DAY 1 : ST.PETERSBURG
Meeting with our representative, transfer to the hotel
21 : 00 Dinner in the hotel
DAY 2: ST.PETERSBURG: FROM PETER THE GREAT TO ELIZABETH
07:30 Breakfast
9:30 Departure for the sightseeing tour “The Age of Peter the Great”, during which we will visit the three isles in the Neva River delta wherefrom St. Petersburg started its existence.
The Vasilevsky Isle - the largest of all the isles (there are 42 of them on the whole) is situated between the Grand Neva, the Small Neva and the sea. Most of the constructions of the beginning of the 18th century are situated on this isle which,
according to the plans of the architect Leblond invited by Peter the Great, was to become the center of St. Petersburg, the capital of Russia since 1712. A network of canals was to create here the “new Amsterdam”
The Hares’ Isle: Excursion to St. Peter and Paul Fortress founded in 1703 on the spot chosen by Peter the Great. Its foundation marked the city’s birthday. We enter it by St. Peter’s gate built by the architect Trezzini. Further down, the Artillery workshop (19th century), the building of “The Great-grandfather of the Russian Navy” constructed specially to house the small boat used by Peter the Great as a boy to learn to sail, the Mint, a remarkable bronze statue of Peter the Great, Shemyakin’s work sculptured in the 1990s.
Excursion to St. Peter and Paul Cathedral built in 1733 by Trezzini. It is dominated by its gilded spire 122.5 m high. It is home for a very beautiful icon stand of carved and gilded wood as well as for the tombs of almost all the Romanoff, from Peter the Great to Nicholas 2. The Chapel built in the beginning of the 20th century next to the Church, in July 1992 became home for the sepulcher of the Grand Prince Vladimir Romanoff, and in 1998 to that of the members of the royal family assassinated after the revolution.
The City Isle is often called Petrograd side, as it is here that the first colonies of craftsmen and merchants appeared in the beginning of the 18th century. It is in this district that we can see the house of Peter the Great built during three days next to the construction site of the Peter and Paul Fortress for Peter the Great who personally supervised the works. At present it is inside a pavilion of brick protecting it.
12:30 Lunch at leisure
14 : 00 A walking tour next to the Hermitage: Millionnaya Street known in the times of Peter the Great as the “German Village”.
Peter the Great invited specialists from all over the world and allowed them to settle down in villages-districts. However, as early as in 1740, this street was renamed the “millionaires’ street”, “Millionnaya” because of the numerous palaces and mansions belonging to noble families. It is here that Balzac stayed when he visited St. Petersburg.
The Winter Canal is most well-known due to its bridge strangely resembling the Sighs Bridge in Venice, but also due to the monolithic statues of the 10 Atlantes sculptured in 1840 and decorating the entrance to the Hermitage.
Continuation of the walking tour: the Marble Palace built in 1768-1785 by the architect Rinaldi for a favourite of Catherine 2, count Orloff, is regarded as one of the masterpieces of “classical” style.
15:00 Discovery of the Summer Gardens.
Beyond its splendid grill of black and gilded iron, the garden whose seventy-nine statues had all been chosen by Peter the Great personally, and buried in the ground to save them from bombing during the war, presents the splendour of a regular park stretching between the Neva in the North, the Swans Canal in the West, the Fontanka in the East and the Moyka in the South. The Garden is divided into rectangular patches with trees, and formerly, there used to be bushes and flowers there too. The statues of the Summer Gardens, most of them purchased in Italy, reflect the intellectual trends of the beginning of the 18th century. Greek mythology reigns there, the best examples being Amour and Psyche and the Venus of Taurida discovered in Rome during archaeological research.
17:30 Excursion to the church of St. Nicholas the Mariner (interior).
Constructed in the district inhabited formerly by mariners, the church was consequently dedicated to St. Nicholas, their protector. Blue, white and golden, St. Nicholas the Mariner resembles in many aspects the Smolny church built by Rastrelli whose pupil was Chevakinsky, the author of the design of this church. A remarkable example of religious Baroque style in St. Petersburg, this church has always been functioning, even during the years of the Soviet power. The church is built in accordance with classical plan in the form of a Greek cross, and is crowned with a central dome with four small square towers at the corners, cut flat on top and crowned with domes. The building consists of two floors. The decoration of the second floor is luxurious thanks to the magnanimity of Catherine II who gave to the church ten icons covered with gold in memory of the ten victories of the Navy. The icon-stand of carved wood made between 1755 and 1760, shines with gold.
19:30 Return to the hotel and dinner
DAY 3: ST. PETERSBURG: FROM CATHERINE THE GREAT to ALEXANDER
08:00 Breakfast
09:30 Continuation of the sightseeing tour: the Nevsky Avenue throughout centuries.
The buildings on both sides of the Nevsky Avenue bespeak of the history of this main street of the city, cut through in the forest during the 1710s. This road, first paved with wooden logs, saw houses and palaces appear one by one on its sides, concentrating in this way between the Palace Square and the Fontanka (formerly the borderline of the city) its best architectural masterpieces. In the middle of the 18th century, it got the name of the Nevsky Avenue, after the monastery where it was leading. This avenue 4,5 km long, as Theophile Gautier justly described it, “is at the same time a shopping street and the most beautiful street of St. Petersburg, a blending of shops, palaces and churches - all of them unique”.
A walking tour from the Anichkov Palace to the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan. From the Anichkov Bridge across the Fontanka River with its four equestrian statues (1849-1850, Klodt), opens a view on the surprisingly crimson Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace (1847-1848, A.Stakenschneider).
Beyond the Anichkov Palace (1751, built by Rastrelli to Zemtsov’s design), the Ostrovsky Square is home for the splendid monument to Catherine II surrounded by her numerous “counselors”.
A little backward from the avenue, the Pushkin Drama theatre (1832, Rossi) screens the Rossi Street, of which the proportions are said to be perfect. After that, we return to the Nevsky Avenue with the solid building with columns of the Saltykov-Shedrin library (1796-1801, Sokolov), next to which we can see the merchants’ galleries of Gostiny Dvor (1762-1785, Vallin de la Mothe).
A little further down, on the right, a small side street leads to the Fine Arts Square with Mikhailovsky Palace (1819-1825, Rossi) built in classical style. Continuation towards Griboyedov canal wherefrom opens a breath-taking view of the church of Our Savior built in neo-Russian style. It was built in 1907 by Alfred Parland and strangely resembles St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow. Chiseled domes, abundance of mosaics and the asymmetry of the church surprise in this city full of rounded Baroque silhouettes and severe classic lines. Alfred Parland designed it after having won the competition opened by Alexander 3 who wanted the church to be built in a “purely Russian style of the 17th century”.
Return to the Nevsky Avenue where we can see the cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan (1801-1811, Voronikhin). At the end of the avenue you can see the Admiralty and its gilded spire crowned with a gilded caravel which was formerly clearly seen from anywhere in the downtown. The embankments of the Moyka, one of the 75 small rivers and canals crossing the city of St. Petersburg, and the Stroganov Palace (1753, Rastrelli).
Continuation of the sightseeing tour with St. Isaac’s Square where St. Isaac’s Cathedral is located, the most magnificent church of St. Petersburg constructed by the French architect Montferrand in 1858.
12:30 EXCURSION TO ST. ISAAC’S CATHEDRAL
13:30 Lunch at leisure in the city center
14:30 OPTIONAL: Excursion to the Russian Museum.
The central building of the Russian museum (the former Mikhailovsky Palace) with its Corinthian facade, was constructed for Grand Prince Michael, a brother of Alexander 1, by Carlo Rossi, between 1819 and 1825. It is a splendid building. The arcade of the ground floor with its wide staircase decorated with lions supports the Corinthian portico of eight columns crowned with a fronton decorated with bath-relieves. In 1895, the Mikhailovsky Palace was acquired by the state with the purpose of arranging a museum of Russian art there. Nowadays, it possesses one of the most important collections of Russian and Soviet art, plastic, decorative and applied. It represents a complete panorama of all schools of Russian art from the 12th to the 17th century.
18:00 Return to the hotel and dinner
DAY 4: ST. PETERSBURG: FROM CATHERINE THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS II
09:00 Breakfast
10:00 Morning devoted to an excursion to the Hermitage museum.
The Hermitage museum is doubtlessly one of the most beautiful museums of Europe due to the splendour of its buildings and to its richest collections; its complete visit would require a month’s stay, but its collection of Rembrandt, Matisse, Rubens and Picasso will be enough to fill half a day tour.
Visit of the gala rooms of the Winter Palace, the galleries of Italian paintings (Leonardo da Vinci, Rafael, Michelangelo, Caravaggio), the gallery of Spanish paintings (Murillo, Velasquez, Zurbaran etc), the gallery of the French art from the 13th to the 18th century (Limoge enamels, Simon Voue’s paintings, Eustache Lesueur, Nicolas Poussin etc).
Optional: Visit of the collection “Scythian Treasures” : 15 USD/pax
13:00 Lunch at leisure in the city center
14:30 OPTIONAL: Excursion to the Yusupoff Palace (interior), a very interesting and rarely suggested visit.
The Yusupoff Palace situated on the banks of the quiet Moika River is interesting not only from the point of view of its interior decoration, but also due to its history. Beyond its facade there are magnificent rooms, staircases, enfilades, a small private theatre surprising with its beauty and elegance. Gold, chiseled wood, marbles, precious kinds of woods, silk draperies and the splendor of its chandeliers – everything caresses the eye. At the end of the last century, the palace was inherited by Zinaida Yusupoff who gave it later to her son Felix and his wife Irina Romanoff, a niece of Nicholas 2. It is in 1916 that Rasputin was assassinated in the basement of the palace.
19:00 Dinner in the hotel
DAY 5: THE ENVIRONS OF ST.PETERSBURG
08:00 Breakfast
09:00 Continuation of the tour to the topic: “From Peter 1 to Elizabeth” (Russian Renaissance).
Departure for Petrodvorets (Peterhof), a real masterpiece of the art of decorating royal residences, the most brilliant sample of the culture of the age of Peter. Located 29 km west from St. Petersburg, called Versailles on the Sea, this former royal residence on the shores of the Gulf of Finland, represents a succession of descending parks on almost 1000 hectares, surrounding numerous palaces, one of which is the “Grand Palace”
Excursion to the Lower Garden of Petrodvorets.
Geometric lawns are decorated with sculptures and numerous fountains a royal park could not do without. The fountains of Petrodvorets, numerous and varied, constitute the main decoration of the park. Whereas elsewhere, for example, in Versailles, there are only the fountains of classical type, those of Peterhof, extravagant and sometimes luxurious, give us a good idea of the atmosphere of a park of the beginning of the 18th century. The Grand Cascade with its Samson tearing the lion’s jaws apart is the most amazing one. At the ends of the alleys appear pleasure houses meant for the entertainment of the court and sovereigns.
12:00 Excursion to the Grand Palace : the Gala Staircase, the Chesma Hall, the Throne Room, the White Dining Room, Chinese studies, the Portrait hall ...
The palace was founded in 1714 after Shluter’s design and finished by Leblond. Later, Michetti added long galleries with pavilions at the ends. From 1747 to 1753, Rastrelli reconstructed and enlarged the palace. Inside, Rastrelli added some exquisite rococo elements.
13:30 OPTIONAL: Lunch in a restaurant in the park of Petrodvorets
18:30 Return to the hotel
Dinner at leisure
DAY 6: ST.PETERSBURG: THE ENVIRONS OF ST. PETERSBURG
08:00 Breakfast
09:00 Departure for the excursion to the Grand Palace of Catherine in Tsarskoye Selo (the tsars’ village), formerly Pushkin (24 km south of St. Petersburg).
The first mansion was erected here in 1717-1723 for Catherine, the wife of Peter the Great. Under the empress Elizabeth, a magnificent ensemble of a summer royal residence was formed here, astonishing with the splendor of its decoration. It is doubtlessly one of the highest achievements of Russian Baroque style and it is still considered a masterpiece of the 18th century architecture. The construction of the Grand Palace underwent several stages. In 1743-1751 M.G.Zemtsov, A.Kvasov and S.Chevakinsky construct a very long building (325 m) consisting of horizontal volumes and linked by low galleries. In 1752-1756 Rastrelli combines all elements in a unique ensemble. The 5-domed church reinforces the elegance of the ensemble. Everything is magnificent and splendid here: the facade, the walls and columns, the huge Ballroom. The town got the name of Pushkin, a poet who has always been regarded as the most famous of Russia, and who lived here as a youth in the Lyceum for boys from noble families.
11:00 A walk in the park.
Too often, the excursion to Tsarskoye Selo means only to a visit of the Catherine Palace, whereas the park and numerous pavilions are also remarkable. Below the facade of the palace stretches the Old Garden where one can first of all see the pavilions of the lower and the higher baths, both of them constructed by the architect Netelov at the end of the 1770-s. At the end of the Old Garden there is the Hermitage pavilion, a work of Rastrelli where receptions were held in summer, and not far from it, the Hermitage kitchen built in a surprisingly similar style.
At the approaches to the Palace, the Old Garden is marked with the two buildings, which are the most interesting in Tsarskoye Selo - the Agate Pavilion and the “Cameron” gallery, both of them constructed after 1780. A huge pond on whose banks a whole series of “amusements” was built (pleasure houses in extravagant architectural styles) occupies the whole of the lower part of the Catherine Park.
11:30 OPTIONAL:excursion to Pavlovsk (4 km).
This is maybe the most refined summer palace in the environs of St. Petersburg due to its decoration, the quality and quantity of the works of art collected there. Located next to Tsarskoye Selo, Pavlovsk bears the name of the heir to the throne, Pavel Petrovich (the future emperor Paul 1st) who became owner of the estate in 1777. Ch. Cameron was the main author of this ensemble charming with its picturesque beauty and penetrating lyricism. The slopes formed by the banks of the sinewy river Slavyanka provide excellent opportunities for laying out a landscape park conceived as an estate of authentically natural character.
12:00 Excursion to the palace of Paul 1st.
The Palace was designed by Cameron in 1782-1786 following the model of a Palladian villa. The central volume, very compact, with small Corinthian colonnades, is crowned with a flattened dome. Severe grace, elegance and refinement constitute the most characteristic features of Cameron’s style. Gala rooms: the Italian Room with its covered cupola, the Greek Room with its marvelous colonnade of Corinthian order, the War Room, the Boudoir, the Grand Dining-room (Throne-room).
13:00 Lunch in the restaurant “Pillar Hall” located in one of the wings of the palace
18:00 Return to the hotel
IN THE EVENING:
FOLKLORE DINNER:
GYPSY:
Optional: Gypsy dinner in the restaurant DEMIDOFF
Located on the Fontanka embankment, this restaurant is beautifully decorated (both of its rooms) in traditional Russian style.
Entertainment by a gypsy group – a group of musicians, singers and dancers whose songs, music and dances will take you away to the atmosphere of the famous film “Gypsies go up into the skies”.
Vivid and joyful music, sweet melodies to nostalgic airs of violins, gypsy dancers with reserved looks wearing brightly coloured dresses will evoke your emotions and bring the feeling of merriment.
GEORGIAN:
Optional: Georgian dinner in “PIROSMANI” restaurant
This Georgian restaurant whose decoration recreates the atmosphere of old Tbilisi (two tables submerge their legs in water). Excellent Georgian cuisine, specialty: aubergines with nuts, shashlyk of grilled meats.
UKRAINIAN:
Optional: Folklore dinner in the Ukrainian restaurant “SHINOK”
Within the decoration of a peasant Ukrainian house you will have an opportunity to taste the famous “vareniki” or the “borsch”, to appreciate the “chicken Kiev” with a shot of vodka. Very good Ukrainian cuisine.
JEWISH:
Optional: Folklore dinner in the Jewish restaurant “7/40”
Within the atmosphere of this private restaurant decorated as a Jewish house you will be able to taste the traditional dishes – “Gefilte fish” or “tsimus”, appreciate the “strudel”, all accompanied with vodka.
DINNERS WITH SHOWS
Optional: Dinner with a show in the restaurant “ST. PETERSBURG”
This restaurant is located in one of the most picturesque places of St. Petersburg, on the Griboyedov canal, next to the church of Our Savior on Blood. Within a big room divided into separate cabinets decorated with black wood, you will appreciate Russian cuisine, the main specialty being the Beef Stroganoff. Variety show with “Peter 1” and “Catherine the Great” after 08 p.m.
DAY 7: ST. PETERSBURG
FRIDAY
DAY AT LEISURE ON HALF-BOARD BASIS (breakfast + dinner)
Optional:
• Excursion for a whole day to Novgorod with a typical lunch on the spot:
07.30 Breakfast
08.30 Departure for Novgorod (190 km from St. Petersburg, 4 hours drive)
12:30 Arrival to Novgorod. Transfer to “Detinets” restaurant located within the Kremlin, and lunch
13:30 Excursion to the Kremlin of Novgorod
Founded in 1044, the Kremlin of Novgorod (the Detinets) housed the St. Sophia Cathedral, the first stone cathedral in Russia, built a whole century before Our Lady of Paris, in 1045. It is in this square, in front of this cathedral, that the “Veche” (the Parliament of Novgorod) gathered to elect the archbishop, declare wars or establish taxes. Visit of the St. Sophia Cathedral, a world-famous monument of the architecture of Novgorod. The legend has it that the dove decorating the dome of the cathedral is the symbol of Novgorod. The day when the dove flies away, the city will be destroyed. It used to be a real live dove that became petrified at the sight of the bloody massacre initiated by Ivan the Terrible in 1570.
15:30 Departure for the sightseeing tour. For the first time, Novgorod was mentioned in the chronicles in 859.
It is that year that is considered the date of the town’s foundation. We can say that in some way the history of Russia started here. It is here that Vikings founded their first settlements on the famous way “from the Vikings to the Greek”: from Scandinavian countries to Byzantium. It was the embryo of Russian state. Later, in the 12th century, this town, one of the largest of the time, became called “Our Lord Novgorod the Great”. Until 1478, when Novgorod became part of the State of Moscow and hence, lost its independence, the town was a republic on its own, governed by a council of respectable citizens, the embryo of the parliament. Novgorod was also an important centre of Christian religion.
The church of Our Savior on Ilino (14th century) with its famous frescoes painted by the Byzantine master Theophane the Greek, St. Nicholas Cathedral (1136): this is all that has remained of the ensemble of the palace of the princes of Novgorod, that is why the place has been called Yaroslav’s Courtyard.
17:00 End of the tour and return to St. Petersburg
21:00 Arrival to the hotel and dinner
DAY 8: ST. PETERSBURG (Airport)
08:30 Breakfast
Time at leisure before departure. Transfer to the airport and departure
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