Vilnius

Highlights: Vilnius Old Town

Upon arrival to Vilnius airport you will be transferred to your hotel and then have a free time to enjoy Vilnius Old Town on your own. This large area is a UNESCO Heritage sight renowned for its rich history and culture heritage. Walk around to admire its colorful buildings with distinguished architectural style of the original “Lithuanian” Baroque, also called the last vivid flash of Baroque in Europe.

Meet us at the hotel and join for a welcome dinner together tonight.

Meals: D

Overnight: Vilnius

Vilnius - Trakai - Vilnius

Highlights: Vilnius Old Town, Trakai Castle, visit of Karaim national minority, cooking lesson of a famous Karaim dish

Start the day with a walking tour to continue exploring Vilnius Old town. You will discover the largest Old Town in Eastern Europe; the guide will introduce daily life of the city by showing favorite places for locals, such as tasting different sorts of beer in a local brewery, stopping by a popular bakery for a fresh pastry or teaching how to choose the right piece of amber in the local market.

Continue visiting Trakai – a picturesque little town and a popular get-away destination for locals (28 km from Vilnius). It is situated in a scenic peninsular surrounded by five lakes.  Visit a museum located in the stunning medieval Trakai castle placed in one of these islands, which is also a “must see” sight in the Baltics.

Visit the Karaims, a small Turkic-speaking ethnic community who arrived from the Black Sea to Trakai almost 700 years ago. Nowadays, it is possible to visit them and learn how to cook their most famous dish – a delicious pie called “kybyn”. So, the perfect end of this day would be cooking with locals and later tasting “kybyns” and other delicious dishes at the Karaim’s restaurant.

Meals: B +D

Overnight: Vilnius

Vilnius - The Hill of Crosses - Rundale - Riga

Highlights: The Rundale Palace, the Hill of Crosses

This morning you will depart from Vilnius and continue your journey towards the Latvian capital making stops to visit two “must see” sights in the Baltics:

The Hill of Crosses, a mystical and unique pilgrimage site with more than 100 000 crosses from all around the world on it.

The Rundale Palace, a magnificent masterpiece of baroque architecture in the Baltic States, where you will be impressed by its highly decorative interior and have an enjoyable walk in a beautiful French-style park.

Today you will have a lunch in one of the authentic taverns offering Lithuanian specialties – pink summer soups, a variety of potato and pork dishes that will be a new culinary experience. Continue to Riga in Latvia.

Meals: B + L

Overnight: Riga

Riga - Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum

Highlights: Riga Old Town, Riga Central Market, Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum

This day will start with tour of Riga on foot and by bus to see the most interesting sights of this UNESCO heritage city and learn how different nationalities of Latvians, Germans, Russians, Swedes and Poles have been living here for centuries shaping the current look of Riga in their distinctive ways.

In the free time you may choose to see a new side of Riga hidden from foreigners by visiting a beloved place for Riga’s residents – The City’s Central Market; experience its friendly atmosphere and taste Latvian specialties– salt cucumbers, smoked sausages, famous bread drink “Kvas” or strong home-made liqueurs and vodka.

Afternoon tour to the Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum is one of the show-pieces of Latvia’s cultural heritage, founded in 1924. Situated 10 km from Riga center in a pine forest on the banks of Jugla Lake, the museum consists of some 90 traditional rural buildings.

Dinner and overnight in Riga.

Meals: B

Overnight: Riga

Riga - Sigulda - Tallinn

Highlights: Gauja river, panoramic trip in an aerial cable car, Turaida Castle

Today you will leave Riga to visit Latvia’s finest National Park, located in a deep valley of the Gauja river. After a short walk you will understand why this area is called “Latvian Switzerland”; it’s landscape is formed by the hills and cliffs formed by the Gauja River and comprises more than 500 monuments of archeology. Visit the most popular tourist attraction in Latvia by taking a panoramic cable car ride above the river to reach the medieval Turaida Castle – ruins of the Livonian order’s residence with an observation tower and history museum.

After the morning of impressions you will taste a traditional Latvian meal in an authentic local restaurant and later depart to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia.

Meals: B + L

Overnight: Tallinn

Tallinn - Kadriorg Palace

Highlights: Tallinn Old Town, Medieval Dominical Monastery, Kadriorg Palace

You will join a city tour to explore Tallinn Old Town with its main historical and architectural monuments. Unlike most European cities, which have ancient buildings mixed in between modern ones; Tallinn’s Old City is complete. You leave bustling modern life behind and immerse in the Middle Age atmosphere that is soaked in its cobblestones and dim alleys, sputtering torches and secret stairways of Old Tallinn.

Continue your journey to the Middle Ages by experiencing the life of 13th century Dominical Monastery. Here a monk will take you on a mysterious walk through the dark monastery rooms in the flickering light of torches accompanied by medieval music. He will tell you about the monastic life, lost fortunes and legends related to Dominicans. You will visit the medieval “well of wishes” to taste the monastery liqueur.

Excursion continues in beautiful Flower park of the Kadriorg Palace (5km from Tallinn), which was founded by the Russian tsar Peter.

Meals: B

Overnight: Tallinn

Tallinn - St. Petersburg

Highlights: Saint Petersburg

Departure to St. Petersburg (400 km from Tallinn) the city, the northern capital of Russian Federation, one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

Lunch near the Estonian – Russian border.

Later afternoon arrival to St. Petersburg. Short panoramic city tour.

Overnight and dinner in St. Petersburg.

Meals: B + L +D

Overnight: St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg

Highlights: St. Isaak Cathedral, back-stage of the Mikhailovsky Theatre, Hermitage museum

This morning will start with St. Petersburg City tour to see all must see sights of this impressive city and learn about last three hundred years of the Russian history reflected in its rich architecture. You will visit splendid palaces and cathedrals including the former principal cathedral of the Russian capital – St. Isaak Cathedral.

During the tour you will have a unique opportunity to get to know the behind-the-scene life of the Mikhailovsky Theatre and discover its secrets. You will visit see how a performance is engineered and how the scenery is made, visit stage properties workshop and hear about outstanding people who worked at the Mikhailovsky Theatre – singer Feodor Chaliapin, composers Dmitry Shostakovich and Sergei Prokofiev.

Afternoon visit to one of the world’s greatest art museums – the Hermitage, located within the Winter Palace, baroque masterpiece and residence of the Russian tsars. It boasts a collection of art from the Stone Age to the 20th century. The Hermitage is so large that according to expert’s it would take you 9 years to look at each item of the museum collection for one minute! So, don’t get frustrated if you can’t see it all, but take away some special memories from this visit, because the Hermitage is definitely a “must see” museum for any art lover.

Meals: B + L

Overnight: St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg

Highlights: Peterhof Palace, Watch Factory, Russian village Shuvalovka

This day is devoted to exploring one of St. Petersburg suburbs – Peterhof, where famous summer residence of the Russian tsars is located.  This palace is Russian answer to French Versailles with an impressive park with 200 fountains that make its major attraction. World best artists designed the unique ensemble of fountains and cascades over long period of over 100 years.

However Peterhof is interesting not only for the Peter the Great Palace, but also has other exciting sight, hidden from the touristic crowds – Russia‘s oldest watch factory, founded by Peter the Great in 1721. You will have a unique chance to visit one of the rare watch factories in the world where you can see the full watch manufacture process from A to Z.

We continue with a visit to the Russian village of Shuvalovka, the recreated 17th century settlement and a perfect site for active recreation, featuring costumed festivals, fairs and music events all year round. Here you will be able to learn some Russian crafts like making rustic toys or jewelry, taste different sorts of vodka while listening to a folklore performance and traditional toasts proposing at the Vodka Theatre.

Meals: B + L

Overnight: St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg

Highlights: Catherine Palace

You stay in  St. Peterburg would not be complete without visit of  another outstanding suburban residence of the Russian tsars – Catherine Palace, named after the Empress Catherine I, its the first royal owner of the imperial palace. It is the best example of Russian baroque with incredible collection of art, where you will admire breath-taking interiors of its 29 halls, including the legendary Amber Room assembled with over 500,000 pieces of amber like a huge puzzle.

Free afternoon to explore St. Petersburg. There plenty of exciting activities waiting for you. Do you feel like taking a canal tour to admire this magnificent city from water? It is probably the best way to see the city. Or perhaps you would like to see the famous Russian ballet in one of its historical theatres? We are happy to assist you and make sure you will have priceless memories of your visit to the “Russian Culture capital”.

Meals: B

Overnight: St. Petersburg

Saint Peterburg

Transfer to the airport.
Departure.