10-Days Classic Western Russia: Moscow, Novgorod & St. Petersburg

10-Days Classic Western Russia:

Moscow, Novgorod & St. Petersburg

An Insider’s View of Russia’s Great Cities

Itinerary

Day One, Friday Moscow

Arrive in Moscow and transfer to a centrally located hotel to check in. This evening, enjoy a welcome

dinner at a local restaurant.

Meals: D

Hotel: Holiday Inn Moscow

Day Two, Saturday Moscow

This morning depart on a full day tour of Moscow, the economic and political center of Russia. Founded

in 1147 by Yuri Dolgoruky (literally “Yuri of the Long Arms”), Moscow rose to prominence during Mongol

eventually became the Russian capital.

Eclipsed for 200 years by St. Petersburg, Moscow was restored as a political center after the October

Revolution in 1917 and served as the capital of the Soviet Union until 1991.

Moscow today is a booming metropolis, dignified yet dynamic, where ancient churches sit shoulder to

shoulder with 21st century financial institutions, and where the new high-rise commercial district of

Moscow-City is changing the face of the city forever.

The first stop is UNESCO-listed Red Square and the Kremlin. Red Square with its St. Basil’s Cathedral is

perhaps the most recognizable symbol of Russia. Designed and built between 1555 and 1561 during the

reign of Ivan the Terrible, St. Basil’s was originally painted white. The domes were not patterned and

colored as they are today until a hundred years later. St. Basil’s is named after Vasily Blazhenny, the

“holy fool” who predicted that Ivan would murder his own son.

Visit the Kremlin, built on the site of Prince Yuri’s hunting lodge and overlooking the Moskva and Neglina

rivers. In the mid-14th century, the Russian princes, ruling from the Kremlin, became so powerful that

Moscow was named the center of the Russian Orthodox Church. Under the guidance of Ivan the Great,

Moscow extended its influence and soon became the seat of Russian political power as well.

Today, the Kremlin remains the center of Moscow and Russian politics. Inside the fortress walls are

numerous palaces, cathedrals, government buildings and the Armory Museum. Built in the 16th century

as a warehouse for the Kremlin’s weaponry, the building was turned into an exhibition hall and museum

in 1814. The Armory Museum now houses Russia’s national treasures such as religious icons, Fabergé

eggs, a bejeweled chalice belonging to Prince Yuri, and Catherine the Great’s ball gowns.

Next, visit GUM, the famous State Department Store. With its recent renovations and surprising array of

upscale contemporary stores, GUM is dramatically different from what it was during the Soviet era.

Following an independent lunch, drive by some of Moscow’s best-known places, including Moscow State

University on the Sparrow Hills for a panoramic city view; the moving World War II Memorial and Victory

Park on Farewell Hill; and a drive along the Sofiyskaya Embankment. Stop here at the 16th century

Novodevichy Convent.

UNESCO-listed Novodevichy Convent was founded in the 16th century. This was the convent of choice

for noble women forced to take the veil, such as Peter the Great’s first wife and Boris Godunov’s sister.

The compound contains a spectacularly beautiful church – Smolensk Cathedral – with icons from the

time of Boris Godunov, as well as exhibits featuring paintings, woodwork, metalwork, embroidery,

illuminated books and jewels. Strangely enough, the main attraction of the convent is its cemetery. Such

luminaries as Nikolai Gogol, Anton Chekhov, Alexander Scriabin, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Constantin

Stanislavsky, Sergei Prokofiev, Sergei Eisenstein, Nikita Khrushchev, Raisa Gorbacheva and Boris Yeltsin

are buried here, and some of the graves are quite fanciful.

Tonight enjoy an independent dinner.

Meals: B

Hotel: Holiday Inn Moscow

Day Three, Sunday Moscow

After breakfast, tour a few of the world-renowned Moscow Metro stations, sometimes referred to as

“Underground Palaces.” The first Moscow Metro station opened in 1935, and today there are over 150

of them along the 125 miles of track. The stations in the city center are showpieces of Socialist art,

furnished with statues, frescoes and mosaics, and with marbled, gilded, and bronzed walls and ceilings.

The Metro tour culminates with a visit to the enormous Izmailova Park weekend bazaar. Located on the

former royal hunting preserve, the huge flea market at Izmailova Park is the best place in Moscow to

find deals on a huge variety of Russian souvenirs and crafts, from matrioshka dolls to lacquered boxes,

from Soviet memorabilia to watercolors. Whether you’re interested in traditional handicrafts, clothing,

jewelry or modern art, Izmailova is the place to go, and opportunities to people-watch abound.

Next tour Stalin’s bunker. In the 1930s, during the time when Moscow’s lavish subway system was being

built, a “second subway” system took shape as well. The term “second subway” refers to the secret

underground bunker established by Stalin under the city. To mask the enterprise, architects planned and

began to build a huge sports stadium near Izmailova Park, with underground access to the city center.

Below the stadium, the corridors and rooms of the secret bunker were constructed. Unlike Churchill’s

London “War Rooms,” however, Stalin’s bunker sports marble columns and wood paneling. Its dining

room was designed in the Georgian style as a tribute to Stalin’s homeland. Along with “Stalin’s Unit,” an

underground area for an armada of tanks was finished before war broke out.

After an independent lunch, conclude the day’s touring at the Tretyakov Gallery. The Tretyakov was

founded by 19th century Russian merchant, Pavel Tretyakov, who spent 40 years and much of his

fortune collecting and preserving works of Russian art. The history and trajectory of Russian art are

displayed here, encompassing pieces from the 11th century to the present, and including mosaics, icons,

paintings and sculptures by such artists as Rublev, Repin, and Levitan. The collection is rarely seen

outside of Russia.

This evening dine in the home of a Russian family and experience firsthand the meaning of Russian

hospitality.

Meals: B, D

Hotel: Holiday Inn Moscow

Day Four, Monday Moscow • Klin • Tver • Novgorod

Get an earlier start this morning and set off out of the capital and towards Novgorod, making two

important stops along the way. After a couple of hours on the road, arrive in Klin. On arrival, tour the

House Museum of Tchaikovsky including a live piano concert. Pyotr Tchaikovsky, one of Russia’s greatest

composers, moved to this estate 55 miles northwest of Moscow for the last year of his life. Well-known

for popular pieces such as the 1812 Overture, the ballets Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The

Nutncracker, and the opera Eugene Onegin, Tchaikovsky finished his final symphony, the Pathetique, at

this house a somber work that was coolly received at its first performance. Tchaikovsky died only six

days later amid rumors of suicide, later disproved. The museum includes the composer’s personal

effects, memorabilia, photos, manuscripts and recordings of his works. A concert hall in the mansion

offers the opportunity to hear the master’s music.

Continue to the city of Tver, about 94 miles from Moscow along the old road to St. Petersburg. As old as

Moscow, the trading center of Tver didn’t fare as well over the years; it was burned to the ground twice

and captured many times. Tver was the capital of its own principality for 200 years before it finally

capitulated to Moscow. When St. Petersburg was established in 1703, Tver became an important way

station on the road between the two capitals. After a severe fire in 1763, Catherine the Great had the

downtown rebuilt along neoclassical lines. One of Tver’s claims to fame was her Putevoi Dvorets, or

Travel Palace, where she stopped along the Moscow-St. Petersburg road. Sadly, the palace has fallen

into disrepair and is out of commission.

Continue to Novgorod, stopping en route for tea and piroshki.

Meals: B, L

Park Inn Veliky Novgorod or similar

Day Five, Tuesday Novgorod • St. Petersburg

Tour Novgorod today before continuing to St. Petersburg. The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Novgorod

was one of Russia’s first and most important cities. It was from Novgorod that citizens sent for the

Nordic Varangians to help create order and were rewarded with the Rurik Dynasty, which ruled from

862 to *****rik’s successor Oleg, the second Prince of Novgorod, captured Kiev and began the

alliance known as the Kievan Rus, the proto-state of Russia. In 1240 Alexander of Novgorod defeated the

Swedes at the Neva River, earning the famous name, Alexander Nevsky. Novgorodian Prince Yaroslav

the Wise formulated the first code of law in Russia, and decreed that St. Sophia’s be built here. The city

escaped the depredations of the Mongols, who couldn’t get through the swamps surrounding it.

However, in World War Two Nazi forces occupied Novgorod for two years, and many of its old

monuments were bombed and shelled by both sides. Upon recapturing the city, the Soviet government

immediately set about restoring the damaged historic buildings. Today a small provincial town,

Novgorod includes 40 Orthodox churches, dating from the 11th to the 19th centuries.

Visit Novgorod’s kremlin, also called the Detinets. Built at first of wood, the walls were replaced with

stone in the 14th century. Brick replaced the stone in the 15th century Moscow fashion, and this is how

they were restored after World War Two. The focal point of the kremlin is the Cathedral of St. Sophia.

The five-domed cathedral is the oldest existing church in Novgorod. Built around 1050 by order of

Yaroslav the Wise, it is one of the earliest stone structures in northern Russia and the first to exhibit

characteristic Russian architecture. The remains of Yaroslav and his wife Irina are entombed within. One

of the church’s features is the Magdeburg Gate, 12th century doors cast in bronze, encrusted with basreliefs

of saints, bishops and even the builders of the gates. Continue on to the working Yuriev

Monastery, with its restored blue-domed church of St. George. Located a mile or so out of town on the

shores of Lake Ilmen, it is probably the oldest walled monastery in Russia, dating from 1119.

After lunch at a local restaurant, visit the Vitoslavlitsy Museum of Wooden Architecture. Thisopen-air

museum has a collection of 22 traditional wooden homes, churches and other typical buildings from the

16th to 18th century. Authentic artifacts and everyday possessions of Novgorod peasants furnish the

structures.

Continue to St. Petersburg with arrival in time for independent dinner and hotel check-in.

Meals: B, L

Hotel: Helvetia

Day Six, Wednesday St. Petersburg

This morning, begin an exploration of Russia’s cultural capital, St. Petersburg, often described as one of

the most beautiful cities in the world. Its miles of canals, laced together with graceful bridges set amidst

18th century buildings, have earned it the name “Venice of the North.” Conceived by Peter the Great

and designed by his favorite European architects, St. Petersburg was meant to be Peter’s link to the

western world. The capital of Russia from its birth in 1703 until just after the revolution, the city

celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2003. The historic center of St. Petersburg has been added to the

UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

Following breakfast and a brief orientation, visit the Imperial Porcelain Museum. Founded in the mid-

18th century, the Imperial Porcelain Factory is the oldest porcelain factory in Russia. It produces tea and

coffee sets and a wide variety of porcelain figurines. An on-site museum traces the evolution of this

factory and the porcelain industry in Russia from the mid-18th century to the present.

Next visit the Alexander Nevsky Monastery. Surrounded by walls and moats, this important monastery,

or lavra, was founded by Peter the Great on the site of Alexander Nevsky’s victorious battle over the

Swedes in 1240. The focal point of the monastery is the neoclassical Holy Trinity Cathedral. Built from

1776 to 1790, the regal structure has a columned portico, large central dome and two bell towers.

Next, pay a visit to the cruiser Aurora. Built between 1897 and 1900, Aurora survived the Russo-

Japanese War in which most of the Russian fleet was sunk. Later it was used on the Neva River for cadet

training, and fired the shot (a blank) that signaled the Bolsheviks to charge the Winter Palace during the

1917 revolution. While Leningrad was under siege in WWII, the Aurora’s guns were used on the city’s

front lines.

Finally, weather permitting, take a boat ride on St. Petersburg’s canals. Board a boat at one of St.

Petersburg famous bridges for a cruise of the city’s canals. Learn about the pre-revolutionary buildings

along the embankments as the boat cruises the waterways that originally drained the swamps of Peter

the Great’s capital. Enjoy the breezes and see the sights from a unique perspective.

Dinner this evening is at the hotel restaurant.

Meals: B, D

Hotel: Helvetia

Day Seven, Thursday St. Petersburg • day trip to Peterhof and Pushkin

Touring this morning begins with a trip to Peterhof. Peter the Great built his estate, Peterhof, on a ridge

by the Gulf of Finland 19 miles outside of St. Petersburg. The former imperial residence is surrounded

with extensive parks and gardens intended to rival Versailles, complete with an array of gilded statues,

magnificent palaces and gravity-fed fountains. Peter’s famed fountains are Peterhof’s main attraction.

Over 150 glistening, gilded, sculpted marble, granite and limestone fountains and cascades adorn the

Lower Park. The gravity-fed collection pools in Peterhof’s Upper Garden discharge their waters nearly 50

feet down to the Lower Park’s cascades and jets, creating enormous force and powering fountains all

over the park.

After lunch at Peterhof, head south to Pushkin, or Tsarskoye Selo (Czar’s Village), the location of one of

Russia’s greatest cultural attractions, Catherine’s Palace. Explore the palace, originally built in 1717 by

Catherine I. In 1752, famed architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli enlarged and embellished the palace,

extending the facade to its current grandeur. The estate and palace buildings were almost completely

destroyed by the Germans during WWII, but they have been carefully and expertly restored into a

brilliant architectural monument. The fully restored Amber Room has been years in the making. The wall

coverings of amber panels, created in the time of Peter the Great, were taken by the Nazis during the

Second World War and never recovered. The beautifully crafted amber panels we see today were

recreated from photos and descriptions of the originals, and have become one of the highlights of the

palace. Dinner this evening is independent.

Meals: B, L

Hotel: Helvetia

Day Eight, Friday St. Petersburg

After breakfast this morning visit the Peter and Paul Fortress, one of the first structures in St.

Petersburg. Peter the Great laid the cornerstone of the earthen fortress on Hare Island in May 1703,

intending it to be used to repel a Swedish invasion. After the Swedes capitulated, the fortress was

transformed into a prison in 1718. Among its prisoners were Peter the Great’s son Alexei, who opposed

his reforms. After strolling the grounds of the compound, visit the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul,

considered the heart of the fort. Starting with Peter the Great, all the Russian czars except Peter II and

Ivan VI were entombed in the Cathedral. On July 17, 1998 the remains of Nicholas II and his family were

returned from Ekaterinburg and laid to rest alongside the other members of the Romanov Dynasty.

After an independent lunch continue on to view St. Isaac’s Cathedral, the last neoclassical structure built

in the city. St. Isaac’s took 40 years to complete. Czar Alexander I awarded the project to the

inexperienced winner of a competition, a young French architect named Auguste de Montferrand. The

beautiful design was fraught with problems, and construction was halted for years while these were

solved. New technology had to be invented to build the massive structure. The 48 red granite columns

around the lower part of the building each weigh 110 tons, and the upper columns around the rotunda

weigh 67 tons apiece. The dome is covered with 220 pounds of gold, and the interior columns faced with

lapis lazuli and malachite. Continue on to the magnificent Church of the Savior on the Blood. The Church

of the Savior on the Blood was built on the spot where Czar Alexander II was felled by a bomb in 1881,

and was commissioned in the style of St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow by his son and successor,

Alexander III. Just off Nevsky Prospekt on the Griboyedov Canal, the emblematic cathedral with its blue

and green patterned domes has become a symbol of St. Petersburg. The interior walls and cupolas are

covered in fine mosaics of Biblical scenes, and four jasper columns mark the spot where the czar fell.

Next, set off for the lovely Usupoff Palace. Although the palace looks ordinary from the outside, its

interior is exquisite, with a marble staircase, crystal chandeliers, gilded candelabras and magnificently

painted ceilings. Owned before the revolution by the very rich and powerful Usupoff family, the palace

has its own miniature theater. This is the place where the plot against the sinister Rasputin came to

fruition.

The remainder of the afternoon is yours to explore St. Petersburg on your own. Upon request, your

guide can suggest churches, museums, local art galleries or an open-air market for additional sightseeing

or shopping opportunities. This evening, schedules permitting, get together for a ballet or opera

performance at one of St. Petersburg’s renowned theaters.

Meals: B

Hotel: Helvetia

Day Nine, Saturday St. Petersburg

Today visit the Hermitage Museum. The Winter Palace, part of the Hermitage ensemble, was built in

1754-62 as the principal home of the czars, and was lavishly rebuilt in 1839 after it was destroyed by

fire. Originally a small private palace gallery began by Catherine the Great with the purchase of 255

paintings from Berlin, the Hermitage today houses one of the largest museum collections in the world.

The grand double entry staircases and fabulous rooms with their inlaid floors and gilded woodwork are

works of art in themselves.

After an independent lunch, time can be spent independently exploring the Hermitage; or choose a

walking tour of Nevsky Prospekt, the three-mile-long avenue considered the backbone of St. Petersburg.

Stop at Gostiny Dvor, the city’s oldest and largest shopping center, and the Kazansky Cathedral, an effort

by Alexander I to duplicate the Vatican.

Tonight celebrate the journey with a festive farewell dinner.

Meals: B, D

Hotel: Helvetia

Day Ten, Sunday Depart St. Petersburg

Following breakfast, the tour concludes with a transfer to the airport.

Meals: B

End of Tour

Pricing and Conditions

English speaking group, collect minimum of 10 paying clients for each departure.

Price for Group Size per departure: 10-14 pax + 1 Tour leader

15-20 pax + 1 Tour leader

Price required for - Twin sharing basis per person

Single room supplement

Tour Dates Planned for 2013 – Two Departures from Dubai

 July 19-28, 2013

 August 16-25, 2013

Inclusions

• Shared accommodations in superior tourist class hotels in central locations.

• Nine breakfasts, three lunches and four dinners per the itinerary.

• Services of an experienced, English-speaking local guides at specific sites.

• Arrival/departure transfers. All travelers to be met upon arrival and transferred to the airport on

departure

• Transportation throughout itinerary by private coach (type of vehicle depends on group size).

• Guided sightseeing tours and entrance fees as outlined in itinerary.

• Special events, excursions and cultural performances per the itinerary.

• Baggage handling where available.

• Russia visa support letter

• Tour leader from UAE to accompany the group. Tour leader needs a single room throughout the

tour with all meals as per itinerary and services included.

Number of pax	10	15	20	25	30	35	40	suppl
Twin	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	for SGL
Price ($)	1903	1680	1569	1502	1457	1425	1401	526