Prepare to embrace unforgettable memories for marvelous Russia with GEMTOUR
Day 1 MOSCOW – ST. PETERSBURG, Russia
Arrive to St. Petersburg.
St. Petersburg, the cultural soul of Russia, is a repository of priceless art, a home to poets, musicians and composers and a witness to the rise and fall of Imperial Russia, two shattering revolutions and a civil war.
Dinner and stay at hotel
Day 2 ST. PETERSBURG
Enjoy a full day guided tour to Peter and Paul fortress, the oldest monument of history and architecture in St. Petersburg built as a fortification during the Russian-Swedish war but never used as a fortress with its bastions turned into political prison cells. Proceed to Pushkin Palace and park, the main summer residence of the Imperial family from the 18th century to the fall of monarchy in 1917. Enjoy Catherine’s Palace, an ornate Baroque building palace with a blue façade
and gold onion domes. Admire the White Vestibule, the Amber Room, the Portrait Hall, the Crimson Pilaster Room and its park at Pushkin. See Pavlovsk Palace and park, one of the last summer palaces built by Russian tsars. The 1500-acre site, presented by Catherine the Great to her son Paul, future Tsar Paul1, became a charming Estate of the Royal family. After Dinner, watch the 7pm ballet at Mariinskiy Theater or River Cruise (Optional).
Stay at hotel in St. Petersburg.
Day 3 ST. PETERSBURG
Admire the works of Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Rodin, Rembrandt at the Hermitage
Museum, the Tsar’s former Winter Palace housing one of the finest art collections in the world.
Admire Peter the Great’s Palace and its park in Petrodvorets. The palaces and parks with fountains were built in 18th century under the order of Peter the Great. Built to rival Versailles, the palace sits atop a hill overlooking the Gulf of Finland. Tour the Throne Room, the Portrait Room and the White Dining Room. Visit Yusapov Palace where the monk Rasputin was murdered.
Then on to Saint Isaac Cathedral, the city’s largest church and one of the world’s largest domed structures.
Dinner at local restaurant and stay at hotel in St. Petersburg.
Day 4 ST. PETERSBURG – MOSCOW – SUZDAL
Take the flight from St. Petersburg to Moscow. Visit Sergiev Posad. After lunch, transfer north to Suzdal, part of the Golden Ring giving one a taste of rural Russia.
Dinner and stayat hotel in Suzdal.
Day 5 SUZDAL – VLADIMIR – MOSCOW
Tour Suzdal, one of the oldest and best-preserved Russian towns with many splendid architectural monuments of different epochs. Visit Kremlin, Spaso-Efimievskiy Monastery, Convent of the Intercession and Rozhdestvenskiy Cathedral.
Take lunch at the ancient great town of Vladimir, to the south of Suzdal.
Return to Moscow for dinner and stay at hotel in Moscow.
Day 6 MOSCOW
Enjoy a city tour with Lenin Hills at the right bank of the Moscow River and one of the highest points in Moscow. See the Moscow State University, formerly the tallest building in Europe. Visit Poklonnaya Hill and its war memorial. This complex includes a museum with its displays dedicated to the events of 1941-45, Conquerors’ Square adorned with the allegorical figure of the goddess of Victory, ”Years of War” alley and the Orthodox Church of St. George decorated with huge bronze bas reliefs. There is also synagogue and a mosque. Watch the world-famous Old Circus.
Dinner and stay at hotel in Moscow.
Day 7 MOSCOW
Enjoy a guided tour of the Kremlin, a city within a city, with medieval towers, five cathedrals and palaces. Visit the Annunciation and Assumption Cathedrals in Kremlin’s Square, a testimony of the vibrant faith of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Annunciation Cathedral was decorated by the great icon painters and was intended to be the royal family’s private chapel. The Assumption Cathedral is the oldest structure in the Square where Russian tsars were crowned, metropolitans and patriarchs were elected and important edicts read out. Visit the treasure-filled Armory Museum which displays the lavish court life of Imperial Russia. It is famous for its collection of Old Imperial Russian regalia, thrones, jewelry, costumes, state gifts, arms, Faberge eggs, royal carriages, ball gowns, jewel-encrusted swords that are relics of the wealth and power that once belonged to the tsars. Marvel at the magnificence of the city seeing the enormous Red Square with the colorful onion-domed St. Basil’s Cathedral. See Alexandrovskiy garden with the tomb of the Unknown soldiers, Catherine the Great Grotto, fountains and the Kremlin walls. Don’t miss a visit to the lavishly decorated metro stations that are unique to Russia. If time permits,
visit Arbat street where the chance to shop for typical Russian crafts and gifts.
Dinner and stay at hotel in Moscow.
Day 8 MOSCOW
Visit the Novodevichiy convent inside and Christ the Saviour Cathedral.
Take flight back home