ITINERARY

Departure from Helsinki to St. Petersburg in the morning by Finnish train Sibelius. Arrival in St. Petersburg in the early afternoon. Lunch in local downtown restaurant. Panoramic city tour featuring the major highlights such as the Admiralty, Palace Square, Smolny Convent.

Overnight at the hotel of your choice.

Breakfast at hotel. Comprehensive tour of the Hermitage Museum featuring Old Masters, State Rooms of the Winter Palace and Impressionists´ Exhibition. Be ready for a long walk inside! Lunch in local downtown restaurant. Visit to Peter-and-Paul Fortress, the historical nucleus of the city on the Neva river and one of the most interesting and beautiful architectural landmarks of St. Petersburg.

Overnight at the hotel of your choice.

 St. Petersburg - Helsinki

Breakfast at hotel. Excursion to Peterhof – a magnificent ensemble on the Gulf of Finland, built in the 18^th century as the summer residence of Russian tsars. Enjoy the interiors of the Grand Summer Palace which dominates the beautiful park with exquisite fountains. Lunch in traditional Russian style at local restaurant. Transfer to the railway station for departure on the Sibelius train late afternoon. Arrival in Helsinki in the evening. End of tour.

For itineraries on Extension to Moscow or the Baltics, please see below.

Day 3

 

St. Petersburg - Moscow

Same program as above but after lunch transfer to downtown. Free time until late evening transfer from hotel to the railway station. Departure from St. Petersburg for Moscow by overnight train. (1st class 2 person sleeping compartment -no escort).

Arrival in Moscow in the morning, transfer to hotel

Breakfast at hotel. City sightseeing tour featuring the highlights of Moscow.

The heart of the city is the Kremlin which stands on the crest of a hill above the Moskva River. It is flanked by the Red Square, which is crowned by the unique and gorgeous St. Basil’s Cathedral. During the city tour we will see many ancient churches and cathedrals, some of them dating as far back as the 15^th century, many of them having been restored or even built anew lately; beautiful theatres and palace museums; top modern business complexes and hotels; build­ings of late Soviet architec­ture such as the Moscow State University and the Central Stadium in Luzhniki which hosted the 1980 Olympic Games. The Vorobyovy Hills – the highest place in Moscow – provide a beautiful view of the city. Moscow with its some 10 million inhabitants is vast and the traffic is at times chaotic. The distances between various points of interest are long – the local guide will give exact information what actually will be seen during the tour.

Lunch in a typical Russian restaurant downtown. In the afternoon a visit to the newly renovated Treatyakov Art Gallery with nearly 50 000 works of art – the largest collection of Russian masters from the 18^th and 19^th centuries.

Overnight at hotel.

Moscow - Helsinki

Breakfast at hotel. Visit to the Kremlin area and into one its ancient cathedrals. Kremlin is the former residence of Russian tsars, an architectural ensemble of unique beauty which took shape between the 15^th and 20^th centuries. Cathedral Square – the centre of the Kremlin with the Assumption Cathe­dral, the main church of Russia; the Annunciation Cathedral – the private church of Russian tsars and the Cathedral of Archangel – the burial place of the tsars; the famous Tsar Cannon and the Tsar Bell.

Lunch in a downtown restaurant. Visit to the enormous white-stone Church of Christ Our Saviour. This five-cupola building was conceived in its time as a monument to the defeat of Napoleon's invasion in 1812. The church was built in 1839–1880 and more than 400 kg of gold was used for gilding its cupolas.

Transfer to the railway station. Departure by overnight train Tolstoy at 22.50 hrs. (1st class 2 person sleeping compartment -no escort).

Arrive Helsinki at 11.20am.

End of service. 

Day 3

Same program as above but after lunch transfer to downtown. Free time until late evening transfer from hotel to the railway station. Departure from St. Petersburg for Riga by overnight train. (1st class 2 person sleeping compartment -no escort).

Day 4

Arrival in Riga in the morning, transfer to hotel. Guided walking tour in the charming Old Town to see the highlights: Riga Castle, Dome Cathedral,  St. Peter's Church, the Large and the Small Guild House, the Powder Tower and the Freedom Monument. Be ready for a long walk! Lunch in a typical Latvian restaurant downtown. Afternoon free.

Overnight at hotel.

Day 5

Riga - Tallinn

Breakfast at hotel. Transfer to bus station. At noon departure by bus to Tallinn. Arrival in Tallinn in the afternoon. Transfer to hotel.

Dinner and overnight at hotel

Day 6

Breakfast at hotel. Guided walking tour in the Old Town which with its cobblestone streets, city walls and towers is a living museum of medieval architecture. Lunch in a traditional Estonian restaurant. Afternoon free. Transfer to the harbour. Departure for Helsinki in the evening by express ferry.

End of tour.