Erected in 1882 by order of Alexander III, it was designed and named to memorialize his father Alexander II, killed in a terrorist attack on pavement preserved inside. It was built in the traditional Russian style and influenced by churches from the Yaroslavl region and Saint Basil’s cathedral in Moscow, and is therefore very different from the rest of the churches in St. Petersburg. Its facade is made from red bricks decorated with mosaics, and its onion domes are covered with brightly-colored ceramics and gilded painting. However, it is the magnificent interior where the décor achieves its greatest splendour: more than 7500 square meters of mosaics, unlike any other church in the world. Its silhouette rising from the waters of Griboedov canal is undoubtedly one of the symbols of the city.
The small city of Pushkin, located 30 kilometers to the south of St. Petersburg, was named after the great Russian poet. In the past it was also called Tsarskoe Selo, meaning “Village of the Tsars”. Catherine Palace, named after Peter the Great’s wife, Catherine I, is one of the most beautiful residences of the Russian tsars.
It was designed by the famous Italian architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli, the designer of the most important monuments and palaces of the city, and was constructed in the 17th century, spanning the reigns of five tsars. Each of them altered the palace according to their own personal tastes and what was in vogue at the time, from the initial Rococo through to the later Neoclassic. It was a favourite of Catherine II, her incomparable heritage crowned by the Amber Room, covered from floor to ceiling with Baltic amber.
The Amber Room was kept from the public for almost 100 years and opened only after a full renovation in 2003, on the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg. We will also admire the beauty of the large ballroom known as the Grand Hall or the Hall of Paintings. T
he beautiful architecture of the palace is surrounded by the neighbouring park, where you can walk among the birches, firs, lakes, ponds, streams, bridges, sculptures, and pavilions - unforgettable beauty that has been the subject of many poets and artists. The palace at Pavlovsk was a present made by Catherine the Great to her son Pavel, future Tsar Paul I, in 1777. The place soon took the name of Pavlovsk and quickly acquired numerous masterpieces thanks to the tsar’s spouse, Maria Fedorovna, who was fond of art and a sponsor of many artists.
We will appreciate the refinement of its salons, the harmony of its colors, the elegance of fireplaces made from Carrara marble, and an extensive collection of porcelain, paintings, and ivory articles. Its park, covering 600 hectares, was initially a game reserve for the tsar, and is considered a masterpiece of European landscape architecture.
Pasa una mañana inolvidable explorando la fantástica colección de arte en el principal museo de obras de arte extranjeras de Rusia mientras visitas el Museo de Bellas Artes Pushkin.
El exterior del museo Pushkin recuerda a muchos otros grandes museos europeos construidos durante el periodo de finales del siglo XIX y principios del siglo XX. Sus impresionantes y emblemáticas columnas fueron copiadas de la Acrópolis griega, tan popular en la época. El museo fue construido sobre un terreno concedido a la Universidad de Moscú y fue fundado por el gran científico ruso y profesor de la Universidad de Moscú, Iván Tsvetaev. La gran ceremonia de apertura, en el centenario de la derrota de Napoleón, contó con la presencia del zar Nicolás II, y aunque originalmente fue planificado como un depósito de réplicas pertenecientes a la universidad, se convirtió en museo a medida que las colecciones de arte egipcio y europeo crecían, especialmente tras la Revolución Bolchevique cuando las colecciones privadas se “nacionalizaron”.
Date una vuelta alrededor y admira las numerosas exposiciones diferentes que abarcan desde fascinantes artefactos de civilizaciones antiguas como Grecia o Egipto hasta una increíble colección de obras impresionistas y posimpresionistas. También podrás contemplar de cerca obras maestras de artistas italianos, flamencos, alemanes y franceses, como por ejemplo Retrato de anciana de Rembrandt y varias obras de Botticelli y Veronese. Descubre los Tesoros de Troya, una reserva de oro que data del 2500 a.C., y maravíllate con las obras del impresionismo francés y de los posimpresionistas Van Gogh, Cezanne, Gauguin y Matisse.
The capital transforms itself after sunset, offering an absolute different view at night than the one during daylight hours: stunning and recently installed illumination enhances the beauty of the severe and imposing Stalinist facades, while the magnificent Orthodox churches sparkle. The banks of the Moskva River offer this alternative vision of the city, to be discovered only after the sun goes down.
Moscow’s Boulevard Ring is, obviously, a boulevard in the form of a ring, but not exactly as you would imagine, actually the form is more like a horseshoe. It is a perfect place for having a nice relaxed walk surrounded by trees and nature even being in the city.
The Boulevard Ring goes through the popular Old Town or historical district, going by the White Town, formerly known as the second ring. It is 9 kilometers long and it is considered to be a garden-park. It is so nice and popular that it constantly goes through improvements. So besides having many historical sights, you will see that it can have many modern and well-kept structures.
A walking tour on Boulevard ring in Moscow is certainly going to be one of the highlights of your trip! With a private guide you will be able to see a lot of amazing buildings, streets, secret gateways and many other!
Your journey will start from Prechistensky area, followed by walk to Arbatsky, Tverskoy, Sretensky, Pokrovsky and Yauzsky neighbourhoods. All so different from each other, with their own history and fascinating places to see!
Definitely you will have a great time with this experience and enjoying the beautiful sights of a relaxing walking tour through one of the most popular spots of the Russian capital. So don’t hesitate and book this walking guided tour now!
Located on a small island opposite the winter palace and dominating three branches of the Neva River, the Fortress was intended to protect the city from a naval assault. It was the city’s first building and is considered the foundation of St. Petersburg, while the tsars also used it as a political prison for their main opponents.
Now it is a museum and one of the best spots in the city to enjoy magnificent panoramic views of the Neva’s southern bank. One of the guns on the top of its bulwarks is even fired every day at noon, and what was initially a small wooden church built inside the big fortress was eventually expanded and improved on, becoming the current cathedral, both hits with visiting tourists.
There we will take in the graves of all the tsars of the Romanov dynasty and their families, including the grave of Peter the Great, founder of the city, and those of Nicholas II and his family, killed during the Bolshevik revolution of 1918. Their remains were buried in the cathedral in 1998.
Explora una de los museos de arte más refinados del mundo en los lujosos alrededores del Museo Hermitage.
Hay pocos museos que puedan competir con el Hermitage en cuestión de volumen y calidad de trabajos artísticos expuestos y ningún visitante se marcha sin quedarse totalmente cautivado de los alrededores, y ya sin hablar del arte en sí. Al englobar numerosos edificios como el emblemático Palacio de Invierno, se dice que el Hermitage tiene tantas obras de arte que llevaría años verlas todas. ¡Con unos tres millones de obras es fácil entender el porqué! Únete a nuestra excursión, una fantástica forma de tener una visión general visitando las mejores obras de arte en exposición.
El museo original, también denominado el ''Pequeño Hermitage'', fue fundado en 1764 por Catalina la Grande. Su colección y el museo en sí crecieron con los años hasta el tamaño actual y al pasear por su maravilloso interior tendrás la oportunidad de ver algunas de las obras. Observa ejemplos fascinantes de arte prehistórico y obras del antiguo Egipto y Grecia. Déjate deslumbrar por los grandes de la Italia renacentista como Raphael y Da Vinci y déjate cautivar por la belleza clásica de maestros españoles como Velázquez y El Greco. El arte barroco alemán y flamenco, junto a los maestros franceses, ingleses, suizos, alemanes y rusos, complementan los clásicos. Y para aquellos que prefieran un arte más moderno como Renoir, Degas, Picasso y Kandinsky no se sentirán defraudados.
The word “Kremlin” in Russian means fortress, and in early Rus every important town had a fortress encircled by a wall where the main buildings, churches, and cathedrals were located and protected. The Moscow fortress, the cradle of the city, is the main fortress in the country and has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Built in the 12th century, it took the form we know today in the 15th century. It is an excellent reflection of the different stages of Russian art; a single monumental centre of architecture, painting, and decorative and applied arts. The best craftsmen and artists worked on its churches, cathedrals, and palaces, bequeathing to us their priceless work framing the power and fame of Russia that is concentrated in its unforgettable alleyways and different sections.
The Kremlin is even today the seat of some of the main political and religious government bodies: the President’s Palace, different administrative and military buildings such as the Senate and Armoury, and also numerous churches and cathedrals. Its walls, 19 meters high and 2235 meters long, tower above the Moskva River and Red Square and are made from eight kilogram bricks. We will visit the fortress, enjoying the view of the world’s biggest "tsar bell", forged in 1733, and the "tsar cannon", one of the biggest guns ever made in the entire world. Forged in 1586 by Andrew Chokhov, its purpose was to defend the gate of the Spasskaya tower, though it has never been used.
The Cathedral Square is an architectural jewel, flanked by the Dormition Cathedral, the Cathedral of the Annunciation, and the Cathedral of the Archangel.
Our tour will begin on Nevsky Prospect, the main thoroughfare of St. Petersburg and the city’s most beautiful and important avenue. It is the commercial and social heart of the city; an animated place full of shops and cafes where the inhabitants of the city love to walk and have fun. We will admire some of its most important buildings, such as the Anichkov, Stroganov and Beloselsky-Belozersky palaces; the Gostiny Dvor Department Store; the Eliseev, Mertens, and Singer houses; and the Anichkov Bridge. Nevsky Prospect is also home to some of the most important churches in St. Petersburg: the Lutheran Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, the Catholic Church of St. Catherine, the Armenian Church of St. Catherine, and the imposing neoclassical colonnade of Our Lady of Kazan Cathedral.
We will walk in front of the sumptuous Grand Hotel Europe on our way to discovering the Arts Quartier, and around the majestic Mikhailovsky Palace, which hosts the Russian Museum. Located in the same square are Mikhailovsky Theatre, the Theatre of Musical Comedy, the Philharmonic, and the imposing façade of the Ethnographic Museum. A short distance from Nevsky Prospect the multi-coloured onion domes of the Church of the Saviour on Blood soar above Griboyedov canal. As we follow the Moika River, surrounded by delightful painted facades, we will arrive at the former Winter Palace, today the Hermitage Museum.
Crossing the Neva by the Palace Bridge will offer a splendid view of the Hermitage, the Strelka with its Rostral Columns, and the Peter and Paul Fortress. We will pass along the majestic Neva next to the Admiralty and its famous spire - one of the symbols of the city - in front of the historical buildings of the University, the Menchikov palace, Kunstkamera, and the Academy of Sciences and Fine Arts. We will then arrive at Senate Square, where the famous mounted statue of Peter the Great, named the "Bronze Horseman", is situated. After that we will go around the imposing St. Isaac’s Cathedral with its majestic granite columns and gilded dome, ending our promenade on the elegant street Bolshaya Morskaya, near Nevsky Prospect.
The State Museum of Fine Arts, named after the famous Russian poet Alexander Pushkin, houses the biggest art collection in Moscow, earning it a global reputation. It was inaugurated in 1912 as an initiative of the Pectoral Senate of the University, mainly funded by the philanthropist Nechaev. The nucleus of the collection came from the Hermitage, brought over when the communists transferred the capital of Russia from St. Petersburg to Moscow in 1918, and from the former Rumyantsev Museum in Moscow. It was also the beneficiary of many pieces taken from German museums at the end of World War II.
It is well-known for its exhibitions of impressionistic and post-impressionistic art (Renoir, Gauguin, etc.), and its collections consist of 14th - 19th century paintings by such artists as Rubens, Rembrandt, and Botticelli, and have grown over time. The Ancient Art section is particularly intriguing, including Egyptian (more than 6000 items), Assyrian, Babylonian, and Pre-Christian art.
The legendary "Treasures of Troy", taken from the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, are displayed in the Museum’s famous room #7.