St Petersburg, Moscow and Northern Lights hunting in Murmansk – 8 Nights/9 Days

Day 1 : Arrive St. Petersburg (Dinner)

Arrive St. Petersburg airport, Pick up and transfer to hotel for an overnight stay.

Day 2 : St. Petersburg (Breakfast & Lunch)

City Tour - During the tour, you will be taken to the most precious monuments of the city's rich history and original architecture carefully preserved as the world cultural heritage. You will be able to hear amazing stories and to take fine pictures of the main architectural and historical sites like Nevsky prospect, the Kazan Cathedral, the Winter Palace, Vasilievsky Island, St. Isaac Cathedral, Peter and Paul Fortress, the Senate Square and the Palace Square.
The 3-hour sightseeing tour will allow you to get a brief but bright impression of Saint Petersburg.

Hermitage. Winter Palace (Main Collection)
It is hard to imagine a trip to Saint Petersburg without visiting one of the most famous museums worldwide - the State Hermitage. Its priceless collection occupies 5 historical buildings of which the Winter Palace - the former residence of the Russian Royal family - is the most remarkable. Its rooms, decorated with marble and gold provide a fine background for the treasures of the Hermitage. You might be surprised to know that the collection of this unique museum contains over 3 million exhibits including the paintings of Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael and other famous artists; however the collections of the Egyptian, Oriental and Ancient Greek art should not be missed as well. You will be literally overwhelmed by the beauty of the museum and will never forget this magnificent and legendary place.

Overnight stay at hotel.

Day 3 : St Petersburg (Breakfast & Lunch)

After breakfast, Visit -PUSHKIN (Palace and Park)
The Summer Palace is the heart of TsarskoeSelo (Tsar's Village) - one of the most picturesque parks among the former residences of the Russian Emperors. Here you may feel the atmosphere of the Royal way of life in its entire magnificence. It is hard to believe that almost everything inside the palace is a result of a careful restoration, which has been finished just 8 years ago. Nowadays the legendary Amber Room, where this precious resin covered the walls in a magnificent and shining style, as well as the radiant interiors have finally regained their former splendor after they suffered from severe damages during World War II. Today tourists from all over the world come to the Pushkin to see the marvelous park and the Catherine's Palace, definitely one of the most impressive highlight of every visit to Saint Petersburg.

Carriage Riding in Troika In Pavlovsk Park - Troika is traditional Russian carriage drawn by three horses harnessed side-by-side. In Russia it had firstly appeared in XVIII century and was used mainly by elite. Since then it became one of the symbols of the country and today everyone can feel himself like a tsar and experience that true Russian ride in the snowy park. And Pavlovsk is the best place to do it! It a unique monument of landscape art: beautiful gardens on the hills, avenues of trees, romantic buildings, winding rivers and stone bridges.

Nevsky Prospect Walking Tour - Nevsky prospect has always been the main street of the city, it remembers many important historical events. On both sides the street is surrounded by architectural masterpieces, keeping their own unique history. During this tour you will see the treasures of Saint Petersburg - Anichkov bridge decorated with sculptures, Catherine's garden and monument in front of the Alexandrinsky theatre, Eliseevy Merchants' Shop, Church of the Savior on blood, Kazan Cathedral, Royal square with Hermitage, Admiralty, St. Isaac's Cathedral at the left side, and much more. On the way you will meet street musicians, artists, actors and even clowns, which will let you feel the unique creative atmosphere of the city. Even Russian Emperors liked to take a walk along Nevsky prospect - today you will follow their steps!

Overnight stay at hotel

Day 4 : St. Petersburg - Murmansk (Breakfast)

Upon breakfast check and transfer to airport. Flight from St. Petersburg - Murmansk

(Recommended Flight : SU-6341 at 11:40 -13: 40)

Pick up from airport and transfer to hotel for an overnight stay.

Day 5 : Murmansk (Breakfast & Lunch)

Breakfast at the hotel. Later visit to Saam's Village- which is located in 110 km from Murmansk. This is an open-air ethnographical museum, where you can get acquainted with the history and traditions of the ingenious people of the North - Saams. After a warm welcome, we will have an excursion and see their typical houses, communicate with tamed deer, taste the national cuisine, visit the museum, that introduces rich culture and lifestyle of Saams. In winter it is possible to enjoy snowmobiling and reindeer sledding.

Husky Park - The North would not be the same without its sled dogs. Those loyal and tenacious animals have a long and proud history of carrying people and goods in their sleds. With the help of the Husky Centre, you too can experience the exhilarating Arctic tradition of dogsledding first hand. A pack of happy, friendly and well-trained Siberian huskies will pull you along to adventure in and around the winter wonderland. During the excursion you will have time to play with husky and enjoy traditional Saam's dishes: fish soup, reindeer meat and berry pie.

Overnight stay at hotel.

Day 6 : Murmansk (Breakfast & Lunch)

City tour of Murmansk - Murmansk is a large military and industrial city, the most important center of fishing and large ships. Many landmarks of the city remind of outstanding historical events, one of the most symbolic objects is the famous memorial "Defenders of the Soviet Arctic in the years of the Great Patriotic War." Local residents often call it "Alyosha", the monument is located near the Semenovskoye Lake, next to the hill of the Green Cape. Another outstanding historical monument is the first nuclear icebreaker built in the Soviet Union. Up to 2009, it was operational, and was recently reorganized into a kind of museum exposition.

Visit to Lenin's Icebreaker - The world's first nuclear icebreaker, the first surface vessel with a nuclear power plant. The icebreaker was built in the USSR, first of all, for servicing the Northern Sea Route. After working for 30 years, in 1989 the icebreaker "Lenin" was decommissioned and put on an eternal parking lot in Murmansk. In the four years since the launch of the nuclear icebreaker Lenin to the pier of the Maritime Station in Murmansk on May 2009, over 130000 visitors have visited it, a large number of business, cultural and social activities have been held.

Searching for Northern Lights - Tonight we will go to search for one of the most inspiring miracles of nature - the Northern Lights. Every winter the sky over the Murmansk is illuminated by bright light - which happens when electrically charged solar particles collide with atoms from our atmosphere. It is almost impossible to predict the appearance of the Northern Lights, but thanks to an experienced guide who will take into account all the features of the search, your chances to see it are very high! You are guaranteed to get to the places which open the best view on it!

Overnight stay at hotel.

Day 7 : Murmansk - Moscow (Breakfast)

Upon breakfast, checkout and transfer to airport. Flight from Murmansk - Moscow.

(Recommended : SU-1321 at 13:10-15: 30)

Pick up from Moscow airport and transfer to hotel for an overnight stay.

Day 8 : Moscow (Breakfast & Lunch)

City Tour (Full Day) - Moscow is the capital of Russian Federation and represents a unique set of old architecture masterpieces and modern high-tech buildings. If you want to know more about the history of the Russian capital, you need to take this City tour! In only a few hours, you will have a glimpse of its main landmarks, such as the Red Square, the Kremlin, the Victory Park, the White House, the Arbat, Cathedral Christ-the-Saviour, the observation platform of Sparrow hills, Lomonosov University and much more! It is an interesting and efficient introduction to Europe's biggest city.

Overnight stay at hotel.

Day 9 : Moscow

Breakfast, checkout from hotel and transfer to airport for departure.

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