1 Day Imperial Saint Petersburg Highlights Tour (Visas Included)

Experience overview

Your day will be filled with amazing sites after your English-speaking guide welcomes you in a comfortable vehicle, escorting you from landmark to landmark. The Peterhof Palace and Park, located in the Gulf of Finland is the first imperial location. Then you visit the stunning Hermitage Museum, before seeing the astounding Church of our Saviour on Spilled Blood. This is an incredible day ideal for both individual travelers and families! On your tour, you will receive headsets, bottled water, and maps and local newspapers.Upon connecting with your English-speaking guide, your St. Petersburg tour of this world class city begins at the iconic Peterhof Grand Palace and Parks. Dubbed the Russian Versailles and erected by Peter the Great to rival Versailles, the stunning collection of palaces, gardens, and grottos are recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. On your approximate hour and a half visit, you will see the fountain gardens, but you will not be able to go to the interior of the palace.Rising 50 ft. above the Gulf of Finland, the Grand Palace stands like a glorious bluff. Even so, it's the Grand Cascade, with its fountains and statues, which is the main attraction of the Tsar's summer residence. Most prominent is the statue of Samson Tearing the Jaws of the Lion, which symbolizes a Russian war victory.You will then be taken to the heart of St. Petersburg, where you will visit the Hermitage Museum, based in the Winter Palace. 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. Since 1764, it's housed the main portions of the Hermitage Collection. With masterpieces by Da Vinci, Rafael, Monet, Rembrandt, and Renoir, it's regarded as a marvel, both inside and out. While you won't have time to see everything in this massive collection, you will definitely be amazed at this beautiful museum on your visit to the Hermitage during your approximate two hour tour of the museum.You'll then have some free time to purchase lunch at a nearby cafe. Try local snacks as you take in the views and relax before you head to your next and final stop of your tour.On the final leg of your St. Petersburg tour brings you to the astounding, romantic-styled Church of our Savior on Spilled Blood. Erected in 1883, following the assassination of Emperor Alexander III (on this exact location), the grand church (with its 7500 beautiful mosaics) was completed in 1907.Book this imperial tour of St. Petersburg to feel the legendary pulse of the Russian culture.Please Note: Your ship must arrive by, or be in port at, 7:00 AM and must be scheduled to depart at 7:00 PM or later in order to book this tour. The Hermitage Museum is closed on Mondays. All 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 the full names, dates of birth, nationality, and passport numbers for each tour participant so the proper tour visas can be secured on your behalf. 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. As a rule the The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood is usually closed on Wednesdays; however, the museum administration may allow guests to visit the church on Wednesdays at their discretion. If the church is closed, guests can still view the outside of the church and are then taken to visit the Kazan cathedral.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; and 3) A copy of your tour tickets. Your tour tickets will be provided as part of the documents we email to you after you make a tour booking.