The Golden Ring Russian Tour

You will love this unique tour of of Moscow, Suzdal, Vladimir and St. Petersburg which combines the urban and provencial.  Your tour will include  a Sergiev Posad Excursion, tours of Suzdal, St. Petersburg, Peterhof, Peter and Paul Fortress and Cathedral, Catherine Palace, Alexander Palace, Nevsky Monastery, the Hermitage and many many others.

The Tour includes:

 

• Transfers
• Hotels
• Private Guide Each Day
• Private Transportation many days
• All Museum Admissions
• Sleeper Train to St. Petersburg
• Air Transportation back to Moscow
• Many Other Features

 

 Prices: Click Here for Prices!

Day 1

Arrive : Moscow:

Transfer From Moscow Airport To Hotel : You will be met by your driver at Moscow Airport ( it is important to know which airport as there are 2 major international airports in Moscow). Your Driver will display a plackard with your name.

Your stay in Moscow will be at the Melody Hotel, a small hotel close to the center of Moscow. This Hotel is ideal for the western traveler.  Depending on your arrival time, you may have time for a city metro tour, Moskva River tour or other short excursion to help you orient yourself to Moscow. *

Day 2

Each day your guide will come to your hotel to meet you and begin your day of touring. Today all of your visits are in or near Red Square. As a result you will take the metro to Red Square and there will be no need for a car or driver.

The first stop today is the famous Moscow Kremlin . We refer to it as the “Moscow Kremlin” since, as you will discover during your visit to Russia, that there are many Kremlins (fortresses) in the country.  You will discover there are Kremlins in the Golden Ring, Novgorod and many other cities. The Moscow Kremlin is the seat of Government of the Russian Federation. In addition to the Presidential Palace and the Duma (legislature) there are many other sites within the walls of the Kremlin. Some of these sites  require additional tickets. After you have visited the Cathedral of the Assumption, where the czars were crowned, you will visit the Kremlin Armory Museum.  The Kremlin Armory is one of those Kremlin sites which require a separate entrance ticket. (Included in your tour). Inside you will see Czars’ possessions.  This museum houses examples of the famous Faberge eggs, gowns worn by the Empresses of Russia including the amazing coronation gown of Empress Catherine II (Great) and thousands of priceless artifacts from the estates of the czars.

After lunch, you will visit St. Basil’s Cathedral which was built by Czar Ivan IV ( also known as “The Terrible”)  in the 16^th century.  It is located in Red Square, next to the Kremlin.  You will tour the Cathedral to better appreciate both the exterior and interior of this amazing structure.

Before you finish the day you will walk around Red Square, see the outside of Lenin’s Tomb, the Gum Department store and many of the sites nearby including the Russian Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Tonight you will enjoy a special treat!! You will see the Moscow Circus!!

Day 3

Today your guide will meet you at your hotel and your tour will include visits to many of the beautiful subway stations.  The subway stations were built during the time of Stalin to prove to the west that Russia had become a modern country.  One of your stops will be to visit  the Novodevichy Convent, New Maiden Convent.   This famous convent is a picturesque oasis in the middle of a bustling city.  Peter The Great, imprisoned his sister  Sophia there in an attempt to curtail her efforts to seat their brother  Ivan on the Russian thrown. In more modern times, the Novodevichy Convent has become the final resting place of many famous Russians including  Nikita Khrushchev, Boris Yeltsen,  Stalin’s wife Nadezhda Alliluyeva-Stalin (1902–1932), Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953) composer,  Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975) composer. Following your tour of Novodecvihy,  you visit the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. This famous cathedral is a  replica of the original Cathedral which was destroyed by the Communists during Soviet times.  It has been rebuilt since the fall of the Soviet Union and it is truly spectacular.

Day 4
Today you and your guide will  continue your tour of the Moscow Metro enroute to Museum of the Great Patriotic War. Built as a memorial to the 2^nd World War, the Museum of the Great Patriotic War is a magnificent  memorial to an event which cost 25 million Soviet lives.  In addition to the awe inspiring mall, monuments and exhibits inside, there are also exhibits of equipment  outside. Whether you are interested military history or not, the scope of this tragedy and the effect it had on millions of survivors, makes this visit interesting to everyone. Next  you will visit the home of , arguably, the most famous writer of all time, Leo Tolstoy. The Tolstoy Museum is actually the Moscow home of Leo Tolstoy. It was at this home that many of his famous lines were written for books like War and Peace and Anna Karinna.

 

 

Day 5

Today you say “goodbye” to the city and will exchange the hustle and bustle of a huge metropolitan area for the serenity and beauty of provincial Russia. From now until you board the train in Vladimir bound for St. Petersburg, you will have a private car and driver.

First you will visit the village of Sergiev Posad and the Monastery of the Holy Trinity. The beautiful St. Sergius is still a working monastery and the highlight is the special tour given by one of the nuns or monks. You will notice how beautiful and serene the monastery and convent  are, even in modern times.  Lunch and dinner options, once away from Moscow, will be more like those frequented by Russian citizens. After your day in Sergiev Posad, you will begin your tour of the Golden Ring, a large area of towns and villages.  Your first stop is Suzdal, one of the most interesting and beautiful of the villages of the Golden Ring. Tonight you will stay in a charming hotel in Suzdal.

Day 6
Your guide will lead you on an interesting exploration of  the ancient cathedrals of Russia and the quaint provincial Russian shops in Suzdal and Vladmir.  Today, even more than in Sergiev Posad,  you have the opportunity to see the “Real Russia”.

After your visit to Suzdal and Vladimir you will be taken to board the overnight train to St. Petersburg. You will have a sleeping compartment for a nice rest on your way to St. Petersburg.**

Day 7

You will arrive in St. Petersburg, the “Venice of the North” at approximately 10 a.m. Waiting for you at the train station will be your St. Petersburg guide and driver. Following check in at your hotel you will begin your tour of this fantastic city. You will start with a visit to St. Isaac’s Cathedral.  It sits majestically on the bank of the Neva River. St. Isaac’s Cathedral has one of the tallest domes of all catholic cathedrals in the world. It is covered with 220 pounds of pure gold. It was commissioned by Alexander I in 1818 and took more than 30 years to build.

St. Isaac’s is followed by one of our clients’ favorite visits, the Yussupov ( U SUE POV) Palace  & Rasputin Murder Tour. You are taken to the areas of the palace where Gregory Rasputin was lured and poisoned by wealthy friends of the last Czar. This fascinating palace is in the city center. You will be fascinated by the  tour through the palace which includes the main exposition (reception rooms of the Yusoupovs, 1st and 2nd level)  plus the Theatre and the Rasputin exposition.

Day 8

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Today your St. Petersburg guide will meet you at your hotel and you will take the short walk to the Hydrofoil pier. The modern hydrofoil will take you to Peterhof .  Peterhof is considered by many to be the “Crown Jewel” of sights in all of Russia. Built by Peter the I, the palace is magnificent by itself, but combined with the gardens and the fountains, it truly is a wonder.  Today, the  Peterhof  fountain ensemble consists of over 150 fountains and four cascades. The piping system occupies 54km.  Much of  the system remains in place as planned by Peter the Great. In addition to the Palace and gardens you will visit some of the sights  many visitors do not have time to visit. The first of these is the Czars bath house ( known as a Banya) and the kitchens. You return to the city via the hydrofoil and make the sort walk to the Russian Museum. The Russian Museum is not a museum in the usual sense but an art museum which contains only the works of Russian artists. The collection in the museum will take your breath away. If you like  paintings, these are among the best in the world.

 

Day 9

This morning your guide and driver will meet you at your hotel to begin your journey to the Magnificent  Catherine Palace. The clients of RussianTourGuide.com universally consider this to be one of their favorite stops. The Catherine Palace is home of the world famous “Amber Room”.  The Amber Room has only been available for viewing in the last few years after the government spent many years of painstaking reconstruction. It is assumed that the original version of this amazing room was stolen by the Nazis during World War II.  Catherine Palace is located  in the village of Pushkin (named for the famous poet). The area is also called “Tzarskoe Selo” or “Village of the Czars”. 

The next area to visit in Pushkin will be the Alexander Palace. The Alexander Palace was built by Catherine the Great for her grandson, the future Alexander I. The palace was the last home for the doomed Romanov family, who included the famous Grand Duchess Anastasia. The museum in the Alexander Palace showcases the interiors as closely as possible to their state in August 1917 when the Romanovs lived there. The interiors appear as if the Tsar and his family have just left and might return at any moment. The tragedy of the story of the Romanovs and the intimacy of the private rooms creates a lasting impression on those who see them, creating sympathy for the Tsar and his family.   For children, this is an especially interesting tour. All western children have seen the Disney movie “Anastasia”. “Anastasia” deals with the life and times of Grand Duchess Anastasia, the daughter of the last czar Nicholas II.  Many of the private effects of Anastasia and her siblings are in the Alexander Palace.   The Alexander Palace museum has proved to be one of the most popular museums in Russia and is a must see for all foreigners and tourists.

Tonight you will be our guest at the wonderful Russian folk show, Feel Yourself Russian, held at the beautiful Nickailoevsky Palace. This program is a favorite of all of our clients.

Day 10

For some, today’s stops are the true reason to visit St. Petersburg. The Hermitage and the Winter Palace are the sites of many infamous moments in Russian history. The precocious behavior of Catherine the Great, the death of Alexander II, the Sunday Massacre, and the speeches of Lenin to the citizens after the successful Revolution, all occurred just outside, on  the balcony, or within the walls of these Russian landmarks. You will have an opportunity to see the massive art collection belonging to Catherine the Great which is now housed in the Hermitage. 

Just outside the Hermitage, in the middle of the square, you will see the monument to Alexander I honoring his defeat of the mighty Napoleon. (Did you know that following the defeat of Napoleon in Russia, Alexander I led his victorious troops all the way to Paris?)

Next you will visit the signature site on the skyline of St. Petersburg, the Church on the Spilled Blood. It was built as a memorial to Czar Alexander II on the site of his assassination.   While the exterior of the Church on Spilled Blood is impressive, wait until you go inside! You will see the preserved sight of the bomb blast that fatally injured the Czar.  Thousands of man hours in artistic restoration were expended to restore the mural covered walls.

Finally today you will enjoy a real treat, the RussianTourGuide.com Private River and Canal Tour. This tour covers the canals in St. Petersburg and the Neva River. Note: This tour is not the typical tourist canal boat tour offered on the streets of St. Petersburg. Rather it is a private tour  by a Retro powerboat built by our very own Capt.  Andrei. You will cover a route twice as large as that covered by a regular boat tourist boat tour. You will enjoy the quiet of narrow canals and grand views of St. Petersburg’s gala center from the Neva.

Day 11

Today, your visits will interest the whole family but  the first stop will be particularly exciting for the youngsters in your group. ( Please note: if you have no young people in your family we will adjust the itinerary.)  This stop is the St. Petersburg Oceanarium, home to many different marine species.

Next stop is the Nevsky Monastery. Founded by Peter the Great, in 1710, this orthodox monastery is the most important in St. Petersburg. The St. Trinity cathedral is worth a visit and so is the cemetery, where you can visit the graves of Russia’s great composers and writers, including Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Glinka and Dostoevsky. This cemetery is open until 7pm. You can buy fresh holy bread in the monastery’s bakery in the afternoon (on your left as you approach the Trinity cathedral from the entrance).

Our final stop is the Russian Farmers’ Market, so you can see where the locals shop for their meat and produce. This is an especially interesting slice of Russian life.

Day 12

Goodbye! This morning you will be met by your driver who will take you to the St. Petersburg airport for your flight back to Moscow. We will purchase your airline tickets for this segment of your trip.

Summary of the features of your tour:

• Personal guide each day.
• Car and driver (on the days specifically mentioned in the itinerary).
• All museum admissions.
• Hotel in Moscow – Hotel Melody or similar.***
• Moscow Circus.
• Hotel in Suzdal – Pushkarskaya  Sloboda Hotel or similar.***
• Hotel in St. Petersburg – Delux Hotel or similar. ***
• 2^nd Class sleeper car accommodations from Vladimir to St. Petersburg.
• Feel Yourself Russian – Russian Folk Show in St. Petersburg.
• Private boat tour.
• Transfers from, and returning to, airports and train stations.
• Coach air tickets from St. Petersburg to Moscow.
• Visa enabling documents and complete assistance in obtaining your Russian tourist visas.

*These arrival activities are not included in the price as we will not know if time permits until your exact arrival details are known.

**2nd class compartment – Train to St. Petersburg from Vladimir.

***With advance notice, these hotels will be used.  Similar hotels will be used if these hotels are unavailable.