A Winter Escape to St Petersburg
Duration: 4 days
Highlights: St Petersburg, Peter and Paul Fortress, St Isaac's Cathedral, Catherine Palace, Festive Troika Ride, Pushkin, Hermitage Museum
A 4 day itinerary exploring the sights and traditions of St Petersburg in the enchanting winter months.
Itinerary
Day 1 - Arrive St Petersburg
Upon arrival at St.Petersburg airport you will be welcomed to Russia in the arrivals hall by your English-speaking guide and privately transferred to your hotel where you will
be assisted with check-in procedures.
Overnight: Hotel Kempinski Moika 22
Day 2 - St Petersburg - Peter and Paul Fortress and St Isaac's Cathedral
Enjoy a morning visit to Peter and Paul Fortress, inside which the first construction of St Petersburg was put up by Peter the Great in 1703 to provide protection from the
Swedes. The Fortress Cathedral is the burial place of most of Russia's Tsars and Tsarinas from the 18th-century onwards, including Peter the Great.
This afternoon visit St. Isaac’s Cathedral which was built between 1818 and 1858, by the French-born architect Auguste Montferrand, to be one of the most impressive
landmarks of the Russian Imperial capital.
Overnight: Hotel Kempinski Moika 22
Meal Plan: B
Day 3 - St. Petersburg: Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo (Pushkin) and festive Troika ride
Travel to Tsarskoe Selo (renamed Pushkin in 1937 to commemorate the centenary of the famous Russian poet's death). You may visit the summer palace, created for
Catherine I, expanded and redesigned for Empress Elizabeth and remodelled again for Catherine the Great. The baroque Catherine Palace, whose exterior features golden
domes and blue and white facade mouldings, suffered extensive wartime damage, but is today a masterpiece of restoration thanks to the reinstatement of the world-famous
amber room that enhances the interior that gleams and glitters with mirrors, chandeliers and gilded woodcarvings.
Enjoy lunch at Podvorie Dacha restaurant before enjoying a unique chance to participate in an Old Russian entertainment – riding on a Russian Troika. Three horses will take
you for a ride on a big carriage painted in traditionally Russian style. The fervent ring of the bells tied to a bridle will be your accompanying music.
Overnight: Hotel Kempinski Moika 22
Meal Plan: B
Day 4 - Hermitage Museum - Depart St. Petersburg
Spend your morning exploring the fascinating Hermitage Museum situated in the lavishly decorated Winter Palace. The Hermitage occupies six magnificent buildings and
houses 3 million pieces of artwork from the Stone Age to modern times. The main building and largest part of the museum is the rococo-style Winter Palace, residence of the
Czars from 1762 to 1917. The museum was commissioned by Catherine the Great and she and her successors built the Hermitage collection in large part with purchases of
the private collections of the Western European aristocracy and monarchy. By the time Nicholas II ascended the throne in 1894, he was heir to the greatest collection of art in
Europe. The collection of impressionist and Post-impressionist paintings will be covered with a local specialist guide.
After lunch you will be privately transferred to the airport.
Meal Plan: B