Day 1 – To St Petersburg: Fly from London
Heathrow to St Petersburg with British
Airways. Transfer to the Sokos Vasilievsky
hotel for 5 nights. Welcome dinner. (D)
Day 2 – St Petersburg: Morning city tour,
starting at Peter and Paul’s Fortress, which
is the oldest building in St Petersburg and
contains the tombs of the tsars and tsarinas
from Peter the Great onwards. Continue to the
ochre-painted baroque Menshikov Palace and
the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood.
Built on the spot where Tsar Alexander II was
assassinated in 1881, the church is noted for
its riot of colour, with more than 20 types of
mineral used in its decoration. (B)
Day 3 – Pavlovsk & Pushkin: Drive to the
Palace at Pavlovsk, designed by Charles
Cameron and subsequently redesigned by
several famous architects, including Quarenghi
and Rossi. Continue to Pushkin on the
outskirts of the city to visit Catherine’s Palace
(Tsarskoe Selo), including the Amber Room.
Visit Alexander’s Palace, the favourite home
of the last tsar, Nicholas II. It contains an
exhibition on the lives of the royal family. (B)
Day 4 – St Petersburg: Full-day visit to the
Hermitage, with its opulent staterooms and
unrivalled collection of European masterpieces
and impressionist paintings. During the day,
special visits to the Treasure Gallery (Gold
room) and the Hermitage reserve collection
have been arranged. (B)
Day 5 – St Petersburg: This morning, visit
Yusupov Palace, which sits on a quiet stretch
of the Moika river and was the scene of
Rasputin’s murder. At the palace, a special visit
to the private apartments of Zinaida and Felix
has been arranged (subject to confirmation).
This afternoon, visit one of Rossi’s finest neoclassical
creations, the Mikhaylovskiy Palace,
which houses the State Russian Museum,
which in turn contains a magnificent collection
of Russian art. (B, D)
Day 6 – To London: Morning at leisure or optional excursion to Peterhof, one of the
oldest royal palaces with magnificent cascades
and fountains. Transfer to the airport for a
return flight to London Heathrow with British
Airways. (B)
Itinerary: Please note that due to the fluid
nature of opening and closing times of the
palaces and museums in St Petersburg, the
specified day for each excursion may need to
be altered closer to the departure date.
Extensions: If you wish to extend your stay
in St Petersburg and perhaps revisit the
Hermitage or spend a full day taking in the
Grand Palace and Park at Peterhof, please
contact us for details.
Meal Basis: (B) = Breakfast, (L) = Lunch, (D) = Dinner, (N) = No Meals
