St. Petersburg - Venice Of The North (Russia)
Tour highlights
• St. Petersburg is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Founded in 1703 by Emperor Peter the Great as his "window on the West", St. Petersburg has one of the most beautiful architecture in Europe. It is often referred to as the Venice of the North or the Paris of the East. St. Petersburg is a beautiful and fascinating holiday destination and one of the most intriguing and historically significant cities in Europe. • The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood: The Cathedral was built in the memory of Emperor Alexander II, and his reforms, and served a symbol of repentance of the Russian people. The cathedral is famous with its luxurious and rich decoration, ornamental architraves, frames, corbels, ceramic tiles, and colored glazed tiles. Constructed between 1883 and 1907, the church was designed in the spirit of sixteenth- and seventeenth century Russian architecture, inspired particularly by St Basil's Cathedral on Red Square in Moscow. • Peter and Paul fortress was founded by Peter I on a small island in the Neva delta on May 27, 1703. In the middle of the fortress stands the impressive Peter and Paul Cathedral, the burial place of all the Russian Emperors and Empresses from Peter the Great to Alexander III. The Cathedral was the first church in the city to be built of stone (between 1712-33). Other buildings in the fortress include the City History Museum and the Mint, one of only two places in Russia where coins and medals are minted. • Nevsky Prospect is St. Petersburg’s main avenue and one of the most famous streets in Russia. • St. Isaac's Cathedral was built between 1818 and 1858, by the French-born architect Auguste Montferrand and is one of the most impressive landmarks of the Russian Imperial capital. It is the city's main church and the largest cathedral in St. Petersburg. • The State Hermitage is one of the oldest and largest museums in the world. The museum is located in 5 historical buildings of St.Petersburg, including the Winter Palace - the official residence of Russian tsars. The buildings of the museum, by themselves, are architectural monuments too. The collections of The Hermitage number over 3 million items from prehistoric to modern times. • The Summer Palace of Emperor Peter the Great: Emperor Peter the Great's private palace was built between 1710 and 1712 by St. Petersburg's most celebrated architect, Domenico Trezzini. The small palace, built in the delightful Summer Garden, contains just 14 rooms and was the summer residence of Peter the Great and his family. • The Kazan Cathedral is an outstanding example of the early 19th-century Russian architecture, erected on the site of a small stone church to hold the ancient icon of Our Lady of Kazan. It took 10 years to architect Voronikhin to construct this church. • The Palace-and-Park ensemble of Pushkin (Tsarskoe Selo) - a former country residence of Russian emperors - is a fascinating monument of the world's architectural and gardening arts of the XVIII-XIX centuries. Tsarskoselsky ensemble is Catherine's Palace, containing exquisite decorative objects, furniture, Russian and Western-European paintings, unique collections of porcelain, amber, arms, decorative bronze, sculptures etc. Nowadays, the collection of the museum Tsarskoye Selo numbers about 20,000 items.
Trip plan:
Day 1. Arrival at St. Petersburg Airport. Transfer to a hotel for accommodation. Evening tour by the underground - St. Petersburg's metro is some 105 km long and has 60 stations. Like in Moscow, older stations are elegantly decorated.
Day 2. City sightseeing tour. We will visit some of the most fascinating sights amongst which Nevski Prospekt and the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood (also called the Church on Spilt Blood). Afterwards we will have an excursion to Peter and Paul Fortress and Cathedral.
Day 3. In the morning we will visit the Winter Palace and world's famous museum The Hermitage. In the afternoon you will have free time for shopping and sightseeing.
Day 4. After breakfast we will visit the Memorial Cemetery, a poignant reminder of the scale of the tragedy the city lived through the Second World War. Hundreds of thousands of people died in the city (mostly of cold and starvation) during the siege. In the afternoon we will visit the Isaaks Cathedral with its huge golden dome and places for 10000 visitors. In the late afternoon a sailing tour on Neva river is waiting for us.
Day 5. Today we will visit Peter the Great's Summer Palace. The park of the palace is one of the largest and most beautiful in the world. In the afternoon we will have a tour to Alexander Nevski Monastery. Here are buried some of the most famous Russian citizens.
Day 6. After breakfast we will visit Tsarskoe Selo and the Palace of Catherine the Great. Afterward we will transfer to the airport for departure.
Accomodation and food: We stay overnight in double rooms in a 4-star hotel (5 nights). Breakfast, 3 lunches and one dinner included.
Included in the price: Accommodation and meals as described further down, local English speaking guide, all tours and visits (as per program), all transfers, entrance fees.
Excluded from the price: Flight tickets, Russian visa ( about 70$), insurance, tips, personal expenses.
Recommended travel period of the year: May - September
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