You will be met at the port by a professional guide who will then accompany you to your air-conditioned vehicle ready to commence your tour.

Your route will take you past the Nevsky Prospect, St Petersburg most famous shopping street.  Admire magnificent buildings and palaces, travel past the vast Palace Square, the University Embankment that is lined with buildings of the 18th century, the famous Bronze Horseman and much more.

In 1703 Peter the Great built a fortress to protect the area from possible attack by the Swedish army and navy. Peter and Paul Cathedral, dominates the area of the fortress (the height of its spire is 122.50 metres).  The Cathedral's magnificent Baroque style interior attracts numerous visitors.  Besides the fact that almost all pre-revolutionary rulers from Peter the Great onwards were buried there add more interest to the historical background of this museum.

WHAT YOU VISIT:

Peter and Paul Fortress - Originally built to protect the city from Swedish attack, the fortress soon became Russia's Tower of London, a place for political prisoners - including Peter the Great's own son.

The Peter and Paul Cathedral - The city's tallest structure in the days of Peter the Great and even today only the television tower exceeds it in the height. The ornate interior boasts gilded iconostasis, 18th-century paintings and icons - and the tombs of many Tsars and Tsarinas, including Peter the Great and Catherine the Great.

The Peter and Paul Fortress is the central complex of the State Museum of the History of St. Petersburg, and the only building to retain its historic function is the Mint, the oldest money-printing company in Russia. The fortress was planned by Peter the Great himself and the French-born military engineer Joseph Gaspar Lambert de Guerin, and construction work began on 27 May 1703, the date on which St. Petersburg's anniversary is now celebrated. Within the fortress walls, the first building to appear was the Church of St. Peter and Paul. Long before it became apparent that the Peter and Paul Fortress would never be called upon to defend St. Petersburg, it had gained a reputation as one of the most feared prisons in the Russian Empire, as well as the headquarters of the Secret Chancelleries, the ruthless secret police of the Tsarist era.

INCLUDED

• Professional English-speaking guide assistance. Other languages upon request (additional charge may apply)
• Driver’s services as per the program (Comfortable car/minivan with A/C)
• City sightseeing tour
• Entrance fee to Peter and Paul's Fortress and Cathedral 
• Port visas
• All taxes, fees and handling charges

*If the tour falls on Wednesday - Cathedral is not visited due to day-off, you will have a more extensive tour of the Fortress. 

NOT INCLUDED

• Food / Drinks
• Personal expenses
• Gratuities to guide/driver (optional)

Additional info

Note that all of our tours in St. Petersburg are operated by authorized guides, and you, therefore, do not need to secure an independent visa in order to participate in this tour. However, in order to book this tour, you must provide us with full names, dates of birth, nationality, and passport numbers for each tour participant so that our guides can secure the proper tour visas on your behalf. Note also that, if you wish to explore St. Petersburg on your own while not accompanied by one of our guides, you will need to secure an independent visa.

Please be aware that cruise lines occasionally mislead passengers by telling them that they are not allowed to disembark the ship in St. Petersburg unless they are on an excursion purchased through the cruise line. In addition, the cruise lines also sometimes tell passengers that they cannot disembark the ship until the passengers on the cruise lines' excursions have done so first. This is incorrect, and you are free to exit the ship as soon as passengers start to disembark because Russian law states that a cruise ship cannot hold passengers onboard against their will as long as they have the proper documents. In order to clear immigration, you will need to bring along: 1) Your passport; 2) A photocopy of the picture page of your passport; and3) A copy of your tour tickets. 4) An immigration form passed out to all guests on the ship. We will provide you with your tour tickets as part of the documents we e-mail to you after you make a tour booking.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

You must allow plenty of time to get through the security at St Petersburg Port, sometimes the queues at security can be very long and it can take a long time to get through, please disembark your cruise ship in plenty of time in order to meet your tour.

Please note: Going through security checks on your first day of arrival may take a long time, UVisitRussia do not have any control of this, please be patient and allow plenty of time. If you are touring the 2nd day, generally security is not as bad as the 1st day of arrival.

It is important you travel with your shore excursion vouchers and visas. We will send this information via email approximately 7 working days prior to your travel date (once you have provided your passport information), if you travel without these documents you will not be able to pass through security thus resulting in you not being able to join the tour (in these cases uVisitRussia cannot be held responsible for tours being missed and no refund of this tour will be given).

Dress:

Comfortable clothing and sensible walking shoes are recommended. Sun glasses and sun screen are suggested.