Arrival in St. Petersburg
On arrival in St. Petersburg you will be met by our friendly representative who will escort you by car or mini bus to your hotel. On the way to the hotel, you will have the opportunity to get your first glimpse of this truly unique and beautiful city. After settling in at the hotel, you can sit down to a short lunch (optional), to prepare you for the city tour.

Panoramic City Tour. This tour is a great start to your trip and the best way to get acquainted with all of the city´s major highlights. Our professional guide will take you down Nevsky Prospect, St. Petersburg´s most famous and vibrant thoroughfare. There you will see some of the city´s most interesting architectural monuments including the Kazan Cathedral and the Winter Palace. You will then proceed to Vasilevsky Island - the area of the city that Peter the Great originally planned to be the city center. This island juts out into the Gulf of Finland - reminding you of St. Petersburg´s close proximity to the sea and maritime history. The tour will include a visit to the Peter and Paul Fortress - a symbol of St. Petersburg and also the oldest building in the city. While there, you will visit Peter´s Cathedral, the burial place of the Russian Tsars from Peter the Great onward. You will then be taken back to your hotel to relax.

In the evening you will have free time to stroll along the city streets and to dine at a restaurant of your choice. If you would like recommendations on good places to eat, just ask us.

After a nice breakfast at the hotel, you will be escorted to the town of Pushkin (formerly Tsarskoye Selo). The Palace and Park of Tsarskoye Selo is a former country residence of the Russian emperors. It is a fascinating monument of the world´s architectural and gardening arts of the XVIII-XIX centuries. Its 3 parks occupy an area of 600 hectares on which are located over 100 architectural monuments: from magnificent palaces and grand monuments to intimate pavilions and park sculptures designed by masters of the Venetian school such as P. Baratta, A. Tarsia and D. Bonazza. The center of Tsarskoye Selo is Catherine´s Palace, containing exquisite decorative objects, furniture, Russian and Western-USDpean paintings, unique collections of porcelain, amber, arms and decorative bronze sculptures. The Palace also contains the Amber Room - a truly unique work of craftsmanship.

In the evening, enjoy a ballet or opera performance at the Mariinsky Theater - one of the world´s greatest musical companies (optional). Another option would be to attend one of Russia´s premier folk shows, "Feel yourself Russian!" The show is performed by the best folk company in the city. During the intermission, delicious Russian appetizers will be served. (optional)

Breakfast at the hotel
Check out from the hotel
After breakfast we will head to one of the greatest and largest art museums in the world - the Hermitage. The museum consists of five historical buildings including the Winter Palace - the residence of the Russian Tsars. The museum contains over 3 million pieces of art with dates ranging from high antiquity to the present day. Among the Hermitage´s treasures are artworks by Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Titian, Rembrandt, Rubens and a large collection of impressionists and post impressionists including Matisse and Picasso as well as many others. We will spend 3 hours at the museum, however, to view the collection in its entirety would take almost 15 years, spending 8 hours a day in the museum and taking one minute to examine each exhibit.

Say goodbye to this splendid city on your way to the airport