Czars & Caviar Imperial Russia
August 3 - 13, 2011
FROM IVAN THE TERRIBLE TO PETER THE GREAT
Throughout history, the rulers of Russia have focused
obsessively on developing their country’s
dueling capitals, Moscow and St. Petersburg. Built on top of an ancient
settlement dating back 3,000 years, Moscow (Moskva) went from a rickety,
wooden-walled fort to a magnificent citadel under the rule of Czar
Ivan the Terrible in the 15th century, when it became Russia’s
capital. Two centuries later, Czar Peter the Great felt Moscow was
too Asian, and therefore too backward for his own tastes. He built
a glorious new European-style capital city and named it after himself—St.
Petersburg.
As with most very old civilizations,
Russia has seen more than its fair share of upheavals—from foreign
conquest to internal Revolution and the devastating effects of two
World Wars. Yet Moscow and St. Petersburg
survive to this day as both potent reminders of Russia’s rich
heritage, and as beacons for the country’s bright future. The
two cities have very different atmospheres, and both are evolving to
find their footing in Russia’s rapidly growing economic and political
sphere. The nation’s capital, Moscow, is in the
heartland at the confluence of the Moskva and Neglina Rivers, where much of Russia’s
grandiose history has played out (either in public or behind the walls
of the
foreboding Kremlin building). It became the political and ideological
center of the unified Russian state and later of the vast Soviet empire.
Even though that empire has now broken apart, the city retains its
political, industrial, and cultural sway. With a population of more
than 9 million, it is Russia’s largest city and home to some
of the country’s most renowned cultural institutions, theaters,
and film studios. Many parts of the city, especially within the Boulevard
Ring which includes Red Square, are now sparkling clean and well kept. From its dramatic birth in the early
18th century, St. Petersburg has suffered turbulent years of revolution,
the freezing
death and starvation of the Nazi siege, the grim purges of Stalin and
the end of the Communist era in the 1990s. With strict geometric lines
and perfectly planned architecture so foreign to other Russian cities,
St. Petersburg is almost too European to be Russian, and yet it is
too Russian to be European. It is simply an amazing combination of
both East and West, built on a grand scale with splendid boulevards,
magnificent palaces along its many waterways, and some of the
world’s most respected museums, St. Petersburg feels particularly
magical in the summertime because it is never entirely dark during
the white nights of this northern latitude.
This journey to Russia also includes
visits to a few of the ancient towns that make up the Golden Ring,
often referred
to as open-air museums
featuring unique monuments of Russian architecture from the 12th to
18th centuries, including kremlins, monasteries, cathedrals, and churches.
These towns are among the most picturesque in Russia and prominently
feature Russia’s famous onion domes. These towns include Sergiev
Posad, Suzdal, and Vladimir.
Russia is the world’s largest country! It is truly a fascinating
destination that should be on every seasoned traveler’s list
of places to see at least once in a lifetime. Despite Western media
reports to the contrary, Russia is more accessible now than at any
time in the past, so visitors will not experience any special difficulties
in getting there. These imperial cities of Russia embody a larger-than-life
historical significance. Discover your own champagne and caviar dreams
with Toto Tours as we explore these crown jewels of the Czarist empire.
ITINERARY
Wednesday, August 3, 2011 Departure from the U.S.
Your adventure begins today with an international flight to Moscow,
Russia. When making an internet search for the best airfare, use the
airport code MOW for Moscow. That will pull up options into the major
airports which include Sheremetyevo (SVO) and Domodedovo (DME). You
will be returning from St. Petersburg, whose airport code is LED. Try
to
time
your arrival
in
Moscow by 4pm
tomorrow so that you will be able to attend our welcome festivities.
If you prefer to arrive a day early in order to have more time to adjust
from jet lag, we will be happy to arrange an additional hotel night
tonight. Tour services in Moscow do not begin until tomorrow.
Thursday, August 4, 2011 Arrival in Moscow / Welcome Dinner
Most flights from the United States connect through a major European
capital, and arrive anytime between mid-morning and mid-afternoon.
Upon arrival, collect
your luggage, go through customs and transfer to
our hotel
in
downtown
Moscow. One airport transfer has been
costed into the price of this tour, and it will be timed to accommodate
the greatest number of arriving passengers. For those who are unable
to utilize the group transfer, we can arrange a private transfer for
an additional charge or you can take public transportation. We will
provide more information about your transfer options prior to
departure.
This evening we gather at the hotel for a welcome
cocktail, with introductions all around.
Afterwards, Toto Tours hosts a Welcome Dinner at a nearby restaurant. (Dinner
included)
Friday, August 5, 2011 Moscow Sightseeing
Enjoy a hot buffet breakfast at the hotel, followed by a full-day
sightseeing tour that features the incredible sights in Moscow’s
Red Square. For most visitors, Red Square is indelibly associated with
images of
stone-faced Soviet leaders standing in the bitter cold as a panoply
of military might rumbles by their reviewing stand atop Lenin’s
Mausoleum. Although the Square is no longer witness to the imposing
parades of past May Days, it remains a profoundly impressive space.
Enclosed by the stark severity of the mausoleum, the exuberant colors
of St.
Basil’s Cathedral, and other expansive facades, Red Square is,
and deserves to be, the requisite first stop for any visitor to Moscow. Today’s
tour features Red Square, the Kremlin,
the Armory Chamber and the city’s 200-hectare historical landscape Alexander
Park. We also visit St. Basil’s Cathedral, the world
famous GUM Department Store with its elegant turn-of-the-last-century interior,
and the opulent, chandelier-adorned Moscow subway system. You’ll be pinching
yourself all day to convince yourself that you are actually walking in these
places you have seen time and again in movies and news broadcasts. (Breakfast
/ Lunch)
Saturday, August 6, 2011 More Moscow
After
breakfast enjoy another full-day sightseeing tour. Our first stop will
be Vorobyovy Gory, also known as Sparrow Hills, one of the
city’s highest points. The observation platform, which gives
a good panoramic view of the city, is situated on a steep bank about
280 feet above the Moskva River, with the 1980 Olympic Stadium, the
massive Novodevichy Convent and the Moscow University in view. We
then tour the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (Khram Khrista Spasitela),
conceived to honor the victory over Napoleon in the War of 1812 and
modeled after Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia. Stalin demolished the
original structure, so the cathedral was rebuilt in 2000 after the
original design, widely believed to be the largest Orthodox church
in the world. After a lunch break, we tour the State Tretyakov Gallery,
a national museum of both modern and fine art, with an outdoor sculpture
garden featuring a collection of Socialist Realism statues. Lenin’s
Mausoleum is closed on Friday, so those who wish to see inside this
somber memorial return to Red Square for the visit at some point today.
The evening is free for optional activities such as
the
Moscow
Circus
or
a cultural
performance. (Breakfast / Lunch)
Sunday,
August 7, 2011 The Golden Ring: Sergiev Posad to Suzdal
After
breakfast, we check out of our hotel and board our motorcoach for the
44-mile drive to the city of Sergiev Posad, which in the 15th
century grew up around one of the greatest of Russian monasteries,
the Troitse-Sergiyeva (Trinity) Lavra established by St. Sergius of
Radonezh. The Soviet authorities changed the town’s name first
to just Sergiyev in 1919, and then to Zagorsk in 1930, in memory of
the revolutionary Vladimir Zagorsky. The original name came back into
official use in 1991. After visiting the Monastery and a Matrioshka
(Russian nesting dolls) workshop, we eat lunch at a local restaurant.
In the afternoon, we continue toward Suzdal, a drive of approximately
100 miles. We check into our hotel, and the evening is free. (Breakfast
/ Lunch)
Monday, August 8, 2011 The Golden Ring: Suzdal / Vladimir / Return to Moscow
After breakfast, enjoy a morning city tour of Suzdal, dating back
to the year 1024. At one point, it was a city with great political
importance
that became increasingly known as a religious center with many
monasteries and churches. Now it is an important tourist destination
with many fine examples of old Russian architecture. We
visit the local Kremlin, a monastery and the Museum of Wooden Architecture.
After lunch at a local restaurant, we
make the short 16-mile drive to the city of Vladimir on the Kamenka
River. Vladimir was
once a medieval capital
of Russia and two of its cathedrals are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. We
visit one of them, Uspensky Sobor, before making the 125-mile drive back
to Moscow. Upon arrival, we check back into our original hotel and
the remainder of the evening is free. (Breakfast
/ Lunch)
Tuesday, August 9, 2011 High-Speed Train to St. Petersburg
After breakfast enjoy some free time before our mid-morning check
out and transfer to the Leingradsky
Vokzal Train Station where we board our high-speed train to St. Petersburg.
The train departs at 1:00 pm and arrives in St. Petersburg
at 5:45 pm. Relax in the comfort of a seat in business class aboard
the train. Upon arrival in St. Petersburg we board our motorcoach for
the
transfer to our hotel, enjoying a panoramic orientation tour of
the city along the way. After hotel check-in, dinner is included
at a local restaurant. (Breakfast
/ Dinner)
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 St. Petersburg Sightseeing
After breakfast we spend the day touring St. Petersburg. This morning,
we visit the Peter & Paul Fortress, the original citadel built
by Peter the Great at the height of the Northern Wars to protect the
city from possible invasion by the Swedish navy. Originally built in
1703 of earth and timber, it was rebuilt in stone, but the fortress
never fulfilled its military purpose, serving alternately as garrison,
prison and site of the towering cathedral where the country’s
czars are buried.
After lunch, the afternoon is spent touring
one of the world’s greatest museums, the Hermitage, which
occupies six magnificent buildings situated
along the
River Neva, right in the heart of St Petersburg. Since the museum houses nearly
3 million works of art, it will not be possible to see everything in a few
hours, but we will definitely hit the highlights. Our day of sightseeing ends
with a 90-minute evening cruise on the Neva. (Breakfast
/ Lunch)
Thursday, August 11, 2011 Pushkin and Pavlovsk
After breakfast, we depart our hotel on a
full-day excursion to Pushkin and Pavlovsk outside of St. Petersburg.
Just 15 miles south of St.
Petersburg city center, Pushkin was founded in the 18th century as
the summer residence of the Russian tsars under the name Tsarskoye
Selo (Royal Village), but it was renamed Pushkin after the October
Revolution to honor Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. We visit
Catherine’s Palace, site of the famous Amber Room, and then
take lunch at a local restaurant. Our next stop is just a few miles
away in Pavlovsk. Here we visit the Grand
Palace (one of the country’s most impressive) along the Slavyanka
River. After dabbling in Russia’s royal history, we drive back
to St. Petersburg for a free evening. (Breakfast / Lunch)
Friday, August 12, 2011 Summer Palace and St. Isaac Cathedral
After breakfast enjoy a morning excursion to Petrodvorets, the Summer
Palace of Peter the Great. Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site,
it
is a lovely, two-story yellow residence set in beautifully manicured,
European-style gardens. You will understand why it is often referred
to as the Russian Versailles. We enjoy lunch at a local restaurant
before
taking
a hydrofoil
back to St. Petersburg.
In the afternoon, we’ll do some
more sightseeing in St. Petersburg, traveling along the Nevsky Prospekt
(the city’s equivalent of Paris’ Champs
Elysées) to St. Isaac Cathedral, which boasts one of the largest domes
in the world. Returning to our hotel, the afternoon is free until our group
gathers again in the evening for a Farewell Dinner to bring our
tour to a festive conclusion. (All Meals)
Saturday, August 13, 2011 Departure
The tour ends officially after breakfast this morning. Arrange your
return flight home for any convenient time today. Toto Tours provides
one group transfer to the airport today, timed to accommodate the
greatest number of departing passengers. We can arrange a private transfer
for those who are unable to utilize the group transfer, or we can schedule
your transfer on public transportation. We will also be happy to assist
with your accommodation arrangements if you
would
like
to
remain
longer in St. Petersburg. (Breakfast)
Throughout history, the rulers of Russia have focused
obsessively on developing their country’s
dueling capitals, Moscow and St. Petersburg. Built on top of an ancient
settlement dating back 3,000 years, Moscow (Moskva) went from a rickety,
wooden-walled fort to a magnificent citadel under the rule of Czar
Ivan the Terrible in the 15th century, when it became Russia’s
capital. Two centuries later, Czar Peter the Great felt Moscow was
too Asian, and therefore too backward for his own tastes. He built
a glorious new European-style capital city and named it after himself—St.
Petersburg.
The nation’s capital, Moscow, is in the
heartland at the confluence of the Moskva and Neglina Rivers, where much of Russia’s
grandiose history has played out (either in public or behind the walls
of the
foreboding Kremlin building). It became the political and ideological
center of the unified Russian state and later of the vast Soviet empire.
Even though that empire has now broken apart, the city retains its
political, industrial, and cultural sway. With a population of more
than 9 million, it is Russia’s largest city and home to some
of the country’s most renowned cultural institutions, theaters,
and film studios. Many parts of the city, especially within the Boulevard
Ring which includes Red Square, are now sparkling clean and well kept. 
From its dramatic birth in the early
18th century, St. Petersburg has suffered turbulent years of revolution,
the freezing
death and starvation of the Nazi siege, the grim purges of Stalin and
the end of the Communist era in the 1990s. With strict geometric lines
and perfectly planned architecture so foreign to other Russian cities,
St. Petersburg is almost too European to be Russian, and yet it is
too Russian to be European. It is simply an amazing combination of
both East and West, built on a grand scale with splendid boulevards,
magnificent palaces along its many waterways, and some of the
world’s most respected museums, St. Petersburg feels particularly
magical in the summertime because it is never entirely dark during
the white nights of this northern latitude.
from the 12th to
18th centuries, including kremlins, monasteries, cathedrals, and churches.
These towns are among the most picturesque in Russia and prominently
feature Russia’s famous onion domes. These towns include Sergiev
Posad, Suzdal, and Vladimir.
Most flights from the United States connect through a major European
capital, and arrive anytime between mid-morning and mid-afternoon.
Upon arrival, collect
your luggage, go through customs and transfer to
our hotel
in
downtown
Moscow. One airport transfer has been
costed into the price of this tour, and it will be timed to accommodate
the greatest number of arriving passengers. For those who are unable
to utilize the group transfer, we can arrange a private transfer for
an additional charge or you can take public transportation. We will
provide more information about your transfer options prior to
departure.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Today’s
tour features Red Square, the Kremlin,
the Armory Chamber and the city’s 200-hectare historical landscape Alexander
Park. We also visit St. Basil’s Cathedral, the world
famous GUM Department Store with its elegant turn-of-the-last-century interior,
and the opulent, chandelier-adorned Moscow subway system. You’ll be pinching
yourself all day to convince yourself that you are actually walking in these
places you have seen time and again in movies and news broadcasts. (Breakfast
/ Lunch)
After
breakfast enjoy another full-day sightseeing tour. Our first stop will
be Vorobyovy Gory, also known as Sparrow Hills, one of the
city’s highest points. The observation platform, which gives
a good panoramic view of the city, is situated on a steep bank about
280 feet above the Moskva River, with the 1980 Olympic Stadium, the
massive Novodevichy Convent and the Moscow University in view. We
then tour the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (Khram Khrista Spasitela),
conceived to honor the victory over Napoleon in the War of 1812 and
modeled after Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia. Stalin demolished the
original structure, so the cathedral was rebuilt in 2000 after the
original design, widely believed to be the largest Orthodox church
in the world. After a lunch break, we tour the State Tretyakov Gallery,
a national museum of both modern and fine art, with an outdoor sculpture
garden featuring a collection of Socialist Realism statues. Lenin’s
Mausoleum is closed on Friday, so those who wish to see inside this
somber memorial return to Red Square for the visit at some point today.
The evening is free for optional activities such as
the
Moscow
Circus
or
a cultural
performance. (Breakfast / Lunch)
After
breakfast, we check out of our hotel and board our motorcoach for the
44-mile drive to the city of Sergiev Posad, which in the 15th
century grew up around one of the greatest of Russian monasteries,
the Troitse-Sergiyeva (Trinity) Lavra established by St. Sergius of
Radonezh. The Soviet authorities changed the town’s name first
to just Sergiyev in 1919, and then to Zagorsk in 1930, in memory of
the revolutionary Vladimir Zagorsky. The original name came back into
official use in 1991. After visiting the Monastery and a Matrioshka
(Russian nesting dolls) workshop, we eat lunch at a local restaurant.
In the afternoon, we continue toward Suzdal, a drive of approximately
100 miles. We check into our hotel, and the evening is free. (Breakfast
/ Lunch)
After breakfast, enjoy a morning city tour of Suzdal, dating back
to the year 1024. At one point, it was a city with great political
importance
that became increasingly known as a religious center with many
monasteries and churches. Now it is an important tourist destination
with many fine examples of old Russian architecture. We
visit the local Kremlin, a monastery and the Museum of Wooden Architecture. 
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
which
occupies six magnificent buildings situated
along the
River Neva, right in the heart of St Petersburg. Since the museum houses nearly
3 million works of art, it will not be possible to see everything in a few
hours, but we will definitely hit the highlights. Our day of sightseeing ends
with a 90-minute evening cruise on the Neva. (Breakfast
/ Lunch)
century as
the summer residence of the Russian tsars under the name Tsarskoye
Selo (Royal Village), but it was renamed Pushkin after the October
Revolution to honor Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. We visit
Catherine’s Palace, site of the famous Amber Room, and then
take lunch at a local restaurant. Our next stop is just a few miles
away in Pavlovsk. Here we visit the Grand
Palace (one of the country’s most impressive) along the Slavyanka
River. After dabbling in Russia’s royal history, we drive back
to St. Petersburg for a free evening. (Breakfast / Lunch)
Departure