Great Cities of Russia

Experience the best of Western Russia, exploring in depth its two foremost cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg. Experience some of the world’s most treasured art in Moscow’s Tretyakov Gallery and St. Petersburg’s Hermitage. Admire the gilded palaces, fabled churches and historic fortresses of czarist times, and acquaint yourself with the warmth of a meal in a Russian home.

Join alumni and friends on a cultural exploration of Russia's most iconic cities. Our in depth exploration focuses entirely on these two great cities, providing a short cultural immersion for participants. Spend 3 full days in each city and enjoy the beautiful scenery connecting these two cities as we travel on the high-speed rail network between them. Including 14 meals, choice accommodations, expert guides and a professional tour manager, our small group program is sure to provide a fantastic experience of the arts, culture and history of Russia's two greatest cities.

Dates & Prices

Trip Dates: July 19 - 27, 2012
Prices:  $4,295 per person based on double occupancy

Single Supplement: $695

Trip Summary:

Day 1, Thu Depart USA

Depart the USA on flights to Moscow, connecting via a European gateway.
Meals: In flight

Day 2, Fri Arrive Moscow

Arrive in Moscow and transfer to the hotel for check-in and rest. Enjoy a festive welcome dinner this evening to celebrate the beginning of your Russian  adventure.
Meals: D

Day 3, Sat Moscow

Following breakfast this morning, get to know Moscow. Founded in 1147 by Yuri Dolgoruky (literally “Yuri of the Long Arms”), Moscow rose to prominence during Mongol domination and eventually became the Russian capital. Eclipsed for 200 years by St. Petersburg, Moscow was restored as the Russian political center after the October Revolution in 1917, and celebrated its 850th anniversary in 1997. Drive by some of Moscow’s best-known places - the Duma building where Russia’s governing body meets; the Bolshoi Theater; the forbidding Lubyanka prison where the KGB was headquartered; Moscow State University on the Sparrow Hills for a panoramic city view; the moving World War II Memorial and Victory Park on Farewell Hill; and a drive along the Sofiyskaya Embankment, past the Moscow “White House.” Make a stop at Novodevichy Convent, founded in the 16th century. Novodevichy was the convent of choice for noble women forced to take the veil, such as Peter the Great’s first wife and Boris Godunov’s sister. The compound contains a spectacularly beautiful church – Smolensk Cathedral – with icons from the time of Boris Godunov, as well as exhibits featuring paintings, woodwork, metalwork, embroidery, illuminated books, and jewels. Strangely enough, the main attraction of the convent is its cemetery. Such luminaries as Gogol, Chekhov, Scriabin, Mayakovsky, Stanislavsky, Prokofiev, Eisenstein, Khrushchev, Raisa Gorbachev and Boris Yelstin are buried here, and some of the graves are quite fanciful.

This afternoon, continue with an exploration of the Tretyakov Gallery with a Museum Specialist. The Tretyakov was founded by 19th-century Russian merchant, Pavel Tretyakov, who spent 40 years and much of his fortune collecting and preserving works of Russian art. The history and trajectory of Russian art are displayed here, encompassing pieces from the 11th century to the present, and including mosaics, icons, paintings and sculptures by such artists as Rublev, Repin, and Levitan. The entire collection, rarely seen outside of Russia, contains thousands of paintings, works of ancient Russian art, sculptures, drawings and engravings. The icon collection at the Tretyakov is extensive. Many original icons are kept here, and their copies displayed in their original churches. The Tretyakov safeguards the 12th century Byzantine icon Virgin of Vladimir, Rublev's Old Testament Trinity icon and his Savior icon. Dinner tonight is independent. Your local guide is happy to make suggestions and help you choose one of many restaurants available.
Meals: B, L

Day 4, Sun Moscow

This morning, tour a few of Moscow’s Metro Stations. The first Moscow Metro station opened in 1935, and today there are over 150 of them along the 125 miles of track. The stations in the city center are showpieces of Socialist art, furnished with statues, frescoes and mosaics, and with marbled, gilded and bronzed walls and ceilings. Since they were originally intended to double as bomb shelters, the subway tunnels were dug deep into the earth, making the escalators very long. Nikita Khrushchev was the Metro project manager. Take the Metro to the Izmailova Park Market. Located on the former royal hunting preserve, the huge flea market at Izmailova Park is the best place in Moscow to find deals on a huge variety of Russian souvenirs and crafts, from matrioshka dolls to lacquered boxes, from Soviet memorabilia to watercolors. Whether you're interested in traditional handicrafts, clothing, jewelry or modern art, Izmailova Park is the place to go, and opportunities to people-watch abound. Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant, before a visit to the Leo Tolstoy House Museum. Founded in 1911 in a beautiful early 19th century building, the museum's collection includes Tolstoy's manuscripts, photographs, portraits, memorabilia and an invaluable book depository, including the author's works translated into many of the world's languages. The museum arranges excursions and lectures and conducts extensive research. Dinner tonight is on your own.
Meals: B, L

Day 5, Mon Moscow • train to St. Petersburg

Following breakfast at the hotel, take a walking tour around the inner city, admiring the architectural treasures of Moscow, including Red Square, St. Basil’s Cathedral, the GUM Department store, Alexandrovsky Sad and the Kremlin grounds. The Kremlin tour features the fabulous Cathedral of the Annunciation, where all the czars have been crowned, the fascinating Armory Museum and the exclusive Diamond Fund. Begin on UNESCO-listed Red Square with its St. Basil’s Cathedral - perhaps the most recognizable symbol of Russia. Designed and built between 1555 and 1561, during the reign of Ivan the Terrible, St. Basil’s was originally painted white. The domes were not patterned and colored as they are today until a hundred years later. St. Basil’s is named after Vasily Blazhenny, the “holy fool” who predicted that Ivan would murder his own son. The square owes it origins to Ivan III, who in the late 15th century had all buildings removed from the eastern wall of the Kremlin. For the next 400 years, this newly formed area was a trading center. In 1920 all traders were banned from the square, and in the early 1960s cars were banned as well, making Red Square a pedestrian area.

Stop by Alexander Garden (Alexandrovsky Sad). Laid out from 1819 to 1823 along the full length of the western Kremlin wall, the garden shelters the Kutafya Tower and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. An Honor Guard is posted in front of the tomb. The Kremlin remains the center of Moscow and of Russian politics. Inside the fortress walls are numerous palaces, cathedrals, government buildings and the Armory Museum. Built in the 16th century as a warehouse for the Kremlin’s weaponry, the building was turned into an exhibition hall and museum in 1814. The Armory Museum now houses Russia’s national treasures such as religious icons, Faberge eggs, a bejeweled chalice belonging to Prince Yuri, and Catherine the Great’s ball gowns. Enjoy a private tour of the Diamond Fund, an exclusive collection of “crown valuables,” jewelry pieces made for the czars and the royal court, including imperial regalia such as crowns, scepters, and bejeweled clasps to fasten the coronation mantle. The 189-carat Orlov Diamond is among the treasures, as is Catherine the Great’s coronation crown, encrusted with pearls and 4,936 diamonds.

While on the territory of the Kremlin, visit one or more cathedrals. Once the home church of the Muscovite czars, the Kremlin’s 15th century Cathedral of the Annunciation was built on the site of an older cathedral. The cathedral’s abbots heard the confessions of the royal family for hundreds of years, until the czar was overthrown. Its traditional Russian architectural elements are supplemented by a clear Italian Renaissance influence in the archways and fretwork. In the evening, transfer to the railway station to board the express train to St. Petersburg. Arriving in St. Petersburg, you are met and transferred to the hotel.
Meals: B, L

Day 6, Tue St. Petersburg

Following breakfast at the hotel, depart for an introductory city tour. St. Petersburg is often described as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Its miles of canals, laced together with graceful bridges set amidst 18th century buildings, have earned it the name, “Venice of the North.” Conceived of by Peter the Great and designed by his favorite European architects, St. Petersburg was meant to be Peter’s link to the western world. Capital of Russia from 1712 until just after the revolution, the city celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2003. A drive near the Neva River introduces us to the heart of Peter’s city. Visit the spit of Vasilievsky Island with its beautiful view across the river to the Winter Palace and the Peter and Paul Fortress. Drive by enormous Palace Square, framed by the Winter Palace and the General Staff Headquarters, where Imperial parades and festivals were celebrated, and admire the façade of nearby St. Isaac’s Cathedral. Discover the statue of Peter the Great, named the Bronze Horseman by Pushkin. Stop to tour the Peter and Paul Fortress. Peter the Great laid the cornerstone of the earthen fortress in May 1703, intending it to be used to repel a Swedish invasion. After the Swedes capitulated, the fortress was transformed into a prison in 1718. Among its prisoners was Peter the Great’s son Alexei, who opposed his reforms. Most importantly, it is the burial place for most of the czars beginning with Peter the Great.

This afternoon enjoy a guided tour of the famous Hermitage Museum, including the Gold Room. The Winter Palace, one part of the ensemble, was built in 1754-62 as the principal home of the czars, and was lavishly rebuilt in 1839 after it was destroyed by fire. Originally a small private palace gallery begun by Catherine the Great with a purchase of 255 paintings from Berlin, the Hermitage today houses one of the largest museum collections in the world. It includes works by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, Rembrandt, Rubens, the French Impressionists, Van Gogh, Matisse, Gauguin and Picasso. The fabulous rooms with their inlaid floors and gilded woodwork and the grand double entry staircase are works of art in themselves. Continue your exploration with a private tour of the exclusive Gold Room collection. The Hermitage’s Gold Room contains finely-worked Scythian and Greek golden ornaments from the 7th to the 1st century BC, including shield plaques, bracelets, equestrian armor and drinking vessels. Next board a private boat for a cruise along the canals. St. Petersburg seen from a boat cruising its rivers and canals seems like a different city. Like Venice, St. Petersburg was originally built on many islands, and hundreds of bridges span the waterways. Enjoy the breezes as you admire the pre-revolutionary palaces along the Fontanka embankment. Dinner tonight is independent.
Meals: B, L

Day 7, Wed St. Petersburg

This morning take an exciting hydrofoil ride from the Hermitage pier down the Neva and out into the Gulf of Finland to Peterhof, located 19 miles outside the city. The hydrofoil takes only half an hour to arrive at Peter the Great's palace and park. This former imperial residence was intended to rival Versailles, complete with an array of gilded statues, magnificent palaces and gravity-fed fountains. Peter the Great’s famed fountains are Peterhof’s main attraction. Over 150 glistening, gilded, sculpted marble, granite and limestone fountains and cascades adorn the Lower Park. The gravity-fed collection pools in Peterhof’s Upper Garden discharge their waters nearly 50 feet down to the Lower Park’s cascades and jets, creating enormous force and powering fountains all over the park.

This afternoon continue on by coach to Pushkin and the royal residence Catherine's Palace, originally built in 1717 by Catherine I. In 1752, famed architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli enlarged and embellished the palace, extending the facade to its current grandeur. The estate and palace buildings were almost completely destroyed by the Germans during World War II, but they have been carefully and expertly restored into a brilliant architectural monument. The fully restored Amber Room inside Catherine's Palace has been years in the making. The wall coverings of amber panels, created in the time of Peter the Great, were taken by the Nazis during the Second World War and never recovered. The beautifully crafted amber panels seen today were re-created from photos and descriptions of the originals, and have become one of the highlights of Catherine's Palace. Return to the city and enjoy an independent dinner. This evening, enjoy an optional performance at the one of St. Petersburg’s fine theaters (subject to theater schedules, at additional cost).
Meals: B, L

Day 8, Thu St. Petersburg

Visit the St. Isaac’s Cathedral and the Church of the Savior on the Blood this morning. St. Isaac’s Cathedral took 40 years to complete. Czar Alexander I awarded the project to the inexperienced winner of a competition, a young French architect, Auguste Montferrand. The beautiful design was fraught with problems, and construction was halted for years while these were solved. The dome is covered with 220 pounds of gold, and the interior columns faced with lapis lazuli and malachite. Two hundred artists contributed to the exterior and interior decoration, and the cathedral is bursting with sculptures, frescoes, stained glass works and woodcarvings. The Church of the Savior on the Blood was built on the spot where Czar Alexander II was felled by a bomb in 1881, and was commissioned in the style of St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow by his son and successor, Alexander III. Four jasper columns and the original cobblestones mark the spot where the czar fell.

Conclude today’s tour with a visit to the Usupoff Palace. While the palace looks ordinary from the outside, its interior is exquisite, with a marble staircase, crystal chandeliers, gilded candelabras and magnificently painted ceilings. Built in the early 18th century, the palace was remodeled and expanded in 1760, 1830 and 1858. Owned before the revolution by the very rich and powerful Usupoff family, the palace has its own miniature theater. In the evening, travel outside the city and celebrate the conclusion of the tour with a festive farewell dinner at a private dacha in the company of local hosts. A dacha is a city-dweller’s country home and can vary from a summer cabin with no running water to a fine home suitable for living year-round. Dachas are usually modest places where one can get away from the daily grind and grow some vegetables. Dacha gardens were responsible for a significant portion of the produce grown during Soviet times.
Meals: B, D

Day 9, Fri Depart St. Petersburg

The St. Petersburg exploration comes to an end after breakfast today, with transfers to the airport for international departures.
Meals: B

Inclusions:

• All accommodation based on double occupancy per itinerary with breakfast, daily local service charge and tax. (Standard hotel check-in/out times apply unless otherwise noted.) Moscow (3 nights); St. Petersburg (4)
• Arrival and departure transfers for those arriving on the land tour start date and departing on the land tour end date
• Land transportation per itinerary including Moscow to St. Petersburg by standard class seating on the express train; private vehicle for all in-city touring
• All sightseeing and excursions including entrance fees per itinerary
• Local English-speaking guides throughout itinerary
• Special cultural features as stated in the itinerary
• Services of professional bi-lingual Tour Manager throughout the tour
• Special Welcome and Farewell Dinners including choice of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages
• Meals as listed in itinerary
• Beverages with lunches/dinners: water, coffee or tea
• Bottled water on buses during tours and drives between cities
• Baggage handling at hotels and airports where available
• Gratuities to the local guides and drivers
• Gratuities at included restaurant meals
• Destination preparation information packet

Not Included:
International airfare between USA and the start and ending cities; air taxes or fuel surcharges; pre- or post-tour services; gratuities to the Tour Manager; visa or passport fees; medical and trip interruption insurance; evacuation costs; food or beverages not included in group meals; items of a personal nature such as laundry, alcohol, telephone expense, excess baggage fees, photo/video expenses inside museums (where allowed); other items not expressly listed as included.

Please call us toll-free at (866) 325-8664 or email us at travelstudy@columbia.edu for more details.