Moscow City Break

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival in Moscow

Upon arrival in Moscow you'll be met and transferred to the hotel of your choice.

Days 2 – 3: Exploring Moscow

Breakfast at the hotel followed by free time to explore the city. We can offer sightseeing tours with private guides, please see list below. All tours are private with English speaking guides and start from the hotel. We can also help with tickets to the theatre or ballet at well-known venues, such as the Bolshoi Theatre or Moscow Circus.

Day 4: Departure from Moscow

After breakfast at your hotel, check out by 12:00 and your departure transfer will be provided to the airport about 3 h 30 mins before your flight.

Sightseeing tours in Moscow:

Moscow City Tour

Duration: 3 hours
Price: £182 total for 2 people
Comments: Usual pick up time 10am.  Tour includes metro if requested
Included in the city tour of Moscow are following highlights:
- Kutuzovskii prospect, lined with impressive classical-style apartment blocks from the Stalin era
- Spectacular view of the Novodevichii (literally, ‘New-Maiden’) convent, standing out on the city skyline with its gilded domes and turrets. One of Moscow’s most beautiful architectural ensembles, its oldest buildings date back to 1524
- The Sparrow Hills, the highest point of the city
- Moscow State University.  Its gigantic main block is one of the most impressive of the so-called ‘Stalin gothic’ skyscrapers
- Poklonnaya Gora ‘Hill of Bowing’ and Victory Park, which contains monuments to those who died in WWII and the Holocaust, a brand new Orthodox Church, synagogue, mosque, and the enormous victory monument - a soaring obelisk topped with a winged Victory and two trumpeting angels
- Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, built to commemorate the victory of Napoleon in 1812
- The Manezh, a covered military parade ground (now an exhibition hall) built in 1817
- The Lenin library, one of the largest in Russia
- Former KGB headquarters on Lubyanka Square
- The Red Square, one of the most famous sights in Russia and perhaps the World
- The fairytale medieval cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed. Built in 1555-61 to commemorate the taking of the Tatar city of Kazan.  
- The GUM, a trading emporium built in the late 19th century. 
- The Historical Museum
- The Resurrection Gate
- Lenin’s mausoleum

Moscow City Tour incl. Novodevichy Convent

Duration: 4 hours
Price: £244 total for 2 people
Comments: Closed on Tuesdays.
New Maidens Convent (Novodevicy Convent) and now a Museum in beautiful setting by a lake outside the centre of Moscow. One of the finest examples of the 16-19th century architecture is located on the territory of a former convent for ladies of noble birth. The convent is connected with major events in Russian history, such as the Coronation of Boris Godunov, the fight of the Russian throne between Peter the Great and his troublesome sister Princess Sophia and the events of the War of 1812. There is a history and arts museum on the grounds. It is now the residence of the Moscow Metropolit, and a home for nuns who are restoring the tradition of nunnery.

Moscow City Tour incl. Novodevichy Convent & Cemetery

Duration: 5 hours
Price: £289 total for 2 people
Comments: Closed on Tuesdays.

Full day Moscow City Tour incl. Novodevichy Convent, Kremlin and Armoury

Duration: 8 hours
Price: £486 total for 2 people
Comments: Not available on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Kremlin and Cathedrals  

Duration: 3 hours
Price: £212 total for 2 people, walking tour £142 total for 2 people (available from certain hotels)
Comments:  Open 10.00 – 17.00. Closed on Thursdays.
Kremlin package includes entrance to Kremlin Grounds plus 1 Cathedral, the former residence of Russian tsars. It is an architectural ensemble of unique beauty which took shape between the 15th and 20th centuries.

Kremlin and Armoury Museum

Duration: 3 hours
Price: £272 total for 2 people, walking tour £212 total for 2 people (available from certain hotels)
Comments:  Open 10.00 – 17.00. Closed on Thursdays.
There is a limited access to the Armoury up to 1.75 hrs and at set times for visits only. The Armoury Chamber, the treasury of Russian tsars with a unique collection of gold and silver items of the 12-19th centuries, Russian arms, the state regalia, thrones, carriages, a coronation dresses of the 16-19 th, 10 World famous Faberge Eggs and old icons.

Pushkin Fine Arts Museum

Duration: 4 – 5 hours
Price: £212 total for 2 people, walking tour £142 total for 2 people (available from certain hotels)
Comments: Open 10.00 – 18.00. Closed on Mondays.
Pushkin Fine Arts Museum is situated in a superb building opposite the new cathedral. It was founded in 1912 by professor Tsvetaev of Moscow University. It has a wide collection of Western European Art. The Acient Greece and Rome are also well represented through wonderful reproductions. The pride of the museum is the collection of ancient Egyptian Art. The French Art of the 18-20th centuries is fully represented via different schools and trends such as "Barbison", Impressionism, post-impressionism and Cubism.

Tretyakov Art Gallery

Duration: 3 hours
Price: £214 total for 2 people, walking tour £144 total for 2 people (available from certain hotels)
Comments:  Open 10.00 – 19.30. Closed on Mondays.
Galleries of mainly Russian art from Icons to Socialist Realism. This museum holds a wonderful collection of the most famous Russian artists’ work. It is the national museum of Russia and was founded in 1856 by Pyotr Tretyakov. The collection, with its 100.000 exhibits, includes 5,000 works of ancient Russian art and world famous paintings by Russian and Soviet artists, as well as sculptures and graphic art.

Moscow Metro Tour & St. Saviour’s Cathedral  

Duration: 3 hours
Price: £205 total for 2 people, walking tour £137 total for 2 people (available from certain hotels)
Comments:  Open 10.00 – 18.00.
St. Saviour’s Cathedral - Viewing platforms afford best views of Moscow. To commemorate the victory of the Russian army over Napoleon troops a cathedral began to be built in 1839. Its construction was financed by private donations from the Russian people ad was finished 44 years later. Well-known Russian artists of the past century painted its interior: the scenes from the Old Testament and Russian history were executed in high relief. The temple was consecrated in May 1883. In 1931 the cathedral was blown up and an open swimming-pool Moskva was set up in its place in the 1960s. Today, Christ the Saviour Cathedral has been restored and tourists can get a non-forgettable view over the city from a 46 m high observation platform up the temple.

Vladimir & Suzdal

Duration: 13 hours
Price: £656 total for 2 people
Vladimir was the capital of Russia in the 12th century. Its architectural ensemble includes monuments of unique beauty and elegance. Among them the Assumption Cathedral (the only church with murals by Andrei Rublev), the lace-like Dmitrovsky Cathedral and the Golden Gates. the 12th century Church of the Intercession on the Nerl, the most marvelous and perfect monument became the symbol of early Russian architecture.
Suzdal is a town - museum of the 13-19 th centuries. It's situated 30 km from Vladimir. Its architectural ensemble looks like a fairytale with its Church of the Nativity of the 13-17th century monasteries and unique houses.

Sergiev Posad (Zagorsk)

Duration: 6 hours
Price: £333 total for 2 people
Comments:  10.00 – 16.30. Closed on Mondays and last Wednesday in the month.
The town of Sergiyev Posad, known as Zagorsk during the Soviet era, is a small industrial and agricultural city about an hour from Moscow.It is most famous for its spectacular fortress monastery, the Trinity Monastery of St. Sergius, an important center in the Orthodox world.
Holy Trinity Monastery, Sergiev Posad (formerly Zagorsk)
It was in an ordinary-looking wooden building just outside this monastery that a young man called Alik Men was secretly taught and baptised by Mother Mariya, abbess of a covert community of nuns. This was the Communist era, when religion was banned or heavily restricted in the Soviet Union - and the monastery itself was closed.
Alexander (or Aleksandr) Men, later Fr Alexander, devoted his life to reforming the Russian Orthodox Church from within and reaching out to a younger generation deprived of Christian teaching.

Please kindly note a supplement of 50 % of excursion price applies during Public Holidays:

• 01 - 08 Jan
• 23 Feb
• 08 Mar
• 01 - 03 May
• 09 - 10 May
• 12 Jun
• 05 - 06 Sep
• 04 Nov
• 31 Dec

This map uses Google Maps, so you can zoom and interact with it as we hope it is familiar to you.

For a larger version of this map which opens in a new window, click here

The lines shown give you an indication of our destinations and are not the exact route used.

You'll see...

• The Kremlin »
• Armoury Museum »
• Bolshoi Theatre and Ballet »
• Bunker -42 Tagansky (Cold War Museum ) »
• Cathedral of Christ the Saviour »
• Gorki Leninskie Museum »
• Izmailovo Kremlin »
• Moscow History »
• Moscow State Circus »
• Moscow Underground »
• Novodevicy Convent »
• Sergiev Posad »
• Star City »
• Tretyakov Art Gallery »
• Moscow Overview and Attractions »
• Moscow restaurants »

Money in Russia

When you go to Russia we recommend having some Russian Rubles in cash with you (enough for initial expenses) and for the rest – use your credit/debit card. A lot of shops, restaurants, night clubs and larger bars accept major credit/debit cards in the big cities, however if you plan to go to smaller towns or shop at the local markets or small souvenir shops you are expected to pay cash in Rubles. Only few specialist souvenir shops will accept cash in Euros, US Dollars and British Pounds. You will find many ATMs (in Russian – “bankomat”) in Moscow, St Petersburg and other major Russian cities. They can be found next to banks, in metro stations and in the lobbies of most hotels. US dollars or Euros can be exchanged everywhere in Russia, but if you have any other currency it might be hard to find an exchange bureau and the rate will most likely not be favorable. There are many bureaux de change and some are open 24 hours a day. It is worth shopping around to find the best rates especially if you plan to change large sums from US Dollars or Euro, other currencies are normally only changeable at central exchange offices or big banks. We recommend exchanging British Pounds in local banks. Banks in Russia are normally open from 09:00 until 17:00 except weekends and bank holidays. We suggest notifying your bank of your travel to Russia or they might block your card automatically after your first use of the card in Russia.

Transportation

Railway mostly serves domestic routes and is used as an easy and quick way to get from the capital to major cities of the country. There are some international routes, like to Moscow and St. Petersburg, but time spent on the way will be quite long.

Buses are one of the most convenient ways to travel between the Baltic States. Eurolines will get you between Riga, Vilnius and Tallinn. One way tickets will cost £ 15 - £ 20 and approximate travel time is 5 hours between the cities. Ticket reservations in advance are recommended.

Taxis are the quickest and most convenient way of travelling round the city. You'll find them located close to the main hotels. Usually it's quite easy to catch a taxi on the street, however, it's much better and safer to order one by phone. Taxi costs in all of the Baltic countries and Poland are approximately the same and a ride in the centre of the city will cost you approx £ 5 - £ 7.  Taxis in Finland and Russia are considerably more expensive.  It is always a good idea to get your hotel to book a taxi for you and ask approximately how much the trip will cost before you get in.

We would not recommend you to take public transportation within the city, as it's usually crowded and it may cause you unnecessary anxiety about where to stop.