This St. Petersburg shore trip visits two Russia's Imperial estates. At Pushkin your tour includes Catherine's Palace* and the famous Amber Room. After lunch you visit Pavlovsk including the State Bedroom and the Throne Room.
After passing through customs at the port you meet your private licensed guide and depart for Pushkin. The Palace and Parks of Tsarskoye Selo (known as Pushkin) are a former country residence of the Russian emperors and a fascinating monument of the world's architectural and gardening arts of the 18th and 19th centuries.
The three parks occupy an area of almost 1,500 acres where you find over 100 architectural wonders ranging from magnificent palaces and grand monuments to intimate pavilions and park sculptures. The center of which is Catherine's Palace, named after the second wife of Peter the Great. This blue, white and gold palace contains exquisite decorative objects, furniture, Russian and Western European paintings, unique collections of porcelain, amber, arms, decorative bronze and sculptures. In all the collection of the Tsarskoye Selo museum has about 20,000 items.
Your tour includes a visit to the unique Amber Room whose amber panels where stolen by the Nazis in WWII but are now rebuilt.
*SPECIAL NOTE: Due to over-tourism Catherine’s Palace has reduced the number of people who will be allowed to enter the site each. We will inform you approximately 2 weeks prior to your visit if your group will be able to enter the Palace. If you are not able to enter, we will substitute with a visit to the Parks of Catherine’s Palace and also the Palace of Pavlovsk.
Following your tour at Pushkin is a break for lunch (meal not included).
Before returning to the ship you enjoy a stop at another of St. Petersburg's Imperial estates, Pavlovsk, which is located very close to Pushkin. The property is named after Paul I who was given the park grounds as a gift from his mother Catherine the Great in 1777. Here you enjoy another Grand Palace which is set amongst a dense forest in the valley of the Slavyanka River. The palace interior reveals influences of Egyptian, French, Italian and classical Greek and Roman influences. Highlights include the State Bedroom and the Throne Room.
Mobility: NO wheelchairs
Russia Visa-Free Entry Voucher Information
With these private St. Petersburg shore excursions, our partners in Russia provide everything you need to satisfy Russia's entry requirements. You will NOT need to purchase a separate Russian Tourist Visa.
Russian law requires that cruise passengers taking Private Shore Trips have the following documentation:
1) A valid passport
2) A photocopy of your passport
3) Proof that you have purchased an escorted tour arranged by a government licensed agency authorized to receive foreign cruise passengers inside the St. Petersburg port area. Our partners in Russia provide a Visa-Free Entry Voucher as proof of your tour.
To process your Visa-Free Entry Voucher we will need the following information for each person in your private party at the time of your reservation.
-Full name as listed in the passport
-Passport Number
-Passport Expiration Date
-Date of Birth
-Nationality
-Gender
Special Note- Your cruise line may tell you that you must purchase an expensive Russian tourist visa to get off the ship if you are not taking their big bus tour. This is not true. The visa they refer to is only for passengers who plan to go ashore unaccompanied by an authorized guide. With the Visa-Free Entry Voucher our partners in Russia provide, you are required to depart and return to the port with the tour we have organized for you. You do not have the option to stay in St. Petersburg and return to the ship on your own. Visa-Free Entry Vouchers are sometimes called a "blanket visa".
Four Week Notice- To obtain the needed Russian Tourist Visas we can only accept reservations with a minimum of four weeks notice.
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St. Petersburg Shore Excursions can also be customized to fit your needs. If you have a larger group, we can offer you a private
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