Russia
Moscow is the political and economic centre of Russia and the former Soviet Union, and contains many fascinating historical attractions, art galleries and museums. St Petersburg is a city of stunning architecture reminiscent of opulent Tsarist Russia, and it has long been considered the cultural centre of Russia.

RUSSIAN HISTORY & POLITICS

This tour provides a fascinating chronological introduction to the History and Politics of Moscow and St Petersburg.

Tour Highlights Visit of the Kremlin and Armoury • Cathedrals of Sergiev Posad • Yuri Gagarin Training Centre • Peter and Paul Fortress • The Hermitage

DAY 1 DEPARTURE FROM LONDON / ARRIVE MOSCOW
Fly from London to Moscow. Moscow dates from 1147 and is now the political, economic and cultural center of Russia. On arrival your guide will take you to your transportation and head straight to the hotel.

DAY 2 HISTORY OF MOSCOW
Today we will be traveling on the world's most attractive underground railway system the stations resemble miniature palaces, your City Tour will introduce you to the Bolshoi Theater and St. Basil's Cathedral with its striking colorful domes. The day will continue in the vast Red Square we shall get the chance to view the Lenin Mausoleum. The tour will include the Kremlin and see an array of coloured historic buildings including magnificent gold and silver domed cathedrals. You can visit the famous GUM Department Store before a walk along Arbat Street and Kalinin Prospekt will enable you to contrast old and new Moscow in close juxtaposition. In the evening you can make an optional Circus visit.

DAY 3 ORTHODOX RUSSIA
In the morning we will have a city tour of Moscow, we shall be introduced to the Red Square, the Kremlin, the Bolshoi Theater and St. Basil's Cathedral with its striking colorful domes. We will view a sweeping panorama of Moscow from the Lenin Hills and admire the artists at the Novodevichy Convent before continuing to the Lenin Museum.

DAY 4 MOSCOW OF THE 20TH CENTURY - OVERNIGHT TRAIN - ST. PETERSBURG
In the morning you will make a school visit that will enable you to compare our contrasting education systems. This is subject to the Russian schools schedules. Alternatively you will visit Moscow University. After seeing the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, your final visit in Moscow is to the Tretyakov Gallery, which has the finest collection of traditional Russian paintings in the world. Pavel Tretyakov assembled the core of the museum’s collection in the middle of the 19th century. In 1892 Tretyakov donated his extensive collection to the city and during your visit today your guide will show you the masterpieces of their period and genre. After dinner, you will journey to St. Petersburg on the overnight train in comfortable couchettes.

DAY 5 CREATION & FIRST DECADES OF ST. PETERSBURG
Peter the Great founded St. Petersburg in 1703. There are few cities that can match the grace and sheer poetry of St. Petersburg's cityscape. On our introductory City Tour we will see the Palace Square and Winter Palace, the Admiralty, St. Isaac's Cathedral, the famous statue of Peter the Great and the permanently moored Aurora cruiser, which fired the shot that signaled the start of the 1917 Revolution. We will continue to the Peter and Paul Fortress containing the Baroque decorated cathedral, for years the burial place of the Russian Czars.

DAY 6 IMPERIAL ST. PETERSBURG
Our day will begin at the Winter Palace which houses the Hermitage, possibly the finest collection of art treasures in the world. Among the dazzling exhibits are works by Rembrandt, Leonardo da Vinci and one of the largest displays of Impressionist paintings outside France. We will also visit the Piskaryovskoye Cemetery, an impressive memorial to the 1941-43 siege of Leningrad during World War Two. The Church on Spilled Blood is one of the most famous buildings in St Petersburg and functions more as a museum than a church with services just on certain Orthodox holy days. This evening you will go to a Folk show at the Nikolaevsky Palace to see Russian folkloric dances and music.

DAY 7 REVOLUTIONARY RUSSIA & SOVIET RUSSIA
Today you will visit the suburb Tsarskoe Selo, Pushkin’s town that was evocative of the rosy days and the grey days of the Romanovs. The summer palaces were created for Empress Elizabeth and Catherine the Great and you will visit the Baroque Catherine Palace. This afternoon you will take the opportunity for some shopping on your final day in Russia when you walk along the Nevsky Prospekt. This is St. Petersburg's oldest and most beautiful street where shops and cafes intermingle with splendid historic buildings.

DAY 8 FLIGHT TO LONDON
Your enjoyable and rewarding tour will come to an end as your guide accompanies you to the airport for the return flight to London.

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