ST PETERSBURG TOURS

St Petersburg is Russia’s cultural capital with so much to see that it can be hard to know where to start. With museums, palaces and architecture seemingly everywhere you look having some of your time privately guided here is a really good idea. We offer a range of 3 to 5 hour tours that are an ideal way to structure your time in this city. Most tours have the option of a walking and public transport version which helps keep the costs down and connect you with the city and are ideal for the summer months. The tours can also be upgraded to a private car which is worth considering if there during the bitter winter months. Contact us with any questions you have.

The Hermitage is one of the world’s largest and greatest art museums and this 3 hour tour provides a good introduction to the collections as well as some orientation of this vast collection of 3,000,000 objects exhibited in 4 buildings, the most famous being the Winter Palace - the former Tzars’ residence. Your guide can help you find the paintings or artefacts that you are interested in and relate the history and often mysterious stories surrounding the Winter Palace and its former habitants.

AVOIDS THE LONG TICKET QUEUES THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER MONTHS

This tour includes entrance to the Hermitage.

The Peter & Paul Fortress is one of St Petersburg’s premiere attractions and a unique example of Russian fortification construction from the early eighteenth century. The history of the fortress is connected with the struggle of the Russian people for an outlet to the Baltic Sea. It occupies a large area containing several sights including the iconic Peter and Paul Cathedral whose 402 foot high belfry is the highest architectural structure in St Petersburg. The Cathedral is the symbolic centre of Russia and for two hundred years almost all Russian rulers from Peter I to Nicolas II and their families were buried here making this a guided journey through Russian history.

MUST BE BOOKED IN CONJUNCTION WITH ANOTHER TOUR

This tour includes entrance to Peter & Paul Fortress.

Today you get to experience real life Russia! Your guide will meet you at the hotel and take you on foot and by metro to the home of a Russian family. There the hostess will teach you how to cook Russian meals like borsch and pelmeni, and while you eat this meal, the hostess will talk about Russian life from her point of view and, of course, you can ask any questions you like. Washing up is optional before returning to your hotel with the guide! The total time for this tour is 4 hours.

SUPERB CULTURAL EXPERIENCE

The Russian Museum was the first state museum dedicated to Russian fine art in the country. It was established in 1895 in St Petersburg by a decree of the Tzar Nicholas II with its grand opening for visitors in March 1898. Today the museum is a unique repository of artistic treasures, famous restoration centre, authoritative institute of academic research, one of the major cultural and educational centers in Russia and a research and educational centre overseeing the activities of 260 art museums throughout Russia.

This tour includes entrance to the Russian Museum.

Peterhof is a jewel of Russian art and architecture – a town of parks, palaces and fountains. In the past it was an exquisite summer residence of the Russian Tzars. From the Grand Palace of Peterhof three monumental cascading fountains lead to the Lower Park, a masterpiece in itself, with 173 fountains across its grounds. During the tour you’ll walk around the Lower Park and see the most impressive fountains and before taking a 1 hour tour of the Grand Palace itself.

ESSENTIAL TO PRE-BOOK IN SUMMER

This tour includes entrance to Peterhof.

Starting from your hotel we reach Pavlosk beginning with a walk in Pavlovsk Park before heading to the Palace, the former mansion of Catherine the Great’s son Paul. During the tour the guide will tell you about the Palace and its fascinating history. Time for a coffee break and snack (not included) before continuing on to Pushkin. Pushkin feels different to Pavlovsk as we walk to the Catherine Palace passing a lake, canals, and the former Tzars’ private pavilions. We visit the Palace, former summer residence of Catherine the Great, known worldwide for its Amber Room and numerous golden chambers. Return to your hotel in St Petersburg.

ESSENTIAL TO PRE-BOOK IN SUMMER

This tour includes entrance to Pushkin & Pavlosk.

In this 3 hour tour you experience the most relaxed way to see St Petersburg and which is ideal for the long summer days. Cruises start from moorings on the Moika or the Fontanka rivers. The boat heads for St Isaac's Square passing under Narodny Bridge across Nevsky Prospect, Red Bridge across Gorokhovaya street and Blue Bridge, the widest in the city. Along the way see views of famous sights including the Mariinsky Theatre, Conservatory, Nicolsky Square and St Nicolas Cathedral, Izmailovsky Gardens as well as houses of the 19th and early 20th Centuries. At Anitchkov Bridge you will see several palaces including Beloselsky-Belozersky, the Anitchkov Palace, Shuvalovsky Palace and the Sheremetievsky Palace before passing the monumental Mikhailovsky Castle and Summer Gardens.

The Yusupov Palace is where you will see the beautiful Gala Rooms & Halls of the palace as well as getting acquainted with the destiny of it’s owner Prince Yusupov. Discover the amazing story of the architects who created the Palace, the treasures it contains and how modern Russian history has added new twists to the story. In the heart of the Palace we visit the wonderful chamber theatre whose name is connected with Fedor Shalyapin, Anna Pavlova, Franz Liszt & Polina Viardo. We also visit the Rasputin rooms whose historical interior, documents & pictures help you to feel the tragedy of this murder and the different theories behind it.

MUST BE BOOKED IN CONJUNCTION WITH ANOTHER TOUR

This tour includes entrance to Yusupov Palace including the Rasputin rooms.

A tour of St Petersburg by private car focused on some of Russia great writers who have spent time in the city. These include Alexander Pushkin, Nikolai Gogol, Nikolai Nekrasov, Vladimir Nabokov, the well known Russian poets Alexander Blok and Anna Akhmatova. The tour will also include a visit to the flat of Fyodor Dostoevsky which is now a museum dedicated to him, and finishes back at your hotel.

This tour includes entrance to the flat of Fyodor Dostoevsky.

The perfect tour for those with an interest in Jewish history covering a wide range of sights although note that you won’t have time to enter all of them. A highlight is The Great Choral Synagogue built in 1893 in Moorish style with interiors by Leon Bakhman. It is the second largest in Europe and can accommodate 1,200 worshipers. You will pass Ginsburg House which belonged to the famous banker and philanthropist, Baron Horace Ginsburg, one of the leaders of the Jewish community and a major donor for the construction of the Great Choral Synagogue.

We also see The Academy of Fine Arts amongst whose graduates are the sculptor Antokolsky, the painter Mark Shagal and architect Leon Bakhman. We pass by the Museum of Russian art housing work from Levitan, Altman, Shagall, Soutin and the Church of Spilled Blood.

We visit the The Russian Ethnography Museum where there is an exhibition called “History and Culture of the Jewish people on the territory of Russia”. On display are artifacts from the Pale of Settlement by the Jewish scholar and ethnographer Ansky as well as Jewish manuscripts and first editions of Jewish books from the National Public Library. We also see the Jewish St. Petersburg Community Home which is the center of Jewish life today. It accommodates a number of Jewish organizations such as the Jewish Family Center, a welfare organization for the elderly, Hillel and the Institute of Judaica.

If time permits we can also see the Jewish Memorial Cemetery, among those buried here are public figures such as S. Polyakov, Ginsbourg, Antokolsky and victims of the Siege of Leningrad. The tour finishes back at your hotel.

This tour includes entrance to The Russian Ethnography Museum.