DAYS 1 & 2, Dec. 19 & Dec. 20
Sunday & Monday
Depart for Moscow, Russia
Leave your home city for Moscow. On Monday afternoon you will be greeted at the airport and transferred to your luxury hotel. One of the world's largest cities, 20th-century Moscow has leapt forward to become the country's political, scientific, industrial and cultural focus. You'll have the remainder of the day to rest and tonight enjoy cocktails and a festive dinner party, including the finest in Russian cuisine and Georgian wine. Your Travcoa
Travel Director will tell you and your fellow travelers about the adventures ahead.
Metropol Hotel
DAY 3, Dec. 21
Tuesday
Moscow
Moscow became the capital of Russia in the 15th-century. Located on the Russian Plateau and divided by the Moscow River, Moscow spreads over 350 square miles. Your sightseeing this morning will include Moscow's boulevards and the historical and cultural center with its museums, theatres and memorials. Start at Red Square and enjoy the unique
architecture of the fourth largest square in the world, featuring the Cathedrals of St. Basil and Our Lady of Kazan, the largest History Museum in Russia, the shopping arcades of GUM, the mausoleum of Lenin and the Kremlin necropolis.
Within the wall at Red Square are buried many famous Russians and, at its foot, is a common grave of the revolutionaries killed here in 1917. The Lenin Mausoleum, in the center of Red Square, contains the body of Lenin preserved in a crystal crypt. Walk through the interior of St. Basil's Cathedral. View the grounds of New Maiden Convent, a fortress
and monastic ensemble of the 16th-century, with a world-famous cemetery. Drive through the Moscow State University campus and take in the view from a panorama platform on Vorobiovy (Sparrow) Hills, the highest spot in Moscow. See Luzhniki - the largest sports complex in Europe - and the White House of the Russian Federation, a landmark of post-reformed Russia. After lunch, visit the Tretaykov Art Gallery, named after the Tretaykov
brothers, who donated their unique collection to the city of Moscow. State Tretyakov Gallery is the national museum of Russian fine arts of 10th- to 20th-centuries. This special gallery offers an unforgettable exhibit of icons as well as Russian masterpieces. This evening you'll attend a performance at the Bolshoi ("Great") Theatre.
Metropol Hotel
DAY 4, Dec. 22
Wednesday
Moscow
This morning tour the Kremlin. The striking contours of the ancient Kremlin, or "fortress," have come to be a veritable symbol of Soviet Moscow. As Russia's seat of power since the Middle Ages, the most ancient relics of Russian history and culture have been preserved within its walls. The Kremlin is the former residence of Russian czars, and it took
shape between the 15th- and 20th-centuries. Now the Kremlin is one of the biggest museums in the world. State regalia of Russia, invaluable icons, and treasures of Russian czars are stored in the Kremlin chambers and cathedrals. You’ll view the Grand Kremlin Palace, from the imperial residence to the Russian President's gala reception quarters, and the Kremlin walls and towers, a unique fortress of Middle Ages' Russia. See the Czar
Bell, Czar Cannon, and the Belfry of Ivan the Great - the Kremlin's tallest structure. In the Armoury Chamber Museum, the treasury of Russian czars, you'll find a unique collection of crown jewels, gems, gold and silver items, icon covers, crosses, carriages, coronation robes and clergy vestments, Russian arms and armoury, Byzantine cameos, the bejeweled Faberge Easter eggs and the 800-diamond throne of Czar Alexey. A special visit
will be made to the Diamond Treasury Fund, a true treasure trove of thousands of loose diamonds, gold nuggets, and both ancient and modern jewelry of all kinds. It's the only museum in Russia which has the precious regalia of the Romanov family, the richest royal dynasty in Europe.
This afternoon you'll enjoy a short tour of the Moscow Metro stations - they are ornately decorated with sculptures, paintings, mosaics and chandeliers.
Metropol Hotel
DAY 5, Dec. 23
Thursday
Moscow & Tsaritsino
Today you'll visit Tsaritsino, located on a wooden hill in southern Moscow. There stands the eerie shell of an exotic summer palace (Tsaritsinsky dvorets) that Catherine the Great began in 1775, but never finished. What stands mostly is the architect Bazhenov's fantasy combination of Old Russian, Gothic, Classic and Arabic styles. You'll participate
in a Russian Winter Celebration and enjoy a troika ride in the wooded park, where everything is blanketed in pristine snow and looks like a scene from a Russian fairy tale. Enjoy a "vodka and caviar" greeting, followed by a traditional Russian lunch. Professional Russian folk singers will entertain you following lunch. Return to Moscow for the remainder of the afternoon at leisure and tonight you will be taken to the Moscow Circus - a
rare treat.
Metropol Hotel
DAY 6, Dec. 24
Friday - CHRISTMAS EVE
Moscow & St. Petersburg
Your morning is free to browse the shops and the beautifully decorated city. An exceptional Christmas Eve luncheon will be served at the hotel's elegant restaurant, then you will transfer to the train station for your journey to St. Petersburg. Home to the Russian aristocracy and immortalized by Tolstoy, enchanting St. Petersburg is Russia's "window
on Europe." Known as "Venice of the North," St. Petersburg is built on 42 islands in the delta of the Neva River and is a city of beautiful Baroque palaces, picturesque canals, splendid avenues and elaborate cathedrals. You'll arrive in St. Petersburg late in the evening, where your luxurious accommodations are at the Grand Hotel Europe, a world of luxury and comfort with more than a century of tradition.
Grand Hotel Europe
DAY 7, Dec. 25
Saturday - CHRISTMAS DAY
St. Petersburg
Wake up to Christmas Day in St. Petersburg. The year 2003 marked the 300th anniversary of the founding of this almost perfectly planned city. The glorious maritime setting on the shores of the Baltic Sea is a supreme monument to its founder Peter the Great. Your day begins with a tour of the highlights of St. Petersburg. Visit Peter and Paul's
fortress, located on Zayachi Island (Hare Island). This was the first structure to be erected in the new city of St. Petersburg by Peter the Great between 1703 and 1728. The Baroque style Cathedral, which stands in the center, Peter planned to be the final resting place for himself and all his royal successors. It is the resting place of most of the Romanov monarchs and their sarcophagi can be viewed inside. However, the fortress is
better known for its function as a prison, the most renowned prisoner being Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Make a stop at St. Isaac's Cathedral, commissioned by Alexander I in 1818. It is the third highest domed building in the world and it took some 400,000 workers over forty years to complete. The Cathedral dominates the skyline of St. Petersburg. Its gilded dome, covered with 100 kg of pure gold, soars over 100 meters into the air, making it
visible far out into the Gulf of Finland. After lunch, you will continue on to the Winter Palace, or Hermitage, as it is called. The Winter Palace is undoubtedly the most famous building of imperial St. Petersburg, not only as the residence of the Tsars and the backdrop for the 1905 and 1917 Revolutions, but also as the home of the Hermitage, the world's largest museum of art. Its collection is so large that it would take nine years to
view it in its entirety - at last count, there were nearly three million works on exhibit. Explore the magnificent Winter Palace and appreciate the very special charm and grandeur of the Royal Apartments, when you see the world's largest malachite vase or 25 Rembrandts in one hall. The stunning interior is gilded with lapis lazuli, jasper, malachite and marble. The Winter Palace was created for Catherine the Great, and you can stroll
the Grand Hall used for winter balls and see the czars' golden carriage. You'll have a special tour of the Golden Treasury room with a private lecturer. This evening attend the Folk Show "Feel Yourself Russian" at the Nikolayevsky Palace.
Grand Hotel Europe
DAY 8, Dec. 26
Sunday
St. Petersburg
This morning cross the Neva River at Petrodvorets to visit the magnificent Summer Palace of Peter the Great, built in 1704. You'll explore the vast museum that includes Peter the Great's study, with its 14 fantastically carved wooden panels. Designed to rival Versailles, the 300-acre park on the shore of the Gulf of Finland boasts spectacular fountains, the Grand Palace, crowning the hill above the fountains, and about 20 smaller
palaces and pavilions. After lunch at a popular city restaurant, proceed to Prince Yusupov Palace. Enjoy its beautiful architecture, interior design and paintings. The Palace is associated with the notorious Rasputin, the spiritual teacher of Alexandra, the last Russian Tsarina. It was here that Rasputin was assassinated in 1916 under most mysterious circumstances. This evening attend a performance at the Mariinsky Theatre (formerly
known as the Kirov Theatre). The Mariinsky was built in 1860 as an opera house, but its reputation rests largely on the ballet that was added to its repertoire two decades later.
Grand Hotel Europe
DAY 9, Dec. 27
Monday
St. Petersburg
In the morning visit the estate of poet Alexander Pushkin, known as Tsarkoye Selo. He is also considered the founder of modern Russian literature and is a national hero revered by all Russians. Tour Pavlovsk Palace in the afternoon, one of the last summer palaces built by the Russian czars. The 1,500-acre site, presented by Catherine the Great to her
son Paul, future Czar Paul I, became a charming estate of the royal family. Walk through the classical interiors and see the private apartments of Paul I: the Egyptian Vestibule, the Italian Hall and the Greek Hall, the Picture Gallery, the Throne Room, and the Hall of Knights. Enjoy viewing the apartments of Paul's wife, Maria: the Library, the Boudoir and the Bedroom. You'll admire the great collection of paintings, antique statues,
furniture, clocks, and porcelain, including the toilet set presented by Maria Antoinette. You'll have the afternoon at leisure to pursue your personal interests or to get in a bit of shopping.
Grand Hotel Europe
DAY 10, Dec. 28
Tuesday
St. Petersburg & Vienna
Transfer to the airport in St. Petersburg and your flight to Vienna. You'll be met upon your arrival and transferred to your luxury hotel, where you'll have the remainder of the day to rest or to begin exploring this wondrous city. Vienna boasts some of the most beautiful Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo architecture in the world. The houses of Vienna's great composers, including Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Haydn, Brahms and Johann Strauss, are all carefully preserved. Discover the wide boulevards, the
avenues, the fairytale palaces, the gardens and parks, the townhouses, churches, opera houses, theatres and museums. You'll hear and see beauty from every corner. Transfer to the heart of the old city to the sumptuous Imperial Hotel, built in 1869 as the private palace of the Duke of Wurttemburg, and today is host to visiting royalty and heads of state.
Imperial Hotel
DAY 11, Dec. 29
Wednesday
Vienna
This morning drive to the outskirts of Vienna for a visit to the grandiose 17th-century Schloss Schoenbrunn. The interior is breathtaking with gilded ornaments, porcelain tile stoves and opulent chandeliers. During the reign of Maria Theresa, Schoenbrunn was the summer residence of the court. Marie Antoinette, future queen of France, spent her
childhood here, and the child prodigy Mozart astonished the court with his performances, beginning at the age of six. Napoleon I set up his headquarters at Schoenbrunn; after the fall of the French Empire; it was the gilded cage wherein Napoleon's son, the King of Rome, lived a life of exile. Your afternoon will be at leisure. Perhaps you will want to visit Vienna's exciting arts quarter, which offers prominent museums such as the
Leopold Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Kunsthalle. The Museum Quarter Vienna is one of the ten largest cultural quarters in the world. Tonight attend an opera at the celebrated Vienna State Opera. The State Opera House is a fantasy of glittering gold, crystal and red velvet. After the opera enjoy an elegant after-theatre supper, a time-honored Viennese tradition.
Imperial Hotel
DAY 12, Dec. 30
Thursday
Vienna
Vienna's outskirts are especially attractive: romantic landscapes and picturesque villages invite you for an outing. Today venture into the Vienna Woods to the Cistercian Abbey of Heilingenkreuz and the seemingly modest hunting mansion of Mayerling, which gained notoriety as the trysting spot for the lovers Prince Rudolf and Maria Vetsera, due to his
mysterious death there. Returning to Vienna, visit the tranquil resort town of Baden with its sulfur springs, casino and racetrack, and the vintner's villages around the lake, which are especially charming. You’ll have the afternoon free to discover this beautiful city, festively decorated for the holidays.
Imperial Hotel
DAY 13, Dec. 31
Friday - NEW YEAR'S EVE
Vienna
This morning your sightseeing begins in the heart of old Vienna, the ancient tangle of streets from which Vienna grew during the Middle Ages. Among some of the magnificent sights you'll see are the Ringstrasse, the Museum of Fine Arts, and St. Stephen's Cathedral, Austria's most eminent Gothic edifice, which houses a wealth of art treasures. Hofburg
Palace (the Imperial Palace) was the residence of the Habsburg emperors until 1918. Originally a medieval castle, of which only the chapel has survived to this day, the residence of the court was expanded and made ever more lavish as the power of the Hapsburg Monarchy grew. You will visit the Royal Apartments and the Imperial Treasury. Today the Palace houses the offices of the Austrian president, an international convention center,
the chapel where the Vienna Boys' Choir sings, the hall in which the Lipizzaner stallions of the Spanish Riding School perform, various official and private apartments, and several museums and state rooms. Return to your hotel by Fiaker (horse-drawn carriage).
The balance of the day is at leisure for you to rest up for your grand evening - the Kaiserball at the Imperial Hofburg Palace. This is one of the most lavish celebrations of the New Year anywhere in the
world. Strauss waltzes play as you enter the palace, where liveried attendants serve dinner. The ballrooms and halls of the palace are festooned with thousands of flowers, and eight orchestras play in eight ballrooms to waltz in the New Year.
At midnight, members of the Vienna State Opera and Ballet celebrate the New Year with pieces of immortal Viennese operettas, after which the orchestras
play until daybreak. You may stay at the Kaiserball as long as you like. Your Travel Director will help you get a taxi to return to your hotel when you wish.
Overnight hotel : Imperial Hotel
DAY 14, Jan. 01
Saturday - NEW YEAR’S DAY
Vienna
Saturday morning is at leisure for you to sleep in after the Kaiserball. At midday celebrate the first day of the New Year with a sumptuous brunch at the Palais Schwarzenberg. Later this afternoon, you can avail yourself of an ice-skating opportunity or other personal activities. In the evening bid farewell to your fellow tour members at a festive
cocktail and dinner party.
Imperial Hotel
DAY 15, Jan. 02
Sunday
Depart for Home
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