I've just returned from this wonderful holiday and here is my review which I hope that future travellers, and people considering this tour, will find helpful.
Moscow
The Novotel Moscow Centre isn't actually in the city centre, but is situated slightly outside the 'Garden Ring Road' about 15-20 minutes by road from Red Square. Nevertheless, it is a clean and comfortable hotel with an extensive choice of food at the large buffet style breakfast. Starter and dessert at dinner are also taken from a buffet.
Moscow is a clean city with no litter or graffiti (they even wash the streets!) and we had two very full and excellent days taking in many of the sights. The only slight disappointment was in Red Square where a music festival was due to be held that weekend, with the result that much of the square was taken up with tiered seating. This made walking around the square, and negotiating the crowds, much more difficult. The Kremlin armoury, with its wonderful collection of artefacts that celebrate Russia's imperial heritage, and the sight of the great golden domes that dominate Cathedral Square in the ceremonial heart of the Kremlin will live long in the memory. Our visit to the Christ the Saviour church and our ride on the Moscow Metro were other notable highlights.
On day 2 the Battle of Borodino Panorama Museum, with its huge painting of the key battle outside Moscow in 1812 proved to be a great success, whilst the visit to Leo Tolstoy's house gave an intriguing insight into the private life of the famous author.
In completing my review of Moscow, which doesn't comment on everything we saw, I should pay tribute to our brilliant local guide Irina, who's welcome, kindness and wealth of knowledge really added to the success of our stay.
Tips while in Moscow:
At Christ the Saviour Church - walk around to the right-hand side of the church and you will see a bridge ahead of you and to your right. Walk across the bridge about halfway for a classic view of the Kremlin with the river in the foreground.
At Tolstoy's House - you will be given plastic overshoes to wear on entering the building. These make the wooden floors quite slippy, so be VERY careful particularly when descending the staircase to the ground floor.
On the final morning in Moscow you may wish to buy some food to eat during the train journey to St Petersburg. Leave the hotel via the rear entrance off reception and walk to the main street. Turn right and about 50 yards down on the same side of the road is a boulangerie/café which sells tasty food to take out. A pasty and Danish pastry will cost about 250 roubles.
St Petersburg
The Taleon Imperial Hotel is fabulous!. Situated in a great location opposite the Stroganov Palace and by the side of a canal in the heart of the city, it was a delight to stay in such a beautiful establishment. I guarantee that someone will get lost within its wonderful interior, because it can be a little disorientating when you first arrive, but you will get accustomed to it.
St Petersburg is a very different city to Moscow, with the many canals giving it an essentially compact and intimate atmosphere. The city tour, ably led by our local guide Teddy, included visits to the Church of the Resurrection of Christ on Spilled Blood, Arts Square, the St Peter & Paul Cathedral amongst others, and provided an excellent introduction to the city and allowed us to get our bearings.
The visit to the Faberge museum, the Hermitage and the Winter Palace on day 2 provided a very full itinerary. The Faberge museum was a testament to one mans genius, whilst the magnificence of the Winter Palace was quite breathtaking.
On our third day in St Petersburg we visited the Catherine Palace, situated about 25km outside of the city. Yet more magnificence here, and after an included lunch we arrived back at the hotel mid-afternoon. The rest of the day is free before a farewell dinner. If you wish to revisit one of the many sights you have seen around the city, then the 'Spilled Blood' church is 15 minutes walk, the Winter Palace just 5 minutes walk from the hotel.
My own 'top tip' at this time would be to take a boat cruise along the canals to see the city from a different perspective. The most convenient departure point is from a mooring directly outside the Taleon hotel. Cruises last for one hour and cost 700 roubles. Cruises also continue to run after dark so you can see the city by night from the waterways if you wish. If you want to see the 'Spilled Blood' church, Kazan Cathedral or the Winter Palace lit up at night then, as I've already said, they are within a reasonable walking distance from the hotel. Our group found St Petersburg quite safe to walk around after dark and the buildings are well worth seeing at this time.
If you want an opportunity to sit with the locals, a music bar 'Dan7' is situated canal-side a few yards away from the 'Spilled Blood' church. Live jazz is performed there every night until about 11.30pm
One final piece of information regarding electricity supply; both hotels have European round two-pin sockets.
To summarise, Russia was everything that I hoped it would be and much more besides. I could not recommend this tour more highly. The sights are spectacular, the food excellent, the two cities could not be more different (which only added to the pleasure of the tour) and the people we met were friendly and approachable.
Finally, many thanks to my travelling companions for their great company, and to our TM Jim Scobie who ensured that everything ran smoothly.
If anyone has further questions, then please ask and I'll do my best to answer them.
Mike
