Day 1-3 , Moscow
Moscow: Your journey begins as soon as you arrive in Moscow and board the ship. During your stay in Moscow you will be able to see the sights, do some light shopping and learn a few things about this incredible city through a city tour. You will also visit to the Kremlin, one of the cathedrals on its territory and Tretyakov State Gallery, the world famous gallery that contains works of Russian art from the 10th century up until present day.

Moscow: Russia's political capital and financial as well as cultural center. The city includes many must see attractions from the Kremlin and Red Square to the Assumption Cathedral. Moscow is the largest city in Europe complete with everything one can expect.

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Day 4 - Uglich
Arrival in Uglich : You will be taken to the walking city tour with visit to Kremlin, the Church of St. Demitrius of the Blood and Transfiguration cathedral.

 

Uglich: Founded in 1148, Uglich is one of the most beloved towns in Old Russia. The view of the town as you approach it from the Volga River is especially lovely with the Cathedral of the Resurrection and St. JohnТ‘s Church looming on the horizon. At the end of the 16th century, Maria Nagaya, seventh wife of Ivan the Terrible, lived in honorary exile at the Kremlin in Uglich. It was here in her garden that the Tsarevich Dmitry met his death and where the Church of St. Demitrius of the Blood was built and still stands today. Within the Kremlin is the oldest building in Uglich, the Palace of Tsarevich Dmitry.

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Day 5 - Yaroslavl
Arrival in Yaroslavl. You will be taken to the panoramic city tour with visit to the Church of Elijah the Prophet. You will also have some free time for visiting the local market. Interactive tour of the former Governor's House (Art Gallery).

Yaroslavl: Stretching for 18 miles on both banks of the Volga, Yaroslavl is an important Volga port with a population of 600,000. It was founded in the 11th century by Prince Yaroslav the Wise and today retains many noteworthy monuments of its colorful past. Of special interest is the magnificent 13th century Spassky Monastery ensemble, a group of majestic 17th century cathedrals, an elegant rotunda and remnants of an ancient trading center. Loveliest of all is the Church of Ilya the Prophet, situated in the townТ‘s central square. The fresco on the walls and the vaulting inside the church combined constitutes a respectable collection of old Russian paintings.

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Day 6 - Goritsy
Arrival in Goritsy - Tour of the Monastery of St. Cyril on the White Lake, visit to the Treasury Chamber.

Goritsy: This is a tiny settlement 7 kilometers from the Kirillo-Belosersky Monastery. Here you can visit what remains of the Nunnery of the Resurrection on the banks of the Sheksna River, within a quarter of a mile of where the ship stops. Goritsy is definitely a site to see for any tourist with a real interest in Russian history. The Kirillo-Belosersky menТ‘s monastery was founded in 1397 by Kirill Belosersky on the shore of Lake Siverskoye. The monastery had wide trade in the 15th to 17th centuries.

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Day 7 - Kizhi
Arrival in Kizhi - You will be able to shop at the open-air museum and see tons of wooden architecture.

Kizhi Island : Via the Volga/Baltic Canal, our cruise takes us to the tiny island of Kizhi, located at the northern end of Lake Onega. The island is renowned for its open-air Museum of Architecture, which is assembled from over 80 monuments of wooden architecture from various areas of the country and restored to form a glimpse of the past. Moreover, the Church of the Transfiguration or Preobrazhenskaya (the twenty-two headed church) is a masterpiece of architecture, featuring five tiers of 22 domes, which wonderfully change colors during the day. The church was built in 1714 without the use of any metal nails, only an axe and pine trees.

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Day 8 - Mandroga
Stop in Mandroga - Free time, folkshow ashore.

Mandroga: The village is really more of a living museum than a live-in village. It features a collection of old wooden houses, but almost everything on the island is directed towards visitors in order for them to get an idea of what a traditional Russian village resembled in the past. One of the features here is the Vodka Museum, which contains thousands of different brands and types of RussiaТ‘s favorite pastime.

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Day 9-12 : St. Petersburg
Arrival in St. Petersburg. A panoramic city tour will entertain you throughout the day. The tour will take you to the Peter and Paul Fortress - a symbol of St. Petersburg and also the oldest building in the city and to the Hermitage Museum, the treasurehouse that contains over 3 million pieces of art with dates ranging from high antiquity to the present day.

St. Petersburg: St. Petersburg is Russia's second largest and second most important city - the Northern capital of the country, RussiaТ‘s cultural center, and considered the worldТ‘s "Northern Venice" due to its extensive system of canals. Today, the city has a relatively healthy economy (as far as Russia is concerned), has the countryТ‘s largest and busiest port and a very high level of cultural life.

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One of the more relaxing ways to enjoy the sights of Moscow is to take a river cruise tour on the Moskva River, which runs through the centre of the city. The Moscow river cruise navigates some miles of river, taking around 3 hours for a round trip. The tour takes the visitor past some of Moscow’s most famous and historic sights.

The Kremlin
Most visitors to moscow always want to take a closer view of the Kremlin on dry land ...they had and still they do . However, a river cruise means they can avoid the busy nine-lane ring road surrounding the palace and get a good and impressive view of the amazing Kremlin Palace and Cathedrals . Once past the Kremlin, the boat gently glides alongside the famous Red October Chocolate Factory that was quite famous during the communist times and even now .

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St Peter the Great
just beyond the Chocolate factory, the boat passes the modern 317 foot high statue built in anticipation of the rebirth of the Russian nation. The St Peter the Great is one of Russia’s national heroes and his statue too is . Being one of the largest in the world , it a must for every single who visits Russia .

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Gorky Park
The park was created by the amalgamation of the extensive gardens of the old Golitsyn Hospital and the Neskuchny Palace and covers an area of 300 acres (1.2 km?) along the river.
Gorky Park has children’s play areas, fun fairs, various amusement rides, an enormous Ferris wheel, and one of the mockups (test units) from the Buran space shuttle program, which allows children to take part in "the Cosmic Experience".
During the winter the footpaths flood over and freeze, which allow ice-skating around the park.

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Moscow’s River Boats
The boats which travel the Moscow River are a great way to see many of the city's most interesting sights, while enjoying a relaxing ride.

Boats leave from each location approximately every 20 minutes, and operate between approximately 12:00 and 20:00 every day.

There are also several intermediate stops along the way, where you can board/disembark. Each boarding point will have a ticket office near the dock with the word "KACCA" (among others) on it. Tickets cost about 300 rubles per adult (about USD 12, as of summer '07) for the full trip from one end to the other. The trip takes about 1-1/2 hours. Onboard, you may purchase beer, soft drinks and snacks to enjoy along the way. The boats are approx. 30 - 40 meters long (100 feet, or so) and carry, perhaps, 100 or more passengers each. There are both indoor and outdoor seating areas on each boat. These excursions are only available during the warm weather (May - Oct) months, as the river is either partially or sometimes completely frozen over in winter.

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