Discover Saint Petersburg: 2-day shore excursion

Two days discovering St. Petersburg

Mother and stepmother of artists, poets, philosophers and revolutionaries, St. Petersburg is a city that enraptures every traveler with its charm and time-honored elegance. If one day sounds too short to get completely immersed in the city's scenery and canals, this two-day tour is the perfect choice for you.

First day:

• Coming from the sea, the first thing you'll notice is the buildings' delicate and ethereal outlines. We'll start with a panoramic tour to get comfortable with the grandeur of this city.
• How many times have we heard of the artistic beauty preserved at the Hermitage? Now we are here, in the Winter Palace, one of the many buildings housing the endless collection of the Empress Catherine the Great. Between one painting and the other the guide explains that the museum has branches all over the world.
• All this art has built up an appetite. The guide will take us to a restaurant for lunch.
• Let us visit the city outskirts: the guide takes us on a trip to admire the gardens at Peterhof Palace (Peter the Great' palace), one of the Seven Wonders of Russia. It's a majestic series of buildings surrounded by parks and fountains, overlooking the Baltic Sea, which is also known as the Russian Versailles.
• The first day ends with a relaxing cruise: we'll cruise the Neva by gliding on its icy waters, exploring canals, islands and bridges of the so-called "Venice of the North".

Second day:

• By the beginning of the second day we are already feeling like tsars, perfectly at ease at the Catherine Palace, the summer residence of Russian rulers. Built in Rococo style and expanded several times over the years, today it boasts an impressive 325-meter facade! And there's more: inside the palace we'll find the famous Amber Room, a humble room decorated with six tons of amber, gold leaves and mirrors.
• Coming to our senses we remember that we're not actually czars, and we realize it once we mingle with the St. Petersburg subway crowd. You'll find that the subway is an attraction in itself, thanks to the magnificent stations which sometimes stand out as true underground palaces.
• Before focusing on Russian sacred art we'll stop at a local restaurant for lunch.
• Then we'll visit the Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood. Don't let the name by which it is known scare you: in fact, it is the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ and, needless to say, it is beautiful.
• Finally we'll visit St. Isaac's Cathedral, one of the symbols of St. Petersburg. Here we'll part ways before returning to the ship.

Visited sites:

• Panoramic tour (with photo-stop)
• Hermitage (inside tour pre-set by the museum's management)
• Peterhof Park (gardens)
• Catherine Palace (inside)
• Subway
• Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood (inside)
• St. Isaac's Cathedral (inside)
• Cruise on the Neva
• Local restaurants for lunch

Why buy shore excursions with Musement?

• Because a multilingual guide is guaranteed (Italian, English, French, Spanish and others)
• Because a small group experience is more personal than a large group tour
• Because ours is a real Shorexc (with capital S)