Day 1 - Arrival to Moscow

Transfer to the hotel.

Day 2 - Moscow. City tour and Gorki Leninskiye

Today you will have a tour around the most beautiful sights in Moscow and you take a glimpse of its culture and history. The tour starts in the heart of the city, at Red Square, where you visit the mausoleum of Lenin, the great leader and face of the revolution. After observing St. Basil's Cathedral, Lenin's Mausoleum, the State Historical Museum and other sights of the area we move along the Moscow river embankment. On the way we enjoy views of the Kremlin and continue with the Cathedral of the Christ the Savior.Then we travel to Moscow State University on the Lenin's Hills and the Sparrow Hills. Visit to the observation spot of the Sparrow Hills opens an outstanding view on Moscow. After this stop we pass through the Memorial Complex at Poklonnaya Hill and Victory Park, Triumphal Arch, Kutuzov Avenue. Later  you will see Gorki Leninskiye, where Lenin spent the later part of his life. The estate at Gorki Leninskie, just over 30km south of Moscow, was established in the 18th century, and its pre-revolution owners included General Pisarev, hero of the 1812 war, and Zinaida Morozova, widow of the famous Moscow industrialist and theatrical patron Savva Morozov. In 1918, the estate and Pisarev's neoclassical mansion were 'nationalized' and turned into a sanatorium for the higher echelons of the Bolshevik Party. The estate was officially turned into a museum in 1938, and was a place of pilgrimage for Soviet citizens right up until the fall of the Soviet Union. The very last of scores of Lenin Museums was opened here in 1987 and, though the number of visitors has plummeted since then, it is still a fascinating relic of the quasi-religious attitude toward Lenin and his successors that helped cement absolute power in the USSR. Here you can see the charming study bedroom which Lenin chose to work in, his library of over 4,000 books in ten different languages, and touching displays such as the mechanized wheelchair built for Lenin by a group of factory workers. As Lenin was paralyzed on the right side, this gift was never used. The tour of the museum ends in the mansion's garage, where you can inspect Lenin's Rolls Royce. Among a number of unusual features, the car was converted to run on alcohol, which was considerably easier to obtain than petrol in the turmoil of the Civil War.

Day 3 - Moscow. Kremlin Grounds, Armoury museum

Today you will discover the interior of the Kremlin - the former residence of the Tsars and now the residence of the Russian President. You will also visit one of the Kremlin's beautiful orthodox cathedrals. Cathedral Square still retains the aura of early Tsarist Russia, where the spirits of Ivan the Terrible, Boris Godunov and the early Romanovs loom large. You can also visit the Armoury to see its unique collection of ancient state regalia: the ceremonial vestments and coronation dress of the Tsars, gold and silverware by Russian craftsmen, and ceremonial weapons and arms (optional excursion at your request). Guided tour of the Armoury Museum. Its collections represent the wealth of Russian tsars, accumulated throughout the centuries. The first mention of the Armoury was recorded in 1508, when it started to function as the storehouse for the Kremlin's weaponry. However, within a few decades, the structure had gained the added function of a workshop and a repository for all sorts of treasures of the Imperial Court. In 1813, the Armoury building became an exhibition hall and museum. The Armoury's collection is overwhelming. It contains such exhibits as the chalice of Yuri Dolgorukiy, the helm and armour of Boris Godunov, a collection of over fifty Faberge eggs, golden and silver works of applied art by Russian, European and Oriental masters, priceless weapons and other works made of precious metals and stones.

In the afternoon board your Sapsan train for a speedy journey from Moscow to St Petersburg (4 hours).

Day 4 - St Petersburg. City tour (Peter and Paul Fortress, Aurora and Kronstadt)

Spend the morning visiting the major sites of St Petersburg - Leningrad -  Petrograd  - the city of three names and greatest revolution of  1917. Still considered Russia's cultural capital, St. Petersburg reflects the country's extraordinary fate like no other city, and its uniquely rich atmosphere exerts a powerful grip on even the most jaded traveller. We visit the Finland Station, where Lenin arrived back from exile; the Bolshevik Vyborg District; the Tauride Palace, where the town's Soviet held its meetings, and the Smolny Institute, the headquarters for the October Insurrection. We visit the notorious Peter and Paul Fortress where many revolutionaries, including Trotsky, were incarcerated. We take time to explore the Artillery Museum within the fortress.

Lunch

Later we visit famous Aurora warship; the legendary ship whose canon-fire gave the signal, on the order of Lenin, for the beginning of the Great Socialist Revolution more than 100 years ago. At the moment it is on the island of Kronstadt, which is the naval base where in 1921 a rebellion held out for 12 days before being crushed by the Bolsheviks.

Day 5 - St Petersburg. The State Hermitage museum (Winter Palace) and The State Museum of Political History of Russia

Today you will have a guided tour of the Hermitage, former residence of the Russian Tzars (the famous Winter Palace) and one of the best museums in the world. This is St. Petersburg's most famous building, the Winter Palace not only physically dominates Palace Square and the south embankment of the Neva River, but also plays a central political, symbolic, and cultural role in the three-century history of the city.

Lunch

The State Museum of Political History of Russia

This museum was opened on October 9, 1919 but at that time it was named Museum of Revolution. In 1991 it was reorganized and got the new name Museum of Political History. The collection reflects the history of the state system since the time of Catherine the Great up to our days, the fates of the most famous historical figures as well as modern democratic, social and political movements and parties. The largest and most interesting part of the collection is dedicated to the history of the three Russian Revolutions and the post-revolutionary period. You can find more detailed information.

Day 6 - Rumayntsev Mansion

Leningrad during the Second World War, exhibition at Rumayntsev Mansion

On display you will see authentic documents, personal belongings of those who were in the city at the time of the blockade, photos, paintings and dioramas. Huge maps will help you to understand the main events of military actions: the besieging the city, the creation of so called "Road of Life", the breaking and final lifting of the siege. The most impressive item on the exhibition is the famous piece of 125 grams of bread distributed with ration cards- the daily ration of the citizens. The reconstructed "room of the Leningrad citizen during the siege" and the documental movie will help you to feel the atmosphere of the time and to appreciate heroism of our city. The tour to this museum could be replaced with the tour to the Museum of the Defense and Blockade of Leningrad. The exhibitions are similar. One more place which is obviously worth seeing is the Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad. One could easily see this outstanding monument on the way to/from the airport. The exhibition which is in the basement of the monument is small but nevertheless very impressive. You can see a documental movie of the besieged city and symphony N 7 - so called Leningrad symphony- by D. Shostakovich always sounds.

Day 7 - Leaving to London

Transfer to the airport.