Private tours in Russia,St. petersburg City Tours

The State Hermitage is one of the largest museums of the world. It is situated in 5 historical buildings including the former residence of Russian Tsars, the Small Hermitage, the Grand (Old) Hermitage, the New Hermitage and the Hermitage Theatre, which are architectural chef d'oeuvres themselves. 400 halls of the Hermitage house the collection of over 3 mln exhibits of prehistoric art, Egyptian art, art of Ancient Greece and Rome, Scythian gold, fine collection of Western-European art. The Hermitage houses only originals making a lot of scientific research. As a rule, a standard excursion in the Hermitage consists of a visit to the halls with collections showing relicts of Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome as well as halls dedicated to the Italian Renaissance, Dutch Medieval Art, French Impressionism and Postimpressionism. You'll enjoy canvases by Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Titian, Rembrandt, Rubens, a collection of works by Small Dutch, paintings by French artists of the XIX - XX century. Our licensed guides will easily response to your demands and either enlarge the content of excursion or highlight the special points.

The State Russian Museum was opened to visitors on the XVII of March 1898 in the Mikhailovsky Palace (architect C. Rossi). Nowadays it is the largest center of Traditional Russian Art owing almost 400 thousand exhibits. The collection includes icons, Old Russian applied art, Russian painting and sculpture of the XVIII-XX centuries, engravings of the XVII-XX centuries, folk art, Russian Avant-garde, works of modern artists. All the excursions are held according to the historical periods - the Art of Old Russia, the Art of the first or second half of the XVIII century, the Art of Peredvizhniky, the Soviet Art of the 20s-40s of the XX century and others. The collection is housed in the Mikhailovsky Palace, the Engineer's (Mikhailovsky) Castle, the Marble Palace, the Stroganovsky Palace.

The exhibition of the museum illustrates everyday life and culture of more than 150 peoples of Russia in XIX-?? centuries. The collection of the museum numbers over a half a million of exhibits. In the Golden Room one can see ornaments, armory, cult objects made of gold and silver and decorated with precious stones. The Russian Ethnographical museum was founded in 1895 as a department of the Russian State Museum. In 1934 it was reorganised into a separate scientific and cultural center - the State Museum of Ethnography of Peoples of the USSR and later on into The Russian Ethnographical Museum. The building of the Museum was constructed after the project by V.F. Swinjin in 1902 - 1913 for the exhibition of ethnographical collections. The facade is decorated with a sculptural group with Athene - the goddess of wisdom, the patron of arts and crafts - in the center. The Avant-hall and the Marble hall, situated in the main part of the building, are one of the best palace interiors of Saint-Petersburg. The museum is under reconstruction at the moment.

The Yussupov Palace situated on the bank of the Moika River is one of the most interesting places of sightseeing in Saint-Petersburg. It is one of those places which successfully combine a charm of historical building and a fame of cultural center. Music, theatre and poesy rest there in harmony with architecture and historic background. The palace was constructed after the project by J-B Vallen-Delamote in the sixties of the XVIII century. Notwithstanding the fact that the Palace was redecorated several times its facade still retains its classic form. In the XIX century architects A. Mikhailov, I. Monigetti and A. Stepanov created unforgettable interiors of the Palace performing the variety of decoration and style. The Yussupov Palace keeps a mysterious atmosphere of its famous owners, everything reminds of their treasures, spectacular balls and soirees, of the last hours of notorious Grigory Rasputin and legends connected with his name. The White Column hall, the theatre, the Dancing hall, the Musical hall, the Chekhonin room and the Grand hall impress by their noble pure classical interior. A range of original artistic interiors shows up for the bewildered visitors. The stylistically rich and magnificent Blue room is followed by the Green room, then by the Red, the Mavritansky rooms and others. A special attention is usually paid to the exhibition "Grigory Rasputin" whose story you will know from the guide.

This is the only museum in Russia displaying and restoring Monumental Sculpture in the open air. The museum, located on the Grounds of Alexander Nevsky Laura, leads its history from the Museum of the Laura's Relicts founded in 1909. The museum has the oldest necropolises in Saint-Petersburg: the Necropolises of the late XVIII and early XX centuries by the names of Lazarevsky and Tikhvinsky. They form a magnificent museum of Russian tombstone sculpture, where many eminent men of science and art were buried. Among them are M. Lomonosov, P. Chaikovsky, F. Dostoyevsky and others. The Slavic-Greek-Latin (Ecclesiastical) Academy and the Monastery are situated on the grounds of the Laura. The Russian army leader A.V. Suvorov is buried in the Annunciation Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Laura.

The Peter and Paul Fortress was founded by Peter I in 1703 as the fortification building on Zayachy Island. Apart from the ancient fortifications, on the grounds of the fortress one can visit the Peter and Paul Cathedral (the first half of the XVIII century, D. Trezzini) with the tombs of Peter the Great and other Russian Tsars, the Trubetskoy Bastion casemates and the following permanent exhibitions: "The History of Saint-Petersburg", "The History of Missilery and Cosmonautics. Gas-dynamic Laboratory", "The History of the Imperial Mint", "Petchatnaya". There is a new excursion route "Nevskaya Panorama" along the roofs of fortifications. After a special order in the warm season you can have an opportunity to enjoy the panoramic view of Saint-Petersburg from the Air balloon.

The Church on the Spilt Blood was built in 1907 on the site of assassination of Alexander II who was one of the most progressive Russian Tsar of the XIX century. Pseudo-Russian style combined with applied art of the end of XIX - the beginning of the XX centuries and mosaic interiors create an unforgettable impression of Russian Fairy tales. The Church belonged to the Tsar family and was closed for ordinary visitors for a long time. Nowadays it works as a museum of mosaic art.

The Central Naval Museum is one of the oldest naval museums in Russia - it was founded with the organisation of the regular fleet. The museum began its history with the founding by Peter the Great of the Model-Camera (January, 1709) that was later reorganised into the Naval Museum which is located in the building of the Stock Exchange designed by the architect T. De Thomon in 1810. You will see models of old, sailing vessels, frigates and battleships, cruisers and submarines, torpedo-boats including "Ingermann", "Vladimir", "Peter the Great" and vessels of Great Patriotic War, atomic submarine "Leninsky Komsomol" and The Variag Cruiser. Every model is the exact copy of a vessel, a masterpiece of applied art astonishing by fine work. The museum is especially proud of its famous items: an ancient canoe made from a whole trunk of a tree, which was found on the bottom of the River Yuzhny Bug and dates back over 3 mln years; the famous boat belonged to Peter the Great; the submarine of S. Gevetsky (1881). The museum is decorated with marine canvases by Russian and foreign artists depicting historical events and battles (around 50 000 works).

This architectural monument of the XVIII century (architect A. Rinaldi) gained its popularity after the redecoration when over 30 tints of marble were used, hence the delighted contemporaries gave the Palace the name Marble. The Palace was built in 1768-85 for the favourite of Catherine the Great - Count Orlov. In the middle of the XIX century the interior was partially changed by A. P. Brulov. After Orlov's death the building went into possession of Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, a grandson of Catherine the Great, while in the middle of the XIX century - to Nicolas' I son - Grand Duke Konstantin Nickolaevich. The last owner of the Palace was Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich - a famous poet of the "Silver Age" of Russian poetry, who wrote under the pseudonym "KR" Our agency through the Fond of Restoration of Palaces organises excursions in the Marble Palace. They include the interiors of Main Stares, the Marble Hall and other rooms. The visitors will get to know the history of the building and the stories of lives of its owners. There are temporary exhibitions of the State Russian Museum collections.

One of the first stone buildings of Saint-Petersburg (architect D. Trezzini, 1712) is located on the grounds of the Summer Garden. The interior decoration of the early XVIII century style offers a nice selection of Russian and Western-European paintings, decorative and applied art of the late ?VII - beginning of the XVIII centuries, as well as personal belongings of Peter the Great. The excursion includes a walk around the Summer Garden laid out by the order of Peter the Great in 1704. The Garden is designed according to the style of Regular Western-European Parks of the XVIII century. One of the main attractions is marble decorative sculpture by Italian artists of the XVII - XVIII centuries. This is the first Russian collection kept till the modern times. The beautiful fence by Y. Felten was built along the Neva side of the Garden. The Tea and Coffee Houses appeared on the grounds in the XIX century.

The Saint-Isaac's Cathedral is one of the finest monuments of architecture of the XIX century after the project of A. Montferrand. The Saint-Isaac's is the former principal cathedral of the Russian Capital, the largest cathedral in the city with capacity up to 10 thousand people. It is decorated by 112 monolith granite columns 114 tons each and by 400 relieves and bronze sculptures. You'll enjoy a splendid panorama of Saint Petersburg and its suburbs from the colonnade. The dome is covered with the thinnest layer of gold, which was painted into green during the Blockade to prevent it from being destroyed.

Peterhof is a jewel of the Russian art, a town of parks, palaces and fountains. In the past it used to be an exquisite summer residence of the Russian tsars. The Upper and the Lower Parks are the masterpieces of art of gardening numbering over 170 fountains, 5 monumental cascades. In August 2000 after a 60-years break the second largest cascade Lviny was opened. On the territory of the reserve there are 9 working museums: the Grand Peterhof Palace, Monplaisir, Catherine's Block, Marli, Hermitage, Saint-Alexander Nevsky Church, the Benois family museum, Cottage and the Bath block with newly restored rooms and kitchen. Excursion in Peterhof is often enlarged with the excursion to Oranienbaum, which is 15 minutes, by car from Peterhof.

The superb Palace-and-Park ensemble of the late XVIII - the beginning of the XIX centuries is the former summer residence of the Russian Emperor Paul I and his family. This is one of the largest landscape parks in Europe, which covers the area of 600 ha. The works on the creating of the ensemble on the banks of the Slavyanka River were held for 50 years by architects Ch. Kameron, G. Guarenghi, A. Voronikhin, C. Rossi. The collection of the Palace is closely connected with journeys of the owners round Europe in 1781 - 82. They visited workshops of famous artists and bought canvases, furniture, bronze articles, silk, china, ancient sculptures from Italy. They brought to Russia presents from European royal courts. There is a excellent collection of Russian portraits, Pavlovsk landscape oil paintings and drawings. Interior of rooms which belonged to Maria Fedorovna deserves special attention because of their unique beauty and harmony designed by G. Guarenghi and A. Voronikhin in the beginning of the XIX century. Of special interest is the newly redecorated Rossi library built for Maria Fedorovna to store her collection of books and rarities. Excursion in Pavlovsk is often enlarged with the excursion to Pushkin - Tsarskoye Selo - to the Catherine's Palace and Park.

The Palace-and-Park Ensemble - a former residence of the Russian emperors - is a spectacular monument of architecture and art of gardening of XVIII-XIX centuries. Its three parks cover 600 ha housing over a hundred of buildings from magnificent palaces and monuments to intimate pavilions and sculpture. The compositional center of the ensemble in the Catherine's Palace with collections of exquisite decorative objects, furniture, Russian and Western-European painting, china, amber, arms, bronze articles and sculpture. All together there are about 20 thousand exhibits. The Tsarskoselsky Lyceum, an elite school for children from noble families established in the beginning of the XIX century, is situated near the Palace. The great Russian poet A.S. Pushkin attended this school and nowadays it is a branch of the Museum of A.S. Pushkin. The exhibition "Recollections in the Alexander's Palace" is opened in the Alexander's Palace (architect G. Guarenghi, XVIII century) telling about the last residence of the Russian emperors. Paintings, drawings, decorative and applied art, costumes, personal belongings related to life of its owners are represented in 12 halls with authentic or partially restored interiors.

The palace-and-park ensemble is situated on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland opposite Kronshtadt (architects D. Fontana and I. Schedel). In 1743 Oranienbaum became the summer residence of the Emperor Paul III. The Fortress Petershtadt with a petite palace was constructed for him by A. Rinaldi. Later he built the Chinese Palace and the Katalnaya Gorka by the order of Catherine the Great. All these buildings combine exquisite style rococo with traces of classicism. Oranienbaum is famous for its landscape parks of the middle of the XIX century. You can visit the Palace of Peter III, the Japanese pavilion of the Grand (Menshikov) Palace, exhibition halls in Kavalersky Block, the Chinese Kitchen and in the main block of the Grand (Menshikov) Palace. The Chinese Palace and the Katalnaya Gorka work till October.

A city tour usually starts with a panoramic view of the center of St-Petersburg from the Vasilievsky Island, from the place called the Strelka (Spit). Here the Neva is 200 meters wide and splits into two broad streams. The right bank of the river is the Palace Embankment. You'll see a magnificent facade of the Winter Palace along it followed by the Summer Gardens with the Summer House of Peter I. The Palace Bridge separates the Winter Palace from the Admiralty built in the classic style and the Bronze Horseman dominating the Decemberists Square. The Square is outlined by the buildings of the Senate and the Sinod and the St-Isaac's Cathedral which golden dome is perfectly seen from this view point. On the left bank of the Neva there is the Peter and Paul Fortress with the spire of its famous cathedral sparkling in the sky. After you have taken your photos the excursion will continue along the University Embankment past the buildings of the Stock Exchange, the Academy of Science, the State University, the Menshikov Palace and the Academy of Arts. You'll have an opportunity to enjoy monumental classical forms and find out many interesting facts connected with these buildings. Having crossed the Neva you'll find yourself at the Bronze Horseman and the St-Isaac's Cathedral and then go to the Nevsky Prospect to see all its sights. The stroll along the Nevsky Prospect ends at the Alexander Nevsky Lavra - religious complex that includes the Cathedral, Necropolises and the Academy. Then the bus takes you to the Smolny and Tavrichesky Palaces with neighbouring gardens and then further on to the Summer Gardens. You'll see the Mikhailovsky Garden and the Russian Museum, have a short stop at the Engineer Castle at the monument to Peter, enjoy the view of the Mars Field with the beautiful Church of the Savior-on-the-Blood. The Palace Square with the building of the General Staff and the Alexander Column are the next destination of a city tour. The bus heads for the Theater Square to show the guests the Mariinsky Theatre, the Conservatory, the St-Nicolas Cathedral. It is usual that the tourist agree with the guide what other places of interest they would like to see.

The cruise starts from the mooring at Pevchesky Bridge close to the Capella and the Palace Square as this place is very convenient to leave the bus and to continue excursions round the city. After embarking the cruise boat heads for the St-Isaac's Square passing under Narodny (Peoples) Bridge across the Nevsky Prospect, Red Bridge across Gorokhovaya street and Blue Bridge which is considered to be the widest bridge of the city and is enclosed into St-Isaac's Square. Having passed under Pochtamtsky (Post), Potseluev (Kissing) and Krasnoflotsky Bridges you'l find yourself in the waters of Krukov Channel and enjoy the view on the Mariinsky Theatre, the Conservatory, the Nicolsky Square and the St-Nicolas Cathedral. Then the boat enters the Fontanka river between Egyptian and Smezhny Bridges not far from hotel Sovetskaya. Heading in the direction of the Nevsky Prospect under Izmailovsky Bridge you'll pass the Izmailovsky Gardens and the University of Railway Transportation, between Obukhovsky and Semenovsky Bridges you'll see houses of the 19th - the 1st quarter of the 20 century designed in different architectural styles like modern, Renaissance, pseudo Russian. There is the famous Tovstonogov Drama Theatre between Semenovsky and Lomonosovsky Bridges on the left bank of the river. At Anitchkov Bridge tourists will see several palaces - the Palace of Beloselsky-Belozersky, the Anitchkov Palace, the classic Shuvalovsky Palace, the Sheremetievsky Palace. At Belinsky Bridge you'll see the building of the Circus to the left and the Semenovsky Cathedral to the right. After passing the monumental building of the Mikhailovsky Castle and the Summer Gardens, the cruise boat enters the Neva, make a large circle, passes under Troitsky Bridge and returns into the Fontanka. From the Fontanka the boat goes into the Moika passing under Pantelejmonovsky Bridge, past the Mikhailovsky Garden and the Mars Field and returns to the mooring at Pevchesky Bridge.