ITINERARY

MONDAY 16 FEBRUARY

05.00  Depart from School and travel by coach to Heathrow

09.45  Depart for St Petersburg (see flight details for further information).

16.00  Arrive in St Petersburg (ALL TIMINGS ARE LOCAL)

Travel to the Hotel for evening meal. Details of the hotel can be found here.

In the evening, students will have the following options : (a) Rest in their rooms; (b) explore the hotel and make use of any facilities -- shop, cafe, bowling, swimming etc -- subject to availability and services of a lifeguard. NB : Any facilities at the hotel are not included in the cost but are usually reasonable; (c) Go on a walking tour of the local area with staff. There will be staff on duty in the hotel at a designated point. Students who accompany staff on a walking tour must obey any instructions.

Lights Out : A set time will be set when students must be in their rooms. They may not leave their rooms after this time. A member of staff will be on duty and students should telephone if they need assistance. Under no circumstances may students spend the night in another room. 

TUESDAY 17 FEBRUARY

MORNING -- All students will receive a wake up call 30 minutes before they need to meet for breakfast. ALL students must come to the dining room at the designated time. Here they will be told details for the day.

10.00  Panoramic Tour -- In the morning, there will be a guided tour of some of the most important sites in St Petersburg, including St Isaac's Cathedral, the Smolny Institute, the Cruiser Aurora and the Church of the Saviour of the Spilt Blood, The Finland Station and the Bronze Horseman. (Information about the key sites can be found under the Information about St Petersburg webpage) A visit to Hare Island and the Peter and Paul Fortress. Within its walls you will visit the former prison and the Cathedral of Peter and Paul, the burial place of the Russian Tsars, including the remains of the last Romanovs. 

Lunch -- After visiting the souvenir market to try out your bartering skills, we shall have lunch at a take-away on Nevsky Prospekt, the main shopping street in St Petersburg (McDonalds if there is desperation for American cuisine!) Students will be given money for lunch.

Afternoon -- The afternoon is spent exploring the Hermitage Museum, one of the world’s largest art collections, housed within the impressive Winter Palace, the official residence of the Romanovs. There will be an opportunity to visit their private quarters and to stand in Winter Palace Square, the site of the 1905 Bloody Sunday massacre.

Evening -- Dinner at the hotel, followed by bowling.

Lights Out : A set time will be set when students must be in their rooms. They may not leave their rooms after this time. A member of staff will be on duty and students should telephone if they need assistance. Under no circumstances may students spend the night in another room. 

WEDNESDAY 18 FEBRUARY

MORNING -- All students will receive a wake up call 30 minutes before they need to meet for breakfast. ALL students must come to the dining room at the designated time. Here they will be told details for the day.

09.30  -- Coach trip to Pushkin Palace, the favourite residence of the Tsar and his family.

Lunch -- Lunch will be at a fast-food restaurant  in St Petersburg. 

Afternoon -- The Yusupov Palace, the site of Rasputin's murder in 1916.

Evening -- Dinner, followed by a trip to the theatree to see traditional Russian folk dancing, before catching the overnight train to Moscow. Students will be accommodated in 4-berth couchettes. There are 36 students and so we shall have 9 couchettes with students and couchettes with staff at each end. The couchettes must remain locked once students have gone to bed.

THURSDAY 19 FEBRUARY

MORNING --  Arrive at Moscow train station where we shall be transferred to our hotel Cosmos.  Breakfast at the hotel.

Panoramic tour -- Morning panoramic city tour of Moscow to view the famous landmarks. Visit to the newly constructed Cathedral of St Saviour, built to the same external specifications as the original destroyed by Stalin.  Interior high speed lifts take visitors to the rooftop viewing galleries where our guide will point out the main sights of this spectacular city. Continue to Red Square to view the colourful domes of St Basil’s Cathedral, the black marbled building housing Lenin’s Tomb, the famous GUM shopping complex, Lobnoye Mesto, and exterior views of the Kremlin, the fortress housing the government administrative buildings and golden domed Cathedrals.

Lunch -- At a fast-food establishment.