Art Lovers Tour of St. Petersburg, Russia – sample itinerary
5 days/4 nights
Day 1 Welcome to St. Petersburg!
Arrive in St. Petersburg, Transfer to hotel with guide’s assistance. Presentation with the book of St. Petersburg’s highlights with beautiful pictures.
Welcome dinner at hotel.
Day 2 Explore St. Petersburg – the gem of art
Breakfast at hotel.
Panoramic sightseeing tour of St. Petersburg. Our sightseeing tour introduces you to the major sights and the lesser known gems, including St. Isaac’s Cathedral, Church of Our Saviour on the Spilled Blood, Admiralty, Peter & Paul’s Fortress, Arts Square. During the tour we will stop at the spit of Vassilievsky Island and visit the splendidAcademy of Fine Arts (www.nimrah.com.ru). In 2007 the Academy will celebrate its 250th anniversary. Many prominent Russian artists graduated from the Russian Academy of Fine Arts and the Repin Institute. Their works were put on display in the former building of the Academy alongside with works by their professors. Today it shows mostly graduation and study projects together with paintings related to the history of the Academy.
Lunch at a local restaurant.
Tour to a treasure-house of national culture – State Russian Museum (www.rusmuseum.ru ). As soon as you enter the Russian Museum you will be amazed by the sheer beauty that is kept inside the Mikhailovsky Palace. The museum has one of the largest collections of Russian art in the world, with works ranging from 12th century icons to 20th century works by masters like Chagall, Malevich and Kadinsky.
Ballet/Opera performance in one of the main St. Petersburg’s theatres.
Dinner at “Backstage” restaurant. This is a perfect place for discussing theatre performance while having dinner and here you can meet ballet or opera stars. Then transfer to the hotel.
Day 3 Majestic Palaces of St. Petersburg
Morning tour to Hermitage Museum, one of the world’s biggest art and cultural museums . Our guests will have the general tour covering major halls of the Hermitage Museum. In addition to the general tour guide will offer visit to exhibitions of different artists of different schools according to the desire of the clients.
As an option it is possible to arrange a lecture on art of various art movements be it Italian Renaissance, French Impressionism, applied art and etc.
Optional (need to be prearanged in advance with separate reservations:
Hermitage Storage rooms. Been to the Hermitage already? Have a particular interest? Recently opened this state-of-art storage facility holds a vast wealth of Hermitage collection of royal wardrobes, furniture, carriages, sculptures and paintings, interesting for the return traveler. Gold and Diamond Treasure Rooms of Hermitage. This visit would like to offer to the lovers and connoisseurs of the jewelry. Filled with gold, precious stones, diamonds, enamels, filigree, pearls, the Gold & Diamond Treasure Rooms of the Hermitage lead you along the way of changes in historical designs, materials and techniques from Scynthians, 4thc BC to the 18 th AC West Europeans.
Lunch at a local restaurant.
Tour to Peterhof, the most famous Summer Estate of Russian Czars founded by Peter the Great The tour includes visit to Peterhof’s Grand Palace and the Museum of Private Collections.
As a final salute to your experience in St. Petersburg you will certainly enjoy a magnificent Russian Gala dinner consisting of specialty Russian cuisine, alcohol, with live classical music.
Transfer to hotel.
Day 4, Tsarskoe Selo (Pushkin), St . Catherine Palace
Visit to Catherine’s Palace & park. The town of Pushkin (formerly Tsarskoye Selo) lies just outside St. Petersburg and has a marvelous ensemble of palaces and parks. It is particularly famous for its impressive baroque Catherine Palace, where Empress Catherine the Great lived and died. The palace was almost totally destroyed during World War II, but has risen like a phoenix from the ashes due to an extensive restoration program undertaken since the war. The palace we see today was designed by the Italian architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli. Most of the restored interiors date back to the time of Empress Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great, though there are some early 19th century interiors too. Catherine the Great chose to live in a separate wing of the palace, and even at the age of 60 she quite happily walked the length of the palace to reach the building’s private church every day.
While visiting Catherine’s Palace in Tsarskoe Selo, we invite you to the actual workshops where masters rebuilt the world famous Amber Room panels. You can see and/or buy replicas of some historical pieces, and see artists at work. One of the masters will give you detailed explanation on the techniques on work with amber.
Day 5 Goodbye St. Petersburg!
Breakfast at hotel, Transfer to the airport with guide’s assistance
End of services
Or extend your tour with the following options:
· Master class in painting/ painting Matryoshka dolls/ making souvenirs/etc. during the tour to Academy of Arts.
· Been to the Hermitage already? Have a particular interest? Recently opened this state-of-art storage facility holds a vast wealth of Hermitage collection of royal wardrobes, furniture, carriages, sculptures and paintings, interesting for the return traveler.
· Meeting with artists in their studios/art galleries.
· Visit to the modern art-galleries of St. Petersburg where you will be able to purchase some of the items of contemporary artists you enjoy.
· Visit to jewelry shops where you will have opportunity to purchase Faberge eggs and other items of the finest collections
Prices on request. This is a sample itinerary, customized for each client.