Exclusive, tailored, small group and individual tours,
to Eastern Europe and Russia

ITINERARY : TOUR IH12: MOSCOW – Russia's Vibrant Capital
5 days arriving on Wednesdays for Day 1 of tour

Day 1: On arrival in Moscow  you will be met and transferred to your 5-star central city hotel. The evening is free for you to settle in and unpack at your leisure.

Day 2: Today at 9:30 you begin with a City Tour which includes a visit to the Novodevichy Convent and the major sights, including  Red Square, Lenin’s Mausoleum, the Kremlin, St Basil’s Cathedral, the GUM department store, Bolshoi Theatre, KGB Building, Russian “White House”  and the Moscow University. This section will conclude with a spectacular view of the city from Sparrow Hills. After lunch (your own arrangements) you have the afternoon at leisure. This evening there will be a special welcome dinner.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 3: To familiarise yourself with the daily life of the city you will join your guide for a tour of the Moscow Metro, built by Stalin to be the world’s best public transport system and an architectural and artistic masterpiece. Many stations are built to impress in a grand Soviet style with lavish marble, mosaics, sculptures and even chandeliers. After your tour you will be in a position to appreciate its world-class status.
You continue your tour with a visit to Arbat  Street , a popular pedestrian street renowned for its atmosphere, cafes and shopping. There will be time for a lunch break in one of the local cafes. This afternoon is free for you to continue shopping and exploring or to return to your hotel.
For those interested there is an optional visit to the Convent of SS Martha and Mary. The Convent was run by the Order of the Sisters of Charity founded by the Grand Duchess Ella, sister of the Empress Alexandra, and herself assassinated in 1918 just a day after the murders of the Imperial family.
This evening there is a visit to a classical performance of ballet, symphony or opera depending on the programmes that are available at the time of your visit.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

 

 

 

 

Day 4: No visit to Moscow is complete without a tour of the Kremlin and the Armoury Museum. Just to see the famous Faberge Eggs is worth the visit. Behind the Kremlin walls you will visit the gold-domed Assumption Cathedral where all the Romanov Tsars were crowned; Ivan the Great Bell Tower; and the Tsar-kolokol, the world’s largest bell. Inside the Armoury is the treasure of the Russian Tsars with collections of arms, thrones, crown jewels, carriages and coronation gowns used in the 16th to 19th centuries. It is an impression that will stay with you for quite a while. After the visit we will have time for a brief snack for lunch at a local restaurant. This afternoon we will visit the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts with its fine collection of French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings together with a superb collection of old masters.   This evening is at leisure.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

 

 

Day 5: For your final day of this tour we are going to venture a little way out to the outskirts of the city to visit two of the delightful country estates that once belonged to Russia’s wealthiest and most influential aristocratic families.
The first stop is at Arkhangelskoe just 20kms west of the city. This magnificent estate belonged to the powerful Yusupov Family and still to be seen today are the Neo-Classical main mansion, the Church of the Archangel Michael and the Yusupov mausoleum completed only in 1916 and never used as a mausoleum because of the events of the revolution and the almost complete demise of this powerful family. Today it is a museum. The sumptuous rooms of the main buildings, recently restored, house fine furniture, fabrics, antiques and an excellent art collection.
The Sheremetevs, one of Russia’s richest and powerful families owned the estate of Kuskovo, our second stop for the day.  Although much has been lost over the centuries today there is an impressive palace restored, expansive gardens, an Orangery, the grotto, the Dutch House and the Hermitage.
We will take a break to enjoy a packed lunch.
Our final stop today is at Gorky Leninskie overlooking the valley of the River Pakhra, among hills, woods and meadows. In a beautiful garden of lilac and jasmine stands the Lenin Museum. Lenin first came here in 1918 while recovering from the attempt on his life. He was later to return to spend the last two years of his life here until his death on 21 January, 1924.  One of the exhibits in the garage is Lenin’s Rolls Royce equipped for winter roads with its front suspension mounted on skis.
On return to your hotel the evening is free.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch (packed)

Day 6: After breakfast you will be transferred to the airport/rail station for your onward journey.
Meals: Breakfast

 

 

Prices: from $3,970 per person, twin share
Single: from $5,707