Mariinsky Theatre

No trip should be made to St. Petersburg without including a ballet performance.

This is true even if you have never been to a ballet.

I am just such a person. I did not think I would enjoy ballet, but felt the need to see the things that we suggest to our clients. Now I can say I have seen Swan Lake 5 times in Russia as well as many other ballet performances. Ballet  is delightful and beautiful.

If it is possible, you should see many, but, if you can see only one, then it should be at the Mariinsky Theatre.

This  most prestigious theatre features the best of ballet in the world and is the home of the most prestigious ballet company in the world, the Kirov.

the new pathways of art.  The images created on this famous stage in the past have become the legends of theatre history. The present day life of the Mariinsky is the definite sign of the renaissance of our culture. Make no mistake, the classics are still performed regularly at the Mariinsky, but you will also see modern works offered as well.

St. Petersburg Playbill

The specific list of performances at the various venues changes and is not posted very far in advance. We will be happy to give you the list of peformance options for St. Petersburg’s various theatres if you would care to drop an quick email. Of the things which causes St. Petersburg to be among my favorite cites is the amazing night life. The number and variety of cultural performances , I think, exceed those available in New York or London.

For English and Japanese speakers, ballet, opera and the folk shows are wonderful as they are language “independent”.

As with everything, there are varying degrees of excellence. So it is not surprising that there are vastly different prices for performances of the same ballet or opera at different theatres.

Among the best theatres in St. Petersburg are, but not restricted to,

1. Mariinsky theatre.
2. Alexandrindky theatre.
3. Mihailovsky theatre.
4. Hermitage theatre.
5. Palace theatre.

It is wonderful to attend an opera, ballet, symphony or folk show. Let us assist you in choosing what is right for you based on your budget, and the dates on which you are in the city.

Beware!  Many of the ticket sellers on the internet either sell fake tickets or ones at HIGHLY inflated prices or both. (there are theatres who openly publish that they will not accept balletandopera.com or operaandballet.com tickets)

St. Petersburg Partners

Hotels:

3* Delux Hotel: Located near the Hermitage, this botique hotel is cozy with free breakfast, wi-fi, television and everything tourists want for convenience and comfort. We enjoy a close relationship with this hotel group and will be happy to include accomodations in your tour package.

 

4* Nevsky Forum: Located on Nevsky Prospect this boutique 4 star hotel has all the amenities with the extra luxury desired by many visitors to Russia.  We enjoy a close relationship with this hotel group and will be happy to include accomodations in your tour package.

 

Tour Collaborators:

 

When you work with www.RussianTourGuide.com in St. Petersburg, you get the skill and experience of Anna and her organization with planning and administration from professionals in the USA. The collaboration of our organizations brings powerful resources to your tour planning and execution.

Japanese Speaking Tours of St. Petersburg and Moscow

New Tours of St. Petersburg and Moscow with Japanese Speaking guides !!!

www.RussianTourGuide.com is now offering land and shore excursions St. Petersburg and Moscow for clients who are Japanese speakers.

We are able to provide the “Set Menu” tours of St. Petersburg and Moscow which Japanese tourists have grown to love and expect.

We are presently in the process of collaborating with colleagues in Japan and Russia to make package tours of Moscow, St. Petersburg and the Golden Ring.

Our goal is to have a section of our web site set aside for Japanese speaking tours in the next few days.

In the meantime we are ready to accept requests for private tours of St. Petersburg and Moscow in the Japanese language. For now please complete the form at Custom Tour Information

Our shore excursions in St. Petersburg are also available in Japanese.

Hermitage Theatre

St. Petersburg is the home of the Russian School for Ballet. In this city, the most important ballet dancers have trained and performed. Among those are Baryshnikov and Nureyev.
If you have a free evening in St. Petersburg or Moscow, the ballet is an event you will long remember, even it you are not already a fan of ballet.
It is important to note that the revival of the Hermitage Theater makes it possible to step back in time to see a performance as did the previous crowned heads of state during the days of Imperial Russia. It is all the more remarkable that these ballets are again being performed along the historic Neva Embankment and it is as if the patron has stepped back into a time once thought to have been lost forever. Performances are practically nightly in during the tourist season.

 

Performances of the great ballets like “Swan Lake”, “Giselle” and “Sleeping Beauty” ,among others, are performed frequently.

RussianTourGuide.com obtains tickets, for all of our clients, to any of the theatres in St. Petersburg.

The Hermitage Theatre is the oldest building in the complex of theWinter Palace preserved to our time. It was built on the site of the former Winter Palace of Peter I. The construction of the theatre is functionaly independent and is connected to the basic court building by an arch. The arch is built over the channel that connects the Moika River to the river Neva. The arch is called the “Winter flute”. The theater building, which sometimes is called as fourth Winter the Palace, was constructed between 1711-1723. The theatre was built later in 1783-1785 during the reign of Catherine the Great. The architect was Jakomo Kvarengi, who built around 30 of the most beautiful buildings and structures in the city.

Note: There are many companies who sell tickets to the theatres in St. Petersburg. One of the most easily found in web searches, actually sells ticktets which are fake. Some theatres’ home pages warn potential customers not to buy from this site.
You can be assured of the quaity and price of the tickets RussianTourGuide.com buys for your theatrical performances in St. Petersburg and Moscow.

Delux Hotel – St. Petersburg

The Delux is a small 3.5 star mini hotel near St. Isaac’s Cathdral and about 5 minutes walk for the Hermitage.

Features include tv, wi-fi, free breakfast

Rooms are mostly “townhouse style” with sleeping upstair and living downstairs.

Most rooms have a sleeper sofa.

Some rooms have sauna and kitchen.

This is a great value hotel. We have a special relationship with the management which enables us to give our clients rooms at the Delux with a big discount over published rates.

St. Petersburg 1 Day Cruise Excursions

St. Petersburg 1 Day Cruise Excursions

Many cruise lines have ships which visit St. Petersburg for 1 day. For a list of ships calling on St. Petersburg this year, click here. Choose your ship, port date and click “add to cart”.

It is that simple.

St. Petersburg 1 Day shore excursion and tour details.!

Peter and Paul Fortress and Cathedral

When one observes the skyline of St. Petersburg the spire of the Peter and Paul Cathedral is predominant. The Peter and Paul Fortress was the first structure Peter the Great built in Saint Petersburg, Russia in 1703. Today it marks the founding of the city, but the fortress was used as a political prison for centuries and the cathedral holds the tombs of the Romanov Tsars. The Peter and Paul Fortress sits on the northern banks of the Neva River, and the tall golden spire of Peter and Paul Cathedral marks the location. This spire was the tallest point in Saint Petersburg until a television tower was built in the mid-1960s. Many famous persons have been incarcerated in the Prison. Feodor Dostoevsky was imprisoned here for his part in the attempt on the Czar’s life. While standing to be executed, the czar commuted his death sentence and sentenced him to many years in Siberia. This episode in his life is assumed to be the motivation for his novel Crime and Punishment. It is remarkable to see the semi precious stone tombs of the likes of Peter the Great and Catherine the Great.  All of the Romanov Czars’ remains are in the Peter and Paul Cathedral with the exception of Peter the III.

The remains of the last Czar , Nicholas II, and his murdered family are in the Cathedral in a special room. They were placed there in the last few years after the remains were discovered in the Urals near where they were murdered.

Many children will recognize the name of one of Nicholas’ children, Grand Duchess Anastasia from the Disney movie of the same name.

Church on the Spilled Blood

The Church on Spilled Blood was built in the late 19th century on the assassination site of Tsar Alexander II, who was killed by a terrorist’s bomb. The church’s fascinating, colorful appearance is the result of the numerous materials used in its construction. Much like the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, the church is a challenge to the visual senses–there is so much to see. For example, the bell tower is covered in 144 mosaic coats of arms, representing the regions and towns of Russia. The five domes are covered in jeweler’s enamel, and glazed ceramic tiles cover much of the exterior.The intricate design and detail of the church are an interesting contrast to the simplicity of most of the rest of the buildings in St. Petersburg.

For those who have been to Moscow, the resemblance to St. Basil’s Cathedral in Red Square is no coincidence. The architect, Alfred Parland, was trying to copy St. Basil’s, and most would say the two churches do look much alike, although their environs are certainly different.

Great Choral Synagogue

Next Page »