RUSSIA FOR ME
Day 1 – St Petersburg
Upon arrival in St Petersburg, you will be taken to your hotel. Along the way, you'll get your first chance to glimpse the incredible sites the city has to offer.
Day 2 – Sightseeing tour
Crammed with splendid palaces, impressive historical monuments, tree-lined avenues and beautiful bridges, it's no wonder St Petersburg is known as Russia's cultural capital. A relatively young city, it was founded in 1703 by Tsar Peter the Great, but it's still managed to pack a lot into its rather short life. From the early days of its inception, to the 1991 coup d'etat, the city has always felt alive with mysterious intrigue and bloody revolution.
The tour will take you to the city's major attractions, including the impressive Kazan Cathedral, and the Stroganov Palace, which houses a waxwork museum. The Peter and Paul Fortress, which is the city's original citadel, and the Bronze Horseman, a monument to Peter the Great, are also on route.
Along the way you'll also be able to admire views of Vasilievsky Island from the Palace Embankment and take a stroll down Nevsky Prospect. Religious icons such as the golden-domed St Isaac's Cathedral and the distinctive Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood are included too.
Day 3 – The Hermitage State Museum
Absolutely enormous, the Hermitage is the biggest museum in the world. Consisting of five main buildings, it's visited by several million people every year.
Founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great, the bulk of the museum's 3 million artefacts is housed in the Winter Palace, formerly the official residence of the Romanov Tsars. Only a small part of the museum collections are on display, but you're not missing out – works by Titian, Leonardo da Vinci and Rembrandt as well as a whole host of others are on view for all to see.
Our guided tour is designed to help you find your way around this huge building and its exhibitions, including a detailed tour of the main site.
Day 5
Our driver will meet you in the lobby of your hotel to take you to the airport.
See our other Moscow and St Petersburg packages here
Day 4 – free time or trip to Tsarskoe Selo
Today you’re free to make an independent exploration of beautiful St Petersburg, or take a guided day trip to nearby Tsarskoe Selo.
Tsarskoe Selo is a suburban Tsarist estate about 25 km outside St Petersburg. Built for Empresses Catherine I, Peter the Great's second wife, and Elizabeth I, their daughter, it offers a fascinating glimpse into imperial country living.
Decorated externally in distinctive pale blue, white, and gold, all the buildings are impressive, but the Catherine Palace is perhaps the most so. An astonishing example of baroque architecture, its striking interiors include the legendary Amber Room. A hall decked with slabs of real amber, it paid the price for its ostentation during World War II, when looters stripped it of its glory. It took until 2003 for it to be fully restored, a painstaking process which took over 20 years and cost more than $12 million.
This optional excursion will cost 95 euro per person, and includes an English-speaking guide, transfer to Tsarskoe Selo, and the entry fee to the Catherine Palace.
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