POST TOUR TO
ST. PETERSBURG
St. Petersburg, the most European city in Russia, celebrated its 313 anniversary in 2016. Founded in 1703 by Russian
Emperor Peter the Great as a fortress, it soon became the capital of the Russian Empire. Saint-Petersburg combines its
fascinating Russian heritage with a distinctly European outlook. Russian Tzars invited the best architects, sculptors, painters,
engineers from France, Italy, Netherlands, and Germany to make the new capital unique and most beautiful in whole Europe.
Saint-Petersburg has the reputation of the cultural capital of Russia for its outstanding intellectual, architectural, historical
and cultural heritage.
This is a city of the great Russian writers Alexander Pushkin, Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Joseph Brodsky, composers
Sergey Rachmaninoff, Sergey Prokofiev and Dmitry Shostakovich, home of world famous Mariinsky Theatre ballet
troupe. The historical center of the city and related group of monuments were included in UNESCO World Heritage List.
Saint-Petersburg is also called the City of White Nights due to the nature phenomenon of bright nights in the beginning of
summer, when the sun practically never sets down and the twilight merges with the dawn, allowing people to enjoy the
romantic walks across the picturesque city. Various festivals and celebrations happened during these sleepless White Nights.
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TOUR PROGRAM
Dates - 20.08.2016 - 22.08.2016
Price Euro 439
the price is valid for group from 10 pax
1 Day. 20.08.2016 – Saturday
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Transfer to the Railway station from the hotel
Departure to Saint Petersburg by Sapsan train
Arrival to Saint Petersburg
Transfer to the hotel Park Inn Nevskiy
Lunch at the city restaurant
Sightseeing bus tour
Visit to the Peter and Paul’s Fortress
Return to the hotel
Dinner at the hotel
2 Day. 21.08.2016 – Sunday
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Visit to Saint Isaac’s Cathedral
Excursion to Hermitage
Lunch
Boat trip at Neva
Dinner at the restaurant with folklore program
3 Day. 22.08.2016 – Monday. Departure to the State
Museum Reserve «Peterhof»:
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Excursion through the park: fountains of Peterhof
Visit to the Grand Palace
Return to Saint Petersburg
Lunch
Transfer to the Railway station
Departure to Moscow by Sapsan train
Transfer from the Railway station to the hotel
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Peter and Paul Fortress
The first structure to be built in St. Petersburg, and thus the birthplace of the city, it never served its intended
defensive function. Instead it has had a rich, hugely varied, and sometimes sinister history as a military base, a
home of government departments, the burial ground of the Russian Imperial family, the site of groundbreaking
scientific experiments, and a forbidding jail that held some of Russia's most prominent political prisoners.
Today, the Peter and Paul Fortress is for the most part under the auspices of the St. Petersburg Museum of
History, with a number of permanent and temporary exhibitions charting the various aspects of the compound's
past. While the central visitor attraction is undoubtedly the Peter and Paul Cathedral, one of St. Petersburg's most
striking buildings, there is plenty within the walls of the fortress to keep children and adults occupied for a full day
at least. The Peter and Paul Fortress is also the centre of a number of St. Petersburg urban traditions, among
them the daily firing of the cannon from the Naryshkin Bastion at noon and the "walruses" who use the beach in
front of the fortress to sunbathe and swim in ice-holes in the winter. In the summer, the beach is a popular picnic
site and is also used to host a variety of events, festivals and concerts, including the respected Petrojazz annual
festival.
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Saint Isaac’s Cathedral
St. Isaac's Cathedral was originally the city's main church and the largest cathedral in Russia. It 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. One hundred and eighty years later the gilded dome of St. Isaac's still dominates
the skyline of St. Petersburg. Although the cathedral is considerably smaller than the newly rebuilt Church of
Christ the Savior in Moscow, it boasts much more impressive fades and interiors.
The cathedral's facades are decorated with sculptures and massive granite columns (made of single pieces of
red granite), while the interior is adorned with incredibly detailed mosaic icons, paintings and columns made of
malachite and lapis lazuli. A large, brightly colored stained glass window of the "Resurrected Christ" takes pride
of place inside the main altar. The church, designed to accommodate 14,000 standing worshipers, was closed
in the early 1930s and reopened as a museum. Today, church services are held here only on major ecclesiastical
occasions.
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Hermitage excursion
The State Hermitage is one of the largest and oldest museums in the world; it was founded in 1764 by
Catherine the Great and has been open to the public since 1852. Its collections, of which only a small part
is on permanent display, comprise over three million items, including the largest collection of paintings in
the world. The collections occupy a large complex of six historic buildings along Palace Embankment,
including the Winter Palace, a former residence of Russian emperors. Apart from them, the Menshikov
Palace, Museum of Porcelain, Storage Facility at Staraya Derevnya and the eastern wing of the General
Staff Building are also part of the museum. The museum has several exhibition centers abroad.
Of six buildings of the main museum complex, five, named the Winter Palace, Small Hermitage, Old
Hermitage, New Hermitage and Hermitage Theatre, are open to the public. The entrance ticket for foreign
tourists costs more than the fee paid by citizens of Russia and Belarus. However, entrance is free of charge
the first Thursday of every month for all visitors and free daily for students and children. The museum is
closed on Mondays. The entrance for individual visitors is located in the Winter Palace, accessible from
the Courtyard.
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State Museum Reserve
«Peterhof»
The Peterhof Museum Complex is one of the most popular museums not only in Russia, but in the whole
world. Even a few hours here are enough to feel the spirit of history, which still lives on and breathes in
this magnificent place.
As a former residence of the Russian monarchs, Peterhof brings together the finest achievements in
national and international culture. This unique complex was created by outstanding architects, decorators
and sculptors, whose spectacular works of art slot perfectly into the natural beauty of the coastal
landscape.
Peter the Great planned Peterhof as the residence of a sea king. This was to be his incarnation of Russia
as a great European power, with a foothold on the shores of the world's oceans, capable of competing
with the finest Western courts — above all, with Versailles.
The Peterhof Museum Complex is rightfully regarded as the "capital of fountains." Included in the state
register of most valuable cultural objects of the Russian Federation, Peterhof now bears the proud title of
one of the «Seven Wonders of Russia».
The Gгаnd Palace lies at the very heart of Peterhof — the former summer -residence of the Russian
monarchs. Facing the Gulf of Finland, the palace - rises above the Grand Cascade and the Lower Park,
stretching along the upper terrace for almost three hundred yards. The original idea for the location and
general appearance of the "Upper Chambers" — as the Grand Palace was first known — belonged to
Peter the Great.
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