Your itinerary
16 Days ~ Poland ~ Lithuania
~ Latvia ~ Estonia ~ Russia ~ Belarus
Tour
Pace
This tour moves at a leisurely pace
with two-night
stays in Warsaw, Tallinn and Vilnius,
plus three-night stays in Moscow and St
Petersburg.
This allows ample time for indepth
exploration, as well as time to indulge
in optional
excursions.
DAY 1 – THU – UK -
WARSAW
After your scheduled flight to Warsaw
aiport there are
complimentary transfers to the tour
hotel at 10.30, 12.30 & 15.30 hours.
Relax and settle in before
enjoying a Welcome Drink. Hotel:
Marriott.
DAY 2 – FRI –
WARSAW SIGHTSEEING
Join a guided tour to take in the
highlights of
Warsaw, which was faithfully rebuilt
after the devastation of World War Two.
Pass
the ‘wedding cake’ Palace of
Culture and the Chopin Memorial in Lazienki
Park, before stopping at the imposing
Ghetto Memorial and continuing to the
reconstructed
Old Town. Walk to the Market Square to
watch a fascinating film about the
reconstruction
of the city. Then spend time at leisure.
(BB)
DAY 3 – SAT
– WARSAW – VILNIUS
Pass lakeside Augustow and Suwalki on
a scenic
drive through Mazuria, a region of lakes
and vast forests. Cross into Lithuania
and continue to the capital city of
Vilnius. Hotel: Artis.
(BB,D)
DAY 4 – SUN
– VILNIUS SIGHTSEEING
Sightseeing starts in the baroque
church of St
Peter and St Paul before moving on to
see the neo-classical cathedral and joining
a local guide for a leisurely walking
tour of the Old Town. See the Jesuit
University
and the Gates of Dawn, and the former
Soviet KGB headquarters, a reminder of grim
and relatively recent events. Finally,
enjoy a highlight visit to the island
castle
of Trakai. (BB)
DAY 5
– MON – VILNIUS – RIGA
Head north to visit the ‘Votive
Hill of Crosses’
near Siauliai, the symbol of resistance
against the Soviet occupation. Then
it’s
on to Riga in Latvia.
Hotel: Islande (BB,D)
DAY
6 – TUE – RIGA –
TALLINN
A tour of Riga’s Old Town
includes a visit
to the Domkirk and shows you the city
walls. See the House of the Three Brothers,
the oldest in Latvia, as well as the
nearby Swedish Gate and the castle of
the Livonian
Knights. Now drive along the shores of
the Gulf of Riga and cross the Estonian
border.
Continue through Pärnu, famous for
its mud baths, to reach Tallinn. Hotel:
Best Western Tallink.
(BB,D)
DAY 7 – WED
– TALLINN SIGHTSEEING
Tour the Old Town, including the
market square
with its old German Weighing House,
Pharmacy and Town Hall. The energetic among
the group can walk up Toompea Hill to
the castle and Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.
Don’t forget to also visit
Tallinn’s shops for fine amber and
silver jewellery.
(BB)
DAY 8 – THU
– TALLINN – ST
PETERSBURG
Head east to the town of Narva,
dominated by the
mighty Hermannsburg fortress. The river
Narva at this point forms the border with
Russia, which you cross on your way to
St Petersburg – a city of
architectural,
historic and artistic interest. Hotel:
Pribaltiskaya. (BB,D)
DAY
9 – FRI – ST PETERSBURG
SIGHTSEEING
On a sightseeing tour, see the
fortress of St
Peter and Paul, St Isaac’s
Cathedral and the cruiser,
‘Aurora’. See
the splendid cathedral of Kazan, then
tour one of the world’s greatest
museums,
the spectacular Hermitage. Enjoy a
champagne dinner in the evening. (BB)
DAY 10 – SAT –
ST PETERSBURG
See the memorial to World War
Two’s siege
of Leningrad en route to visit the
fabulous gardens and fountains of Peter
the Great’s
summer residence at
Petrodvorets. (BB)
DAY 11 – SUN –
ST PETERSBURG
– MOSCOW
The day is at leisure to relax or
shop along bustling
Nevsky Prospekt. Lunch is included at a
local restaurant, allowing time for
last-minute
sightseeing. Early evening, transfer to
the station for a five-hour train journey
to Moscow - a city which has captivated
the imagination of travellers for
centuries.
Hotel: Sovietsky.
(BB,L)
DAY 12 – MON
– MOSCOW SIGHTSEEING
A sightseeing tour takes in Red
Square, seeing
St Basil’s Cathedral and
Lenin’s Tomb. Walk inside the walls
of the Kremlin
Fortress to visit one of the cathedrals
before exploring the Metro stations. There
is free time afterwards to shop for
souvenirs. (BB,D)
DAY 13
– TUE – MOSCOW AT
LEISURE
A full day is set aside for you to
explore Moscow
at your own pace. Visit the Gum
department store or the Kremlin museum
to gaze at
the treasury of the Tsars.
(BB)
DAY 14 – WED
– MOSCOW – MINSK
Drive towards Smolensk and the
Belarus border.
Continue to Minsk, rebuilt in supreme
Soviet style after the war. An orientation
tour takes you along wide avenues and
past gargantuan concrete buildings –
a legacy of Minsk’s Soviet past
(Lenin still stands in front of the
Government
headquarters). Tonight enjoy a Highlight
Dinner, complete with champagne and
vodka. Hotel: Planeta.
(BB,L,HD)
DAY 15 –
THU – MINSK – WARSAW
Head south-west to Brest, one of the
USSR’s
‘Hero Cities’ during World War
Two. After lunch, cross the border to
return
to Warsaw. Hotel: Hilton. (BB,L,D)
DAY 16 – FRI –
WARSAW - UK
The tour ends with transfers to the
airport at 07.30 & 10.00 hours. (BB)
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