Breakfast Incl. (B), Lunch Incl. (L), Dinner Incl.(D)

DAY 1 | Oct. 4, 2018 | Canada—St. Petersburg
Depart on the overnight flight to St. Petersburg, Russia.

DAY 2 | Oct. 5, 2018 | St. Petersburg (D)
A private coach will bring us to our hotel where our luggage will be fast tracked for our convenience. Check into the Astoria Hotel and rest up, or enjoy a delightful stroll along the Neva embankment and the majestic Palace Square. Walk out on Palace Square to Nevsky Prospect, the main thoroughfare for shopping and fashion in St. Petersburg, all within a short walk. This evening enjoy a welcome dinner at the hotel restaurant with your group and we will review the week’s activities and answer any questions.

Accommodations (4 nights): Astoria Hotel

DAY 3 | Oct. 6, 2018 | St. Petersburg (B)
A FULL DAY AT PETERHOF PALACE AND GROUNDS:
Today, join us for a day at the Peterhof Palace, and extensive grounds on the shores of the Gulf of Finland. The Lower Gardens of Peter the Great’s time are a masterpiece of Russian 18th century design. The park is a labyrinth of paths and ornate iron foot bridges, as well as Montplaisir, Peter’s cottage by the shore. Peterhof (Peters court) is a stunning formal summer palace, modelled after Versailles, but which possibly outdoes the original in grandeur and scope.

Enjoy an evening of world class ballet at the magnificent Mariinski Theater ($).

DAY 4 | Oct. 7, 2018 | St. Petersburg (B, L)
A FULL DAY AT CATHERINE PALACES:
Travel by private coach to the Village of Pushkin, and the Catherine Palace—the summer retreat of Russian royals and visiting nobility for almost 300 years. Here you will see the legendary Amber Room, which was recently reconstructed. The room was so beautiful that the retreating Nazi armies tried to dismantle it and take it back to Germany. Only a small panel of the original room was ever recovered. Stroll the extensive grounds or take a carriage ride around the lake.

Enjoy lunch at Podvorye Restaurant with traditional Russian folk music and cuisine.

Delight in an evening of opera and ballet at one of St. Petersburg's many theaters or enjoy the Philharmonic ($).

DAY 5 | Oct. 8, 2018 | St. Petersburg (B, L)
A FULL DAY AT THE HERMITAGE MUSEUM:
Explore the wonders of their collections including the masterworks and interiors of the museum when it is closed to the public. The tour will focus on the European painting collection and the collection of decorative arts as well as the state rooms of the Winter Palace including the recently restored Memorial Hall of Peter the Great and the Large Throne Room where Nicholas II announced the sale of Alaska to the United States. In the Pavilion Hall we will see the world famous Peacock Clock 18th century, by James Cox of Britain.

We will visit the Diamond Treasure Gallery of diplomatic gifts and the personal jewelry of the Romanovs.

Lunch will be served in the Hermitage Museum.

DAY 6 | Oct. 9, 2018 | St. Petersburg—Moscow (B)
FABERGÉ MUSEUM / SAPSAN TRAIN (St. Petersburg to Moscow):
This morning we will visit the new Fabergé Museum to see the Forbes Collection of Fabergé eggs that Tsar Nicholas II gave to Empress Alexandra. It is absolutely stunning. Afterwards transfer to the railway station for your Sapsan day speed train from St Petersburg to Moscow (economy class) approx. 4 hours. Arrive in Moscow and transfer your hotel.

Accommodations (3 nights): Intercontinental Tverskaya

DAY 7 | Oct. 10, 2018 | Moscow (B)
KREMLIN AND PUSHKIN MUSEUM:
After breakfast, transfer to the Kremlin. This ancient walled fortress contains historic and richly decorated cathedrals around the square. In particular, you will experience the “Assumption”, the primary Church of Russian Orthodoxy and site of all manner of coronations, victory services and intrigues; the “Archangel”, the most Italianate of the Kremlin¹s churches and home to the remains of everyone from Grand Prince Ivan Kalita to Tsar
Ivan V; the “Annunciation”, the golden domed former private chapel of the Tsars with its famous icons; as well as the “Armory Palace”, which houses many of the treasures of the Tsars, such as ambassadorial gifts from the Eastern Sultans; the Coronation dress of Catherine the Great; splendid gilded carriages, and so much more. You will also tour the Diamond Fund, deep in the heart of the Kremlin.

Have lunch on your own then transfer to the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. Delight in the large collection of French Impressionist paintings collected by Moscow businessmen Segei Shchukin and Ivan Morozov.

In the evening complimentary transfers will be provided to the legendary Café Pushkin. We have made dinner table reservations for your group but dinner is at your own expense. Take your photo in front of St. Basil’s on Red Square and peek in to see the beautiful G.U.M. Department store also on Red Square.

DAY 8 | Oct. 11, 2018 | Moscow (B)
TRETYAKOV STATE GALLERY / GARAGE CONTEMPORARY GALLERY:
Today your coach will take you to the Tretyakov State Gallery where over 100,000 works of art charter the development of Russian painting from the 10th to 19th centuries. You will also see the works of Kandinsky, Chagall and Malevich, all of whom brought international attention to Russian art at the beginning of the 20th century.

Lunch will be on your own.

In the afternoon enjoy a city tour of the Red Square and stand where tanks once paraded past Lenin¹s tomb and where Napoleon watched Moscow burn. Take a walk around St. Basil’s Cathedral with its colourful domes, rising majestically from the cobblestones like a fairy tale castle. We will visit the Garage Contemporary Gallery, Moscow’s premier contemporary art scene.

Tonight your evening is at leisure.

DAY 9 | Oct. 12, 2018 | Moscow—Canada (B)
After breakfast transfers will be arranged to the airport for your flight home.