Russia

We start this morning with an introductory lecture, then afterwards, we leave the hotel for a walking tour of Moscow. At the famous Red Square, we will spend time exploring its surrounding sites visiting St. Basil’s Cathedral, whose architects were supposedly blinded by Ivan the Terrible so that they could never again recreate such splendor, and Lenin’s Mausoleum, the resting place of the famous Soviet leader, where his preserved body is on display and Choral Synagogue. After lunch, we pay a visit to the State Tretyakov Gallery, one of the largest museums of the country housing over 100,000 works of fine Russian art.

Our second full day exploring Moscow starts with a visit to the Kremlin, the fortified citadel in the heart of the city. Overlooking the Moskva River, we will tour the complex, its cathedrals and the Armory Chamber, a treasure house which forms part of the Grand Kremlin’s Palace. After lunch, we visit the State Historical Museum and the Museum of Archaeology.

Today, we leave Moscow and journey to Sergiev Posad to visit Trinity Sergius Lavra, Russia’s most important monastery and spiritual center of the Russian Orthodox Church, founded in 1337. Following lunch, we travel east to Suzdal. Here, we visit the Museum of Wooden Architecture and Peasant Life, an open-air “living village” where traditional old houses and churches are assembled.

We spend the morning in Suzdal, exploring the city on a walking tour including the local Kremlin, Krestovaya Palata and St. Ephimius Monastery. In the afternoon we drive to Vladimir, a town founded by Vladimir Monamakh in 1108 as a fort in the Rostov-Suzdal municipality. Here, we will visit the 12th century Assumption/Dmitrievsky Cathedral and view the Golden Gate, the ancient Russian city gate.

Travelling north brings us to the city of Yaroslavl. A tour here includes the Spassky Monastery, built in the best traditions of Russian architecture and the church of Ilya the Prophet. We’ll walk through the park complex situated in the historical center, arriving at the local museum to visit the archaeological department. After lunch, we enjoy a boat trip on the Volga and then transfer back to Moscow. We have dinner in a restaurant near the train station before taking the overnight train to Novgorod.

We arrive in Novgorod in the early morning. Here, we tour the Kremlin, viewing the ancient Detinets-Kremlin walls and towers, visiting St. Sophia’s Cathedral with its Magdeburg gates and bell tower, the bronze Monument to the 1000 Years of Russia, as well as the Chamber of Facets, an exceptional example of Gothic architecture. This afternoon, we visit the Troitsky excavation site.

We travel by coach to St. Petersburg and upon arrival, we will check in to our hotel. After lunch, we tour the city and visit the Peter & Paul Fortress, which Peter the Great built in 1703 to provide protection from the Swedes. We end the day with a visit of the historic center on Vasilyevsky Island.

This morning, we drive to Peterhof to visit the Grand Palace and lush parks of the imperial estate, often referred to as the Russian Versailles. After lunch, we return to St. Petersburg and spend the afternoon visiting St. Nicholas Cathedral and Alexander-Nevsky Monastery.

Today is dedicated to the world-famous State Hermitage Museum, the second largest art museum of the world. An extraordinary collection of jewelry including Scythian artifacts are on display in the Gold Room. In the afternoon, we view the relics from the Altai burials as well as the Pazyryk carpet. There will be free time to explore the rest of the Hermitage before we return to our hotel.

We spend the morning in Tsarskoye Selo or Tsar’s village, the former residence of the imperial family. Here, we visit Catherine’s Palace to marvel at the famous, reconstructed Amber Room. In the afternoon we visit Yusupov Palace with its sumptuous and rich interior, and the site where Grigori Rasputin was murdered. Our day ends with a canal boat ride.

This morning, we return to the Hermitage for a specially arranged tour of the storage rooms. Upon our arrival back in the city center, there will be free time to explore more of St. Petersburg at your own leisure before our farewell dinner this evening.

After breakfast, we make our independent onward journeys.