STOCKHOLM 41ºF

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Arrival. Transfer to the hotel.Welcome to Europe!!!. Upon arriving at the airport we will be waiting to transfer you to your hotel. You can enjoy free time until your tour starts. Please, check the informative posters placed at the hotel reception area which have all the information about your upcoming services such as meeting place, time and the guide’s name.

STOCKHOLM 41ºF

TODAY´S HIGHLIGHTS: Stockholm sightseeing. Today we make a panoramic tour of this very beautiful capital city built on 13 islands joined together. We will see the Gamla Stand or the “City between the Bridges”, the old quarter of the city, full of life where there are many monumental buildings such as the Nobel Museum, alongside the main square of Stortorget, which pays tribute to the winners of the Nobel Prizes, the Cathedral and the Royal Palace. Whenever possible, we will enjoy a pretty view from the Fjällgatan viewpoint. Then leisure time. We recommend visiting the museums and parks. Optionally, we suggest a visit to the City Hall and to the Vasa museum-ship.

STOCKHOLM 41ºF - STOCKHOLM-TURKU FERRY

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Ferry to Finland. Enjoy a free day of leisure in Stockholm. In the evening we will board a modern ferry traveling overnight to Finland, where accommodation will be in double cabins with private bathrooms.

STOCKHOLM-TURKU FERRY - NAANTALI 37ºF - HELSINKI 37ºF

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Forests, lakes, pleasant landscapes. As we arrive to Finland, we recommend that you go to the ship’s deck for sunrise, enjoy mesmerizing landscapes from the sea as we sail along Aland Islands, hundreds of islands covered by forests. We disembark the ferry and have time to walk around TURKU, a city with a very strong Swedish influence. We continue our journey to the neighbouring city of NAANTALI, a very picturesque town with wooden houses next to the sea. We travel on until we arrive in HELSINKI,reaching at lunchtime. In the afternoon enjoy leisure time, you will be able to explore the city, with its old market, buildings with Russian influence and churches.

HELSINKI 37ºF - HELSINKI-TALLINN FERRY - TALLINN

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Stage by the sea with beautiful landscapes on the way out of Helsinki. We enjoy a boat trip to Suomenlinna Islands, a group of islands where we can witness a great fortress that used to protect the sea entry to the city, it has been declared World Heritage. Take time to walk around, it is possible to cross the islands through small pedestrian bridges. Later we will board a ferry to Estonia. The ferry trip will be around 2 hours 30 minutes. During the departure from Helsinki you have great views of the surrounding islands. On to TALLINN!

TALLINN

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: city tour of Tallinn. Tallinn, the capital of Estonia is a wonderful city with a well-conserved medieval centre. We will enjoy a comprehensive tour of the city, its walls, churches, squares, and its medieval streets filled with tourist attractions. An afternoon at leisure.

TALLINN - NARVA 36ºF - ST. PETERSBURG 39ºF

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT: From Estonia to Russia. Today we leave Estonia and travel to Russia. We stop in NARVA with time to see the impressive fortress by the river, on the border between the two countries. Border procedures (which can sometimes take time), then we will take our included lunch once in Russia. We make our way to ST PETERSBURG, arriving and going to the hotel.

ST. PETERSBURG 39ºF

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT: Panoramic visit of St. Petersburg including Peter and Paul Fortress. Excursion to Peterhof Palace. With a local guide we begin the panoramic visit of this beautiful city crossed by the Neva River and built on 40 islands. St Petersburg is the second most important city in Russia and capital of the Russian Empire. This imperial city reveals the history of the Russian tsars through its museums, palaces, and architectural wealth. The visit includes the Peter and Paul Fortress (entrance included), origin of the city. The city is surrounded by numerous palaces. We take an excursion, with a guide and tickets, to the PETERHOF PALACE. This UNESCO heritage of mankind known as the "Russian Versailles" with magnificent fountains and gardens was one of the residences of the Tzars.

ST. PETERSBURG 39ºF - MOSCOW

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT: Hermitage Museum. High speed train to Moscow.Today we have included the visit to the Hermitage Museum, with a guide, a fantastic art museum located in the building that was the Tsars’ Winter Palace. In the afternoon we take the “Sapsan”, the modern high- speed train, and in four hours we cover the nearly 800 km separating the two cities, arriving in MOSCOW and transferring to our hotel.

MOSCOW

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT: City tour of Moscow with entrances to Kremlin and its main cathedrals. We will start our day with an exciting visit to Russia’s huge capital city. This city unites past, present and future in a very unique way. We will visit the immense avenues, elegant shopping areas, the Red Square where Lenin’s Mausoleum is, Saint Basil’s Cathedral, the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. We will also enter the Kremlin with a visit to two of its main cathedrals. We will try (not guaranteed) to coincide with the ceremonial military parade in Sobornaya Square. Enjoy the afternoon at leisure.

MOSCOW

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT: Viewpoint over Moscow. Great Patriotic War Museum. We will learn more about the history of Russia and its capital. We will pass by the university viewpoint, with its fantastic view over the city where newly married couples leave flowers (we could go to the viewpoint after Saturday’s visit instead of Sunday) and we will get to know (including entry) the Great Patriotic War Museum (World War II) that also shows us many aspects of the Soviet period. Free afternoon.

MOSCOW - VLADIMIR 36ºF - NIZHNY NOVGOROD

TODAY´S HIGHLIGHT: Cathedral in Vladimir. Lunch included. Forests, pretty scenery around the hills of Gorokhovets. Volga district. Dinner included. We leave Moscow early and travel towards VLADIMIR, here we visit with a local guide the majestic Cathedral of the Assumption (entrance included) that forms part of UNESCO’s World Heritage. We will then take time for lunch (included). We continue eastwards, stopping in the small town of GOROKHOVETS, its walled Kremlin, great views, 17th century monastery, and surroundings that seem to divert from time. We go on to NIZHNY NOVGOROD, the capital of the federal district of Volga, the fifth most populated city in Russia and the place where Maximo Gorki was born. We suggest strolling walk through its lively streets. Dinner at the hotel and accommodation . Dinner included.

NIZHNY NOVGOROD - MAKARIEVO - CHEBOKSARY 37ºF

TODAY´S HIGHLIGHTS: Cable car in Nizhni, Makarievo Monastery, Ferry on the river Volga. Lunch included. We will leave Nizhni on a cable car that flies over the Volga. Leaving the busy roads behind, we continue and encounter large plains, fir forests, lakes, and villages of wooden houses. MAKARIEVO shows us its great 15th century monastery on the banks of the Volga, a beautiful place virtually untouched by tourism. We cross the river Volga by ferry (a crossing of around 20 minutes, cargo ferries cross the river, in very limited conditions). Lunch included. We continue to CHEBOKSARY, the capital of the Republic of Chuvashia, a beautiful and tidy city on the banks of the Volga. Its population speaks Chuvashian, a language of Turkish origin. On arrival, enjoy a small folkloric show (if the group is under 12 people, this show is not given).

CHEBOKSARY 37ºF - YOSHKAR-OLA - KAZAN 37ºF

TODAY´S HIGHLIGHT: Lunch included. Tour of Svijaschk.We leave for YOSKHAR-OLA, the capital of the Republic of Mari-El. Here the inhabitants, who lived in the forests for centuries, speak a very ancient language derived from Hungarian and Finnish. Its urban centre has been completely transformed in recent years; and is now one of incredible beauty. Here we will take our included lunch. We go on towards the Tartar Republic. We visit SVIJASCHK,an island on the river Volga; declared UNESCO World Heritage, and inhabited in the times of Ivan the Terrible. We will take a walk with a local guide, among its churches and its ancient wooden dwellings. Continuing to KAZAN, and to the hotel.

KAZAN 37ºF

TODAY´S HIGHLIGHTS: city tour of Kazan.A full day in KAZAN, the Tartar capital, and a city with just over a million inhabitants. Enjoy visiting wiht a local guide the Kremlin (entrance included) and the city centre in which the mosques rub shoulders with the Orthodox churches. We will also see the House of Lenin (only on the outside, as it is closed on Mondays), a pleasant early 20th-century traditional dacha. The afternoon is leisure time to explore independently.

KAZAN 37ºF

After breakfast, transfer to the airport and end of our services.