St. Petersburg Tour with Direct Departure from Ankara

We meet with you, our passengers, at Ankara Esenboğa International Departures terminal at 23:00 to depart for St. Petersburg at 01:00 with Pegasus Airlines flight PC 1007. After document checks, baggage drop, and check-in procedures, we proceed to our plane. Following our arrival in St. Petersburg at 05:40, we proceed to our hotel to rest with our private bus waiting for us. (Including Early Check-in and Breakfast) After morning breakfast, we depart from the hotel for our panoramic tour. We begin the panoramic tour of St. Petersburg, the art, science, and industry center of Russian geography. The panoramic tour to be made in the city founded in 1703 by Russian Tsar Peter I offers a different visual feast at every hour of the day. During our panoramic tour, we will witness history along Nevsky Prospect, which is 4.5 km long and stretches straight before our eyes. Named after Alexander Nevsky, the most famous hero of Russian history, and considered almost the key point of the city, Nevsky Prospect features the Admiralty Building; the Kazan Cathedral, which is a small replica of the famous San Pietro Cathedral in Rome; Beloselski-Belozersk Palace; Stroganov Palace; Gostiny Dvor, which was established as a bazaar 250 years ago and is used as a shopping center today, although not as large and rooted as the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul; the National Library of Russia, one of the largest libraries in the world; the Singer Building, which drew considerable reaction in its period with its founding story; the Eliseyev Building with its magnificent stained glass and bronze interior; Aurora Cinema, also known as the Picadilly Cinema, which author Nabokov frequently mentions in his memoirs; the famous Anichkov Bridge, which has carved a special place for itself in Russian literature and bears the traces of the Siege of Leningrad, and many other structures, we will make a quick time journey stretching from Tsarist Russia to the Soviet Union and today. Guests who wish can participate in the extra Hermitage Museum Tour to be organized. (50 Euro). Hermitage Museum; a true treasure for those who want to closely examine the cultural heritage belonging to every type and geography imaginable, from the “Golden Man” to the world's oldest carpet, from the door of the Kaaba to the important works of modern art with unique manuscripts, and even the “Peacock Clock”! The collection, formed by works that Empress Catherine began to store in her summer and winter palaces, today houses more than four million pieces. The story of saving the works in the palace, which was converted into a museum with the Bolshevik Revolution, from the Nazi art invasion during World War II even explains the importance of the Hermitage in protecting the world cultural heritage. During the Hermitage Tour, where the old summer and winter palaces will be visited, we will listen with pleasure from our tour guide to the adventure of one of the world's largest and richest museums forming the cultural building block of a country that has changed its regime three times. In the evening, for our guests who wish (Welcome dinner - 75 EUR) We say hello to the city of St. Petersburg with live music and dances at this dinner where we will have the opportunity to meet both our participants in the group and the local people. After our dinner, guests who wish can return to their hotels while guests who wish can continue to enjoy the city's nightlife. Overnight at our hotel.

• Panoramic St. Petersburg city tour is free
• Hermitage Museum Tour (50 Euro)
• Welcome dinner (75 EUR)

Free time after morning breakfast at our hotel. With guests who wish, we can join the Catherine Palace Pushkin Tsarskoye Selo Tour with Lunch at Horse-drawn Sleighs - Podvorie Restaurant. (130 Euro). Located on the UNESCO World Heritage List, the town, which is also home to the school of Pushkin, the great poet and writer of Russian literature, draws attention with its palaces, parks, and various structures. Built in the eighteenth century for the tsar's family, this area invites its guests almost into a Russian fairy tale. Covering an area of 600 hectares, the main building of the town is the Catherine Palace, offering a privileged example of the Rococo style. Bearing the name of Empress Catherine I, the building is known as the "Summer Palace". Even though the famous Amber Room of the palace got its share of the German plunder during World War II, the original room decorated with five tons of pure amber that has survived to the present day makes everyone admire it. The landscaping of the palace, carefully designed by Dutch and English gardeners, gives peace to its guests even in the twenty-first century. The Chesma Column, erected in memory of Russia's victory in the Russo-Turkish Naval War, and the Kagul Obelisk, a symbol of another victory, are also located in this garden. Meanwhile, a bath designed with inspiration from Turkish mosques draws attention on the shore of the large pond in the garden. The biggest feature of the garden is that it houses the traces of many cultures, from Chinese bridges to Turkish baths and ancient Greek statues, as records of Russian history. Located in the same region, the Alexander Palace, where all members of the Romanov dynasty were together at the time of their arrest, carries the quality of being the scene of another perspective of Russian history. Afterwards, we proceed to Podvorye restaurant for our lunch. Opened in 1993, Podvorye is a restaurant located in the Pavlovsk/Pushkin region that offers a warm and authentic atmosphere with a wooden Russian village house architecture. It is known as "Russia's most authentic Russian restaurant" and offers traditional Russian dishes accompanied by live music. Combining flavors prepared with tsarist-era recipes with a warm country setting, an option of unlimited vodka and wine is available. After our lunch, we set out to experience horse-drawn sleighs. Return to our hotel and rest after our tour. In the evening, for guests who wish, we spend a beautiful and pleasant evening together with the local people by having a drink accompanied by a magnificent view at the roof bar of one of Petersburg's tallest buildings. Rooftop Night St. Petersburg (50 Eur) After our tour, guests who wish can return to their hotels while guests who wish can continue to enjoy the city's nightlife. Overnight at our hotel.

• Catherine Palace Pushkin Tsarskoye Selo Tour with Lunch at Horse-drawn Sleighs - Podvorie Restaurant 130 Eur (Unlimited Vodka and Wine)
• Rooftop Night St. Petersburg (50 Eur)

Free time after morning breakfast at our hotel. Guests who wish can join the Peterhof Palace and Park Tour. (100 EUR) Peterhof; is a building complex built with inspiration from the Palace of Versailles, which Tsar Peter I, the leader of the Russian Westernization Movement, saw and was influenced by during his trip to France. Famous for its gardens and especially its fountains, it carries a pioneering quality in terms of both fountain architecture and the engineering approach of the period. Positioned to offer a magnificent Baltic Sea view due to its location in the Gulf of Finland, the palace's fountains and water jets have a technically impressive mechanical system. These fountains and water jets, where everyone from seven to seventy enjoys themselves in the summer months, also offer a visual feast to the viewers. The main fountain located in the palace garden and connected to the Baltic Sea by a canal is an architectural masterpiece admired not only by tourists but also by the residents of St. Petersburg. The Peter and Paul Cathedral, located right at the exit of the summer palace complex of Peter, who passed into history with his intelligence, innovative attitude, and taste, stands out eye-catchingly as an example of Orthodox church architecture with both its exterior and interior structure. After Peterhof, which you will not want to leave easily, restored by staying true to its first architecture despite being heavily damaged during World War II, there is free time, and it is possible to relieve the tiredness of the day in the great restaurants in the center. Departure from the hotel at 19:30 for our Turkish-Russian New Year's Eve, adorned with live music and dance shows. (170 EUR) Our venue is one of the legendary Russian restaurants of St. Petersburg and offers a banquet experience within history, blending traditional Russian cuisine with live music and dance shows. You will experience unforgettable moments on our evening that appeals to both your palate and your soul with classics such as caviar and beef stroganov served to the accompaniment of balalaika melodies. After the gala night, return to the hotel and overnight at our hotel.

• Peterhof Palace and Park Tour (100 EUR)
• St. Petersburg New Year's Eve gala dinner (170 EUR)

Free time after breakfast at our hotel in the morning. For our guests who wish, in the afternoon we will proceed to the optional Peter and Pavel Fortress Tour to be organized (50 Euro). First built by Peter I, who founded the city, this fortress is located in a strategically important point from a military perspective and houses dungeons where famous names such as Peter I's son Alexei, Dostoevsky, Trotsky, Lenin's brother Aleksander, Chernyshevsky, Tito who later became the leader of Yugoslavia, and Kropotkin who managed to escape from the fortress were imprisoned for political crimes. Within the borders of the fortress, where rocket research and experiments were conducted during the Soviet regime, the angel on top of the cathedral, which is the tallest building in the city, greets the fortress's guests with compassion throughout the tour. Return to our hotel after our tour.

Peter and Pavel Fortress Tour (50 Euro).

Today we are organizing an optional Moscow Red Square Metro Nazim Hikmet tour by round-trip train with our guests who wish. 135 Euro Return to our hotel afterwards. After checking out of the hotel at the time determined by our guide, we head to the train station and depart for Moscow. Upon our arrival in Moscow, we begin our city tour. The first stop of our tour will be Red Square. This historical square is a center that has witnessed political and social events. Here stands Saint Basil's Cathedral, built in the sixteenth century by the Tsar known as Ivan the Terrible, with each dome corresponding to a Russian victory. In front of the cathedral, there is a symbolic monument statue showing two famous Russian princes, Minin and Pozharsky. GUM Department Store immediately at the end of the square and its neighbor the Kremlin Palace are among the other important stops of our tour. In addition, the magnificent Lenin Mausoleum housing the embalmed body of Lenin, known worldwide as the symbol of communist ideology, the Karl Marx statue, and the famous Bolshoi Theater building operating since the eighteenth century are also among the places to be seen panoramically during our trip. A little further ahead, the famous Duma Parliament Building where Russia's first elected parliament started working in 1906, and Voskresenski, a historical structure bombed in 1931 to allow tanks to enter Red Square, are other points we will visit. Afterwards, we go to visit Metro Arbat and Nazim Hikmet's grave. You can explore the Moscow Metro, known as the oldest, largest, and most beautifully decorated metro in the world. Then we will proceed to Novodevichy Cemetery, which is closely known by those who want to visit Nazim Hikmet's grave. This cemetery, which has museum status, and the convent inside it were founded in 1524, and although an attempt was made to demolish it by Napoleon's order in 1812, the nuns managed to prevent this decision. Completely evacuated in 1822 and left to its fate, the convent opened its doors again after restoration work done in 1994. Novodevichy, which translates to "Young Girls" in Turkish, still keeps alive the memory of the lives of the young girls of that period that passed and ended in the convent. Over time, this convent and cemetery, where the stars of many tsarina candidates also faded, has become the eternal resting place of names such as Chekhov, Gogol, Mayakovsky, Bulgakov, Eisenstein, Khrushchev, Shostakovich, and Yeltsin. Following our tour full of history, literature, cinema, music, and of course sorrow, we will embrace life and proceed to Arbat Street, the busiest street in Moscow. The history of this most famous art street of Moscow and Russia dates back to 1493. We will stroll down the street, which takes its name from the word "Gorbat" meaning "Hill" in Slavic languages, and according to a legend, from the Arabic word "Rabad" meaning "Around the City" or "Suburb". In this journey extending from the fifteenth century to the present day, street painters whom we will encounter frequently will accompany us. In addition, at building number 53 on the street, the traces of Pushkin and his wife Goncharova will welcome you. Following our tour, an optional Kremlin tour will be performed with our guests who wish. (65 Euro). Kremlin, which literally means 'fortress', is a magnificent structure called the heart not only of Moscow but also of Russia. This historical venue harbors a historical heritage that has witnessed political intrigues and social transformations, leaving deep marks. Defining the eastern border of Red Square with its eastern walls, this work carries the magical texture of the past to the present with its old walls built in the fifteenth century. As you wander through the gardens of the Kremlin, the Grand Kremlin Palace Complex, the Concert Hall, and the Presidential Building, you breathe in the rich texture of history and culture. A tree known as the 'Space Tree' was planted following Yuri Gagarin's legendary space journey and sparkles in the waters of the Moscow River. The story of the bell tower built by Tsar Ivan and the cannon he had cast both amuses and informs with the enjoyable narration of the tour guide. Famous Tsarina Catherine's crown consisting of 5,000 diamond stones awaits those who want to see it in the museum. Following our tour, we head to the train station to return to St Petersburg with the sleeper train experience. Arrival in St Petersburg and overnight stay at our hotel.

• Moscow Red Square Metro Nazim Hikmet tour 135 Euro
• Kremlin tour (65 Euro)

Free time after breakfast at our hotel in the morning. Our guests who wish can participate in the full-day Veliky Novgorod tour with lunch. (70 Eur) We set out on an unforgettable cultural journey in Veliky Novgorod, the historical heart of Russia. We start our tour by breathing in the fascinating atmosphere of the historical Novgorod Kremlin walls, the most magnificent symbol of the city. We admire the medieval architecture of the Saint Sophia Cathedral, one of the oldest and holiest structures in the country, located inside the walls. Immediately afterwards, we set out on a historical discovery in front of the massive Millennium of Russia Monument, which tells about the thousand-year deep-rooted history of the Russian state. Crossing the Volkhov River, we visit the Yaroslav's Court adorned with ancient churches, which was the meeting point of merchants in the past. Extending slightly outside the city, we visit the wooden houses in the Vitoslavlitzi Open-Air Museum, which harbor the finest examples of traditional Russian architecture. In the final part of our trip, we end this wonderful tour by taking a peaceful walk along the banks of the Volkhov River and greeting the ancient monasteries by the riverside. Return to the hotel and free time after our tour.

• Full-day Veliky Novgorod tour with lunch (70 Eur)

Transfer to the airport with our private bus after wake-up call and breakfast at our hotel. Departure for Ankara at 05:00 with Pegasus Airlines flight number PC 1008 and arrival in Ankara at 09:00 local time. Welcome home!