Private St. Petersburg On Your Own 2 Day (Visas Included)

Experience overview

See St. Petersburg's most famous fortresses, museums, churches, and palaces in style and comfort with your English speaking guide. Upon connecting with your guide and driver, the world class city of St. Petersburg awaits with amazing sites to discover such as Peter and Paul's Fortress. This site is where the Romanovs are buried, including the famous Tsar Nicholas II and his daughter Anastasia. You may also choose to see the Spilled Blood and St. Isaac's Churches and tour these symbolic landmarks. The astounding, romantic-styled Church of our Savior on Spilled Blood was erected in 1883, following the assassination of Emperor Alexander III (on this exact location), the grand church (with its 7500 beautiful mosaics) was finally completed in 1907. When you have worked up an appetite, your guide will escort you to a traditional Russian lunch. Naturally, dining is a wonderful way to get a feel for the culture, plus the food is delicious. Following lunch, you may wish to visit the Winter residence of the Tsar where you can admire the Hermitage collection of world art. Aside from Paris' Louvre, no other collection rivals the size and quality of the Hermitage Museum. Founded by Catherine the Great upon purchasing 255 paintings from Berlin, the Hermitage now has over 2.7 million displays. With masterpieces by Da Vinci, Rafael, Monet, Rembrandt, and Renoir it is widely treasured, both inside and out. On day two of your St. Petersburg tour, you may wish to visit the emperor's summer residence. Here you will have ample time to browse the imperial Catherine palace, absorbing the magnificence and its unforgettable Amber room. Another site not to be missed is the city of fountains, the Peterhoff Grand Palace and Park, dubbed the Russian Versailles and reminiscent of France's Versailles. Rivaling it with its splendor, you may choose to see the grand halls or walk the grounds to see the fountains. Having served as the Tsar's summer residence, its grounds are dotted with countless fountains (like the spraying Joke Fountain), monumental ensembles, and charming pavilions. Having explored the best of St. Petersburg, you'll return to your ship around 4:30 PM. Sites and destinations chosen to be visited may allow for an inside viewing, be seen during an exterior photo stop, or seen in passing due to museums, palaces or other sites being closed on alternate days throughout the week. You will have the same guide for both days of your tour. 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 copy of your tour tickets. 3) An immigration form passed out to all guests on the ship (or at the passport control). Please Note: This tour includes a visa. Entrance fees and meals are not included, as you choose to see what you wish on your private tour.