Moscow daily excursions

Depart on a half day tour of Moscow, the economic and political center of Russia.  Founded in 1147 by Yuri Dolgoruky ( «Yury of the Long Arms»), Moscow rose to prominence during Mongol domination and eventually became the Russian capital, later to be eclipsed by St. Petersburg.  Moscow was restored as the Russian political center after the October Revolution of 1917, and celebrated the 850th anniversary of its founding in 1997.  Begin the tour with a drive by some of Moscow's best-known places- the Duma building where Russia's governing body meets; the Bolshoi Theater; the Lubyanka prison where the KGB was headquartered; Moscow State University on the Sparrow Hills for a panoramic city view; the moving World War II Memorial and Victory Park on Farewell Hill; and a drive along the Sofiyskaya Embankment, past the 16th century Novodevichy Convent and by the Moscow White House.

 Stop briefly at Cathedral of Christ the Savior*

The cathedral of Christ the Savior has had a tumultuous history.  Built from 1839-1883

to commemorate the Russian victory over Napoleon in 1812, it was destroyed by the Soviets in 1931 to make way for a Palace of the Soviets.  However, the soft ground could not support the huge building, and so the excavation was used for the world's largest outdoor swimming pool.  In the 1990s the Moscow government meticulously rebuilt the cathedral, completing it in 1998.  You will go inside the Cathedral on your own.  Your guide will wait for you outside.

Duration: 4 hours

Price:

1-2 pax — 5850 RUR per tour

3 pax-  2400 RUR per person

4 pax — 1800 RUR per person

5 pax- 1500 RUR per person

6 pax - 1200 RUR per person

Tour includes:

— Private car/mini-van service for all driving tours

— Private English speaking guide service

 Red Square and St. Basil's Cathedral are perhaps the most recognizable symbols of Russia.  The square owes its origins to Ivan III, who in the late 15th century had all buildings removed from the eastern wall of the Kremlin.  For the next 400 years, this newly formed area was a trading center.  In 1920 all traders were banned from the square, and in the early 1960s cars were banned as well, making Red Square a pedestrian area.

St. Basil's was built to celebrate Ivan the Terrible's victory at the Tatar stronghold of Kazan in 1552.  Built between 1555 and 1561, it was originally painted white.  The domes were not patterned and colored as they are today until a hundred years later.  St. Basil's is named after Vasily, the «holy fool» who predicted that Ivan would murder his own son.  You will not be going inside St. Basil's Cathedral as its beauty is in its colorful exteriors. 

  The body of Vladimir Ilych Lenin has been lying in state for most of the last 60 years in his mausoleum in the Kremlin.  For many years since his death in 1924 long lines waited to file past the embalmed body, but since the dissolution of the Soviet Union interest has waned.  There has been much talk of burying him, but so far is hasn't happened.  *You will see Lenin's Mausoleum from the outside only.

The Moscow Kremlin reminds modern-day Russia of its medieval past.  Built on the site of Prince Yuri's hunting lodge, the Kremlin overlooks the Moskva and Neglina rivers.  In the mid-14th century, the Russian princes, ruling from the Kremlin, became so powerful that Moscow was named the center of the Russian Orthodox Church.  Under the guidance of Ivan the Great, Moscow extended its influence and soon became the seat of Russian political power.

Today, the Kremlin remains the center of Moscow and Russian politics.  Inside the fortress walls are palaces, cathedrals, government buildings and the Armory Museum.  Built in the 16th century as a warehouse for the Kremlin's weaponry, the Armory was transformed into an exhibition hall and museum in 1814.  It now houses Russia's national treasures, such as religious icons, Faberge eggs, a bejeweled chalice belonging to Prince Yuri, and Catherine the Great's ball gowns and shoes. 

The Diamond Fund is an exclusive collection of «crown valuables,» jewelry pieces made for the czars and the royal court, including imperial regalia such as crowns, scepters, and bejeweled clasps to fasten the coronation mantle.  The 189-carat Orlov Diamond is among the treasures, as is Catherine the Great's coronation crown, encrusted with pearls and 4,936 diamonds.  *You will tour the museum on your own.  You guide will wait for you at the museum entrance.

Duration: 4 hours

Price:

1-2 pax — 7050 RUR per tour

3 pax — 2400 RUR per person

4 pax — 1800 RUR per person

5 pax — 1350 RUR per person

6 pax - 1200 RUR per person

Tour includes:

-  English speaking guide service.  Your guide will meet you in your hotel lobby.  Transport fees to and from Red Square not included.

— Entrance fees to Kremlin, Armory and Diamond Fund* 

Metro Tour and Tretyakov Gallery  (Closed on Mondays)

Take a tour of Moscow's vast Metro system on your way to the Tretyakov Gallery!

The first Moscow Metro station opened in 1935, and today there are more than 150 of them along the 125 miles of track.  The stations in the city center are showpieces of Social art, furnished with statues, frescoes and mosaics, and with marbled, gilded, and bronzed walls and ceilings. 

The Tretyakov was founded by 19^th century Russian merchant, Pavel Tretyakov, who spent 40 years and much of his fortune collecting and preserving works of Russian art.  The history and trajectory of Russian art is displayed here, encompassing pieces from the 11^th century to the present, and including mosaics, icons, paintings and sculptures by such artists as Rublev, Repin, and Levitan.  The collection is rarely seen outside of Russia.

Duration:  4 hours

Price:

1-2 pax — 3750 RUR per tour

3 pax — 1350 RUR per person

4 pax — 1050 RUR per person

5 pax- 900 RUR per person

6 pax -810 RUR per person

Tour includes:

- Metro tickets to/from Tretyakov Gallery

- English speaking guide service

- Entrance fee Tretyakov Gallery

Novodevichy Convent and Cemetery (Closed on Tuesdays and first Monday of each month)

Novodevichy Convent was founded in the 16th century, and was the convent of choice for noble women forced to take the veil, Such as Peter the Great's first wife and Boris Godunov's sister. The compound contains a spectacularly beautiful church — Smolensk Cathedral — with icons from the time of Boris Godunov, as well as exhibits featuring paintings, woodwork, metalwork, embroidery, illuminated books, and jewels. Strangely enough, the main attraction of the convent is its cemetery. Such luminaries as Gogol, Chekhov, Scriabin, Mayakovsky, Stanislavsky, Prokofiev, Eisenstein, Khrushchev, Raisa Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin are buried here.

Duration: 4 hours

Price:

1-2 pax - 4050 RUR per tour

3 pax — 1450 RUR per person

4 pax - 1200 RUR per person

5 pax — 900 RUR per person

6 pax - 810 RUR per person

Tour includes:

- Metro tickets to/from Novodevichy Convent and Cemetery

- English speaking guide service

- Entrance fee to Novodevichy Convent and Cemetery.

- Vehicle by request for extra fee*

Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts and Cathedral of Christ the Savior (4 hours)  (Closed on Mondays)

The Pushkin Museum of Fine arts has the finest collection of foreign art and antiquities in Moscow.  It has as an extensive collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist works.  The museum boasts six convases by Rembrandt, several Van Goghs, eleven Monets, several pieces each by Picasso, Matisse, Gauguin, and Renoir, and a fine collection from the Italian Renaissance.

The cathedral of Christ the Savior has had a tumultuous history.  Built from 1839-1883 to commemorate the Russian victory over Napoleon in 1812, it was destroyed by the Soviets in 1931 to make way for a Palace of the Soviets.  However, the soft ground could not support the huge building, and so the excavation was used for the world's largest outdoor swimming pool.  In the 1990s the Moscow government meticulously rebuilt the cathedral, completing it in 1998.  

Duration: 4 hours

Price:

1-2 pax — 4950 RUR per tour

3 pax — 1950 RUR per person

4 pax — 1750 RUR per person

5 pax — 1600 RUR per person

6 pax — 1500 RUR per person

Tour includes:

- Metro tickets to/from Pushkin Museum

- Entrance tickets to Pushkin Museum and guided tour of Christ our Savior Cathedral

- English speaking guide service