Bravo Russia

Welcome to Russia! Upon arrival you will be met at the airport and transferred to the hotel. Hotel check-in and free time to get some rest before your Russian tour begins.

Today we will begin with an overview City Tour of Moscow exploring the main historical areas within the boundaries of the Garden and the Boulevard Rings.  The tour will take you to Red Square, Kremlin, Kitay Gorod, Tverskaya, Arbat and Zamoskvorechje. You will see the famous landmarks of St. Basil's Church, Cathedral of Christ the Savior, Novodevichiy Convent, Luzhniki, the White House, Moskva River and others, then continue to theSparrow Hills, located 6 km south-west of the Kremlin where you will see the Moscow University skyscraper and enjoy the best panoramic view of the city. Aftre the driving tour we will visit Novodevichiy Convent founded in 1524 and proclaimed UNESCO World Heritage site in 2004. The convent has sheltered many famous Russian ladies such as Irina Godunova (the sister of Boris Godunov), Sophia Alekseyevna (sister of Peter the Great), Eudoxia Lopukhina (first wife of Peter the Great) and others.

Afternoon is dedicated to exploring  Red Square and the Kremlin areas and the well known landmarks such as St. Basil's Cathedral, Mausoleum, Museum of History and GUM department store.  Inside the Kremlin the main landmarks are three Cathedrals - Assumption, Annunciation and Archangel, Ivan the Great Bell Tower, Tsar Bell, Tsar Cannon, Hall of Facets and Terem Place. The tour includes a visit to the Armory where you will see the  stunning collection of wealth and treasures accumulated by Russian state and church over the centuries. The collection includes royal regalia, Faberge Eggs of precious metals and jewels, the 800-diamond throne of Tsar Alexey, the jewel-studded and sable-trimmed gold Cap of Monomakh worn for coronations for two centuries, the coronation dress of Catherine the Great, the sleigh in which Elizabeth rode from St. Petersburg to Moscow for her coronation pulled by 23 horses at a time. Between the Armory and the Annunciation Cathedral is the Great Kremlin Palace the official residence of Russian president.

Moscow Metro is one of the most beautiful and efficient subway systems in the world carrying over 10 million passengers daily (more than the New York and London systems combined). It was designed by prominent Russian architects and artists whose goal was not to create just a transportation system but a showcase to glorify the socialism and its achievements. You will visit the most amazing stations decorated with granite, marble, bronze, statues and other pieces of art - making it look more like a museum than a subway.

Your next tour is to the Tretyakov Gallery located in one of the oldest parts of Moscow Zamoskvorechje, not far from the Red Square. The Tretyakov Gallery is a national treasury which houses the largest and most distinguished collection of Russian art in the world. The gallery was named after Russian entrepreneur Pavel Tretyakov, who donated his house, where the Gallery is still located, surrounding buildings and almost 2000 works of Russian art from his own private collection to the city of Moscow at the end of the 19th century. The collection grew overtime and now features over 100,000 Russian works from medieval icons, including the ones by famous Andrey Rublev, to early 20th century.

All day tour to Sergiev Posad located about 70 km from the capital. The town was built around the Trinity Monastery of St. Sergius, and is one of Russia's most important religious and historic landmarks, a place of pilgrimage of the Russian Orthodox Church and one of the most interesting museums where you will find the icons of Andrei Rublev and other famous masters of the 15th-18th centuries. The architectural ensemble of the monastery is a unique combination of different architectural styles forming the most impressive and harmonious composition. Visit of the Old Russia Applied Art Museum and the Art Museum. Overnight in Moscow (B)

After breakfast, transfer to the train station for fast train to St. Petersburg. Upon arrival meet your guide at the train station and begin City Tour of St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg is a magically beautiful city, a world of architectural gems forged out by Peter the Great on a swamp located in the Neva delta where it flows in the Baltic Sea. The second largest city in Russia, it is the country’s historical and cultural heart. On the tour you will see the elegant buildings on the Nevsky Prospect, stately palaces on along the Neva River,  Palace Square with Winter Palace and Alexander Column, Bronze Horseman - the famousmonument to Peter the Great. You will drive by the Admiralty, Schmidt Bridge, Strelka with Stock Exchange and Rostral Columns, Alexander Nevsky Lavra, Kanal Griboyedova, Fontanka, Kazan Cathedral and Church on Spilled Blood.

During the tour you will visit Peter and Paul Fortress and St. Isaac’s Cathedral. Peter-and-Paul Fortress was built in 1704 to defend the city from naval attacks; however it never served it purpose. Instead its history is rather gruesome: thousands of laborers died while building the fortress, many political prisoners, including Peter's own son Alexi were kept and tortured in its cells, and the tombs of the Romanov family are in its Cathedral. St. Isaac’s Cathedral is one of the world’s largest Cathedrals and can accommodate about 10,000 audiences. It was designed by then unknown Auguste de Montferrand and opened in 1858. The Cathedral is beautifully decorated inside with marble of 13 colors, malachite, lapis-lazuli, paintings, mosaics and stained glass made by the most famous Russian artists.

Today you will enjoy a private tour of one of the nation's main glories - the State Hermitage Art Museum. It occupies six magnificent buildings situated along the embankment of the Neva River, right in the heart of St Petersburg. The leading role in this unique architectural ensemble is played by the Winter Palace,  a perfect home for an art collection second in size only to that of the Louver. This former imperial residence was built according to the design of Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli in 1754-62. Put together throughout two and a half centuries, the Hermitage collection consists of over 3,000,000 works of art and presents the development of the world culture and art from from the ancient Egyptians to the French Impressionists. In the afternoon you are free to continue exploring the Hermitage on your own or enjoy the beautiful St. Petersburg.

After breakfast  tour to the imperial estate of Peterhof located on the southern shores of the Finnish Gulf 14 miles (29 kilometers) away from  St. Petersburg. Peterhof is a complex of several palaces surrounded by a magnificent park with over 150 fountains and cascades. The history of Peterhof goes back to the beginning of the 18th century when Peter I ordered to build a house where he could stay while overseeing the building of the nearby Kronstadt fortress. He later decided to rebuild and expand his modest residence into a palace similar to the Versailles in Paris. Ten years alter the grand opening of Peterhof was held and nowadays it is considered one of the most beautiful royal estates in the world and is included in UNESCO world Heritage List. The focal point of Peterhof is the Grand Palace and the Grand Cascade Fountain.

All day tour to Pushkin located 25-30 km from St. Petersburg. Pushkin's palaces and parks were created under Empresses Elizabeth and Catherine the Great between 1744 and 1796. The main landmark is the Catherine Palace designed by Rastrelli and named after Elizabeth’s mother, Peter the Great's second wife. Pushkin's original name is Tsarskoye Selo (Tsar's Village). It was renamed in 1937 after Russia’s famous poet who used to study here.

After breakfast explore the famous Palace of the Yusupovs on the Moika (better known as theYusupov Palace),  a former residence of an immensely wealthy and noble Yusupov family known for their philanthropy and art collections. The luxury interior of the palace is well preserved thus making it a very interesting museum to explore. More than 40,000 works of art including works by Rembrandt, jewelry, sculptures kept in the palace. The palace is most famous, however, as the site of Grigoriy Rasputin's murder plot organized by its late prince Felix Yusupov.

Today is the last day of your private Russian tour. Aafter breakfast transfer to the airport.