. Petersburg, and thus the birthplace of the city, it never served its intended defensive function. Instead it has had a rich, hugely varied, and sometimes sinister history as a military base, a home of government departments, the burial ground of the Russian Imperial family, the site of groundbreaking scientific experiments, and a forbidding jail that held some of Russia's most prominent political prisoners.

After lunch in a local restaurant, we’ll return to the hotel where the rest of the day and evening is at leisure.

Day 3: After breakfast at the hotel, meet your guide for the trip to Peterhof. One of St. Petersburg's most famous and popular visitor attractions, the palace and park at Peterhof (also known as Petrodvorets) are often referred to as "the Russian Versailles".

Enjoy the gardens and fountains of the world famous summer residence of Russian tsars. Explore the Grand Palace, the stunningly opulent work of Peter the Great and is daughter Elizabeth. After Lunch at the local restaurant, we’llreturn to St.Petersburg. Later that afternoon, continue to the impressive State Hermitage Museum. With over 3 million items in its collection, we can only hope to get a brief taste of the riches on offer here, from Impressionist masterpieces to fascinating Oriental treasures. 

This evening, we’ll visit the Nikolaevsky Palace where we can imagine ourselves as guests of the Grand Duke at the “Feel yourself Russian” folklore show. Traditional refreshments will be served before we return to the hotel for the night.

Day 4: Today, we’ll enjoy an excursion to Tsarskoe Selo (Pushkin City) where you will visit the Catherine’s Palace and have a walk in a picturesque park.

After today, you’ll be left with no doubt of the excess and grandeau enjoyed by 18th Century Russian Leaders as we explore two vast and truly exceptional palaces, both surrounded by extensive landscaped gardens with diverse and fascinating decorative architecture.

Return to the hotel for an afternoon of leisure in the city. Early evening, we’ll embark on a boat trip along the multiple rivers & channels of the city and discover why this fascinating city is referred to as “Venice of the North”. Enjoy dinner at a local restaurant on our final evening in St Petersburg.

Day 5: Breakfast at the hotel.Meet your guide to transfer to the train station and depart to Moscow via the high-speed train SAPSAN. The journey will take just under 4 hours. Upon arrival into Moscow, enjoy lunch at a local restaurant.

In the afternoon, a bus City Tour will provide an overview of the most attractive sights of the city such as Saint Saviors Cathedral, Moscow State University, Poklonnaya Hill, Victory Park and Vorobiovy Gory where you can admire a panoramic view of Moscow City. Check in to your Moscow Hotel and enjoy an evening at leisure to rest and recharge.

Day 6: After breakfast, visit perhaps one of Russia’s most iconic landmarks - Red Square. An excursion to the Kremlin and its cathedrals reveals the clash of two mighty imperial cultures - that of medieval Muscovy and of the Soviet Union. The Kremlin is both fascinating and foreboding, a mixture of lavish opulence and austere secrecy, and its eclectic mix of architecture reflects these paradoxes and seismic cultural shifts.

We’ll also visit St. Basil’s Cathedral – Ivan the Terrible’s beautifully constructed vision – legend has it that Ivan had the builders blinded after construction was complete, so they could never again create anything to compare! Lunch will be taken in a local restaurant. In the afternoon, you’ll walk along the famous streets Tverskaya & Arbat, embracing the opportunity to admire the old Moscow. Then we can experience the city from underground within the beautiful stations of the magnificent Moscow Metro. Enjoy an evening at leisure or as an optional activity, take in a performance of the Classic Russian Ballet in Bolshoy Theatre.

Day 7: Breakfast at the hotel.This is a free morning to explore Moscow on your own. At 2:00pm, transfer to a local restaurant where we’ll learn recipes and techniques for cooking Russian National traditional dishes. This evening, we’ll experience the weird and wonderful world of the Moscow Circus. Return to the hotel after the performance.

Day 8: Breakfast at the hotel. Check-out. Transfer to the airport with your guide and departure from Moscow.