During this week-long tour you’ll have a unique opportunity to visit many formerly top-secret sites of the enormous empire of the USSR! This tour is a thrilling trip back in time to the mysterious, dangerous and intriguing era of the former Soviet Union! See the once top-secret Training Centre for Astronauts in Star City, still closed to the general public;– the place where the history of space travel began! Walk along the legendary KGB secret service building on Lybianka street and see the relics of the Stalin era on Moscow’s streets and in its underground. Feel the history when you see artefacts from World War II and the Army of the Third Reich, or personal items belonging to Adolf Hitler, and visit what was once the most secret site in the USSR, Stalin’s Underground Command Centre, recently opened to the public. No James Bond ever dreamed of visiting the places you can now see on this tour. Explore the unknown Top-secret Russia!
RUSSIAN VISA INCLUDED
*Please note that some of the sites run a compulsory security check on all visitors
PRICE
EXCL. FLIGHTS: £879
INCL. FLIGHTS: £1,149
Travel style: cultural adventure ITINERARY Day 1. Arrival in Moscow. Transfer to the hotel. Your first night in Moscow. Day 2. After breakfast in the hotel you will have a special city tour around Moscow. During the trip you will see the White House of Russian government which was the starting point for the democratic revolution in Russia in 1991. You will also see the buildings of the Hotel “Ukraine” and Moscow State University – examples of the world-famous skyscrapers built during Stalin’s epoch. Our tour guide will take you to “Sparrow Hills” with its observation platform, which provides a fantastic panoramic view of Moscow; then we go to “Poklonnaya Hills” - the most significant monument constructed in honour of victory in the Great Patriotic War (World War II). There you can also see a large outdoor exhibition of historical Russian weapons. In the afternoon you will visit the Central Museum of the Armed Forces of Russia which contains 24 exhibition halls. The strength of the Museum’s historical collection is in its collection of banners of Soviet and Third Reich Army and personal belongings of Soviet and Nazi leaders (including the General Zhukov and Adolf Hitler). The Museum has a wide range of weapons, military uniforms and decorations. The outside exposition of the Museum presents many armoured vehicles, artillery, antiaircraft systems and battle aircrafts. Overnight in a hotel. Day 3. Today we will explore the heart of Moscow and the whole of Russia – the Kremlin. A former residence of Russian Tsars and Orthodox Patriarchs, nowadays it hosts the office of the Russian President and his team. You will visit Red Square - the place for all military parades in Moscow, Stalin and other Soviet authorities tombs at the Kremlin wall and the world-renowned Lenin Mausoleum. Watch the famous changing of the guards at the Kremlin Wall. Your Kremlin discovery will be complete when you visit the beautiful Orthodox cathedrals and the Armoury - a unique collection of treasures that include the tsar's coronation robes, thrones and carriages, gold, silver, jewellery, Faberge eggs and historical armour. The history of the Armoury goes back to the fifteenth century when it became a repository for the treasures and jewels of the grand princes of Moscow.
Day 4. Breakfast in the hotel. In the morning you will have a guided tour around some other strategic and historical points in Moscow. First we will visit Old Arbat Street where every building has its own unique and interesting story. Nowadays the street is mostly famous for its souvenirs. Here you will be able to browse among the shops. Then we will go underground to see the legendary Moscow Metro – the strategic defense bomb shelter. Besides its importance for the city defense, it is an interesting sample of architecture and interior design, richly decorated inside with monumental mosaics and stunning frescos. Then we will visit Lubyanka Square – the world-famous KGB center of the Soviet epoch. Break for lunch. Depending on the availability guided visit to the most secret site of Russia from the past seventy years – Lubyanka KGB Hall! (The KGB museum is temporally closed for refurbishment). Day 5. After breakfast in the hotel we leave Moscow to visit the Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City. Star City is situated to the North-West of Moscow in a beautiful pine and birch forest. All crews on missions “Vostok”, “Voskhod” and manned “Soyuz” spacecraft of different modifications, as well as those who worked at the orbital complex “MIR”, were trained here. You will examine a training hall of astronauts where real space vehicles are used as the training apparatus, the hydro laboratory, in which future astronauts study to live and work in conditions of weightlessness, and a centrifuge, which is the largest in the world. You will see unique artefacts and simulators where cosmonauts train or fly, including the simulator of the orbital complex “MIR”. Day 6. Another trip to the suburbs of Moscow – you will visit the Central Museum of the Air Forces at Monino. It is the largest and best aviation museum in Russia and will definitely be among the highlights of your trip. The Museum facility was an operational air base from 1932 till 1956. Even though the Museum was opened in 1960, the area was still off-limits to civilians during the Soviet era. Many of the Russian aviation Design bureaus (Tupolev, Ilyushin, Antonov, Mikoyan, etc.) have contributed exhibits and resources to the museum and its maintenance. The aviation park consists of more than 170 aircraft from the beginning of the century to modern war machines, cargo, sport, and also civilian planes and helicopters. On our way back to Moscow we will make a stop for lunch at the former Underground Command Center of Stalin. The Russian underground shelter of the Top-priority during WWII has been turned into a restaurant and is now open for everyone to visit! There is also a small exhibition centre in the Centre so you will see Stalin’s office and some of his personal belongings.
Day 7. Breakfast at the hotel. Free time. Transfer to the airport for your flight back home.
Optional extensions: If you are striving for more outdoor and high-adrenaline activities, we offer you the “military adventure” extension to this tour. You probably would never have believed that you would ever drive a WW II or Cold war Soviet tank as a member of crew! But now you can try real Russian arms and weapons! If you are enthusiastic about clanking tanks and roaring high-powered military vehicles, you may participate in a real test drive of old and modern machines at one of the Russian army’s testing grounds. You can also take part in real combat shooting on a real shooting range of the Russian Army. You will be given the opportunity to try different combat weapons, including: Kalashnikov machine guns, Dragunov Snipers, Makarov pistols, Maksim machine guns and many others. Please enquire about the quotes for this extension.
Accommodation & meals:
6 nts hotel DBL, 6 breakfasts Transport: car or minibus, public transport or on foot Tour staff & support: English-speaking guide, driver Other services >>>
Some places you visit in this journey are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Please click here to view the UNESCO review page:
