Ideal for experienced travellers, who have already been to St.Petersburg and want to experience something new! During this two day program you will get to know: Learn all about Soviet Heritage and Soviet history, Try original pishki at one of the oldest Soviet café, Hear interesting facts about most famous pollical leaders: Stalin, Lenin Khrushchev, Yeltsin, Find out more about creative and personal life of Dostoevsky, See modern Russian art, Walk through “well-yards” and learn more about everyday life in Russia

DAY 1

• 9:00 am - Meeting with your guide. Introduction tour with a stop near the Aurora ship – symbol of October revolution
• 10:00 am - 11:30 am - The Museum of Political history. This fascinating museum offers a unique opportunity to get up close and personal with an amazing and complicated political history of our country.

The State Museum of the Political History of Russia is the successor to the Revolution Museum. It is housed in two historic buildings of the modern era: the mansions of the ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya, and baron Brandt. The museum of national significance, which has already celebrated its centenary, keeps evidence of Russia’s political life from the late 18th till the early 21st century. The Museum collection counts over 460,000 items. They reflect the history of the state system reforming, fates of the most prominent historical figures, processes of development of revolutionary, democratic, social and political movements and parties. Among the most remarkable exhibits, there are documents concerning the legislative activities of Catherine the Great and S. Vitte’s and P. Stolypin ’s reforming activities, items referring to the epoch of the Great Reforms carried out by Alexander II and objects telling about three Russian revolutions. A big volume of unique materials reveals the activities of supreme state organs of the Russian Empire, the USSR, and the Russian Federation.

• 12:00 pm - 01:00 pm - The Soviet café on Bol. Konushennaya (one of the oldest cafes where you can try pishki - ring doughnuts dusted with powdered sugar - own expense). Then take an underground ride to Moscow Square.
• 01:00 pm - 02:00 pm - Metro tour
• 02:00 pm - 04:00 pm - Stroll among Stalinist-era buildings – the Moscow square. Visit the Victory square + Monument To Heroic Defenders of Leningrad. You will visit the underground memorial hall with the Siege exhibition.

This powerful and impressive monument was built as the focal point of Ploshchad Pobedy (Victory Square) in the early 1970s to commemorate the heroic efforts of the residents of Leningrad and the soldiers on the Leningrad Front to the repel the Nazis in the 900-day Siege of Leningrad during World War II.

• 05:00 pm - Return to your hotel/cruise ship or optional evening program

DAY 2

• 9:30 am - Meeting with your guide
• 10:30 am - 12:00 pm - General Staff Building (the Hermitage museum).  Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art collection.
• 12:00 pm - 01:00 pm - Lunch (optional)
• 01:30 pm - 02:30 pm - Dostoevsky apartment. Here you will know more about one of the most well known Russian writer and his prominent works

It is a reflection of the Soviet authorities' ambivalent attitude to the works of Fyodor Dostoevsky - they condoned his early dabbling in radical politics and abhorred his mature religious nationalism - that a memorial museum was only established in his native city in 1971, ninety years after his death. However, thanks to his international reputation and to innovative management, this small apartment museum goes from strength to strength, attracting large numbers of Russian and foreign visitors. The museum is located next to a historic food market and a few minutes' walk from the landmark Church of the Vladimir Icon, where the writer and his family used to worship. Dostoevsky had briefly rented lodgings in the building in his youth, and returned with his family in 1878, residing there until his death in 1881. The heart of the museum is a reconstruction of the Dostoevsky family home carried out in the late 1960s and based on the original architect's plans and the recorded reminiscences of the writer's peers. The rest of the museum houses an atmospheric display - renewed in 2009 - devoted to Dostoevsky's literary life, as well as temporary art exhibitions. Attached to the museum is also a small theatre used to host conferences, poetry readings, and performances by some of the most respected smaller drama companies in St. Petersburg.

• 02:30 pm - 03:30 pm - Walking tour with the visit of the typical St. Petersburg «well courtyards». This part of the tour will show you the way people live and their modern lifestyle.
• 04:30 pm - Return to your hotel/cruise ship

Price includes:

• Professional English-speaking guide assistance. Other languages upon request (additional charge may apply)
• Admission fees to all museums in the program (Museum of Political history, Underground memorial hall with the Siege exhibition, Hermitage museum - General Staff building, Dostoevsky Museum) 
• Metro tour
• Driver’s services as per the program (Comfortable car/minivan with A/C)
• Photo and video permissions at the museums
• Blanket visas
• All port fees and local taxes
• Headsets for the groups of 7 and up

Price doesn’t include:

• Cost of lunches. It's recommended to add lunch if your group is 7 people+. The additional cost is $25 per person per 1 lunch in a restaurant
• Gratuities to guide/driver (optional)
• Personal expenses
  
• Optional evening activities on Day 1

Note, please:

• We provide a discount for children up to 6 y.o.
• Gratuities to the guide and driver are not included in the tour price. The sum you wish to give to your guide and driver after a well-done tour should be up to the western standards (approximately 15%). It is a good idea to divide gratuity between your guide and driver and give it separately to them: 10% to the guide and 5% to the driver. Please have some cash with you (USD, EUR or RUB) for this reason, but it is always up to you!
• Please, ensure that you make your booking at least 5-7 working days prior to your ship's arrival to St. Petersburg. The port authorities require all passport information in advance and late bookings sent in less than 5 working days will be rejected.

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 over this, please be patient and allow plenty of time. If you are touring the 2nd or 3rd day, generally security is not as bad as the 1st day of arrival.