The Tsar Route Finland and Russia

Enjoy a relaxing overnight flight to Helsinki.

Upon arrival in Helsinki make your own way to your hotel. Tonight join the welcome meeting at the hotel with your tour director.

Helsinki is located at the crossroads of Western and Eastern culture and this is reflected everywhere in the green and lively Finnish capital. The sightseeing tour takes us around the harbors and the Senate Square with the Lutheran Cathedral, up central Mannerheim Street and by the Parliament Building, the Finlandia Hall, and the Sibelius Monument and for a visit at the famous Church-in-the-Rock. The afternoon offers an optional excursion to Seurasaari Open-Air Museum, an oasis in the midst of the city with cottages, farmsteads and manors from all around Finland. (B)

Today we continue eastbound to St. Petersburg. Shortly after crossing the border into Russia we arrive in Vyborg, where we take time for a short sightseeing tour and a photo-stop at Vyborg Castle. In the late afternoon we arrive in St. Petersburg. (B)

St. Petersburg is an amazing city. Its imperial palaces and museums enjoy worldwide fame, while the Neva River and the many canals have deservedly given the city the title “The Venice of the North”. During the morning sightseeing tour we get acquainted with all the splendors of the city: the Peter-Paul Fortress, the Winter Palace, St. Isaac’s Cathedral, the Church of the Bleeding Savior, the Nevsky Convent and much more. The afternoon offers an optional excursion to Zarskoye Selo with the impressive Catherine’s Palace and the Amber Room, which vanished during World War II and was restored for St. Petersburg’s tri-centennial celebrations. In the evening enjoy an optional visit to the Nikolaevsky Palace with an exciting Russian folklore show and Russian "champagne” and snacks. (B)

The morning is reserved for an optional visit to Peterhof, an uncontested masterpiece of the time of Peter the Great, with the impressive Grand Palace, Grand Cascade and Water Avenue and its wonderful parks. In the afternoon, an optional visit to the world-famous Hermitage Art Museum is offered. In the evening enjoy an optional Russian dinner at Restaurant Russian Kitsch. (B)

The early morning is reserved for an optional St. Petersburg channel cruise. Around noon we go to the St. Petersburg Railway Station and board the Sapsan high-speed train bound for Moscow. The train ride takes us through endless Russian landscapes along the River Volga. In the late afternoon we arrive in Moscow. (B)

Moscow, The Mother of Russia, is a genuine Russian city with the Kremlin and its onion domed cathedrals. The dramatic changes over the last decade have made the city into one of the most dynamic metropolis in the world. The morning sightseeing tour includes all the highlights of the vast city: the Red Square with the Kremlin, the Theatre Square with the Bolshoi Theatre, Sparrow Hills with Moscow University and a visit to the famous Moscow Metro. In the afternoon an optional excursion to the Kremlin grounds with a visit to one of the cathedrals is offered. The evening offers an optional Moscow by night tour including an unforgettable river cruise with the White Flotilla. (B)

The day offers an optional full day excursion to the quaint town of Sergiev Posad, where we visit the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, the most important Russian monastery and the spiritual heart of the Russian Orthodox Church. The whole Lavra has been beautifully restored for the 700-years celebrations of the birth of St. Sergius of Radonezh. The evening offers an optional visit to the Old Russian Circus. (B)

After breakfast make your own way to the airport. (B)