Moscow Nugget and Golden Ring

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.

Morning city tour of Moscow is a general overview of the city and its main areas within the boundaries of the Garden Ring and the Boulevard Ring: Red Square, Kremlin, Kitay Gorod, Tverskaya, Arbat and Zamoskvorechje. The overview will include famous landmarks: Red Square and Kremlin, St. Basil's Church, Cathedral of Christ the Savior, Novodevichiy Convent, Luzhniki, the White House, Moskva River and others. You will drive to the Sparrow Hills, 6 km south-west of the Kremlin, topped by the Moscow University skyscraper, for the best panoramic view of the city. During the tour you 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.

In the afternoon you will get acquainted with the Red Square and Kremlin areas.  This is where you will see the famous St. Basil's Cathedral, Mausoleum, Historical Museum and GUM store. Inside Kremlin the main landmarks are three Cathedrals - Assumption, Annunciation and Archangel - dated back to the 15-16th centuries, Ivan the Great Bell Tower, Tsar Bell, Tsar Cannon, Hall of Facets and Terem Place. Your tour will include a visit to the Armory - a 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. Return to Moscow in the evening.