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Private Train Info | |
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Accommodations on
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Crimean Express by Private Train
This regal journey by private train carries you through the capitals of Russia, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine, visiting gilded churches and powerful fortresses, tasting local wines and feeling the weight of history. Then roll onto the sunny Crimean Peninsula, where the warm Mediterranean climate created "the playground of the czars" on the shores of the Black Sea. This tour is available with or without the St. Petersburg portion in both directions. Please call for pricing without St. Petersburg. Days 1-2: St Petersburg (optional pre-tour) Tour massive St. Isaac's Cathedral and stroll grand Nevsky Prospekt, the heart of Peter's beautiful city. Visit Catherine's summer palace with its luminous Amber Room. Days 3-4: Moscow Take in Moscow's classic sites, including Red Square, St. Basil's Cathedral and the Kremlin. Moscow is a world-class metropolis, dignified yet dynamic, where the new high-rise commercial district of Moscow-City is changing the face of the city forever. Board the Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express in the evening and head to Minsk, the first stop on the way to Crimea. Day 5: Minsk Stop in Belarus' political and cultural capital, Minsk. Caught for years in a post-Soviet time warp, the city is beginning to lighten up. Day 6: Kiev Visit Kiev’s most renowned sites, including Pecherskaya Lavra, founded in 1051 when monks dug caves and underground labyrinths to live and study in; and St. Sophia's Cathedral, home of the first school in the Kievan Rus Empire Day 7: Lviv Make a stop in Lviv, Ukraine, whose UNESCO-listed Old Town Square, the center of social and economic life for hundreds of years, is lined with 16th to 19th century merchants' houses. Day 8: Chisinau Spend the morning rolling through the green Moldovan countryside, stopping for a wine tasting in the capital, Chisinau. Day 9: Odessa Arriving at Ukraine's Black Sea coast, visit the flourishing port of Odessa, admiring the Opera House and the Potemkin Steps. Day 10: Balaklava Disembarking in Sevastopol, headquarters of Russia's Black Sea fleet since 1804, visit Balaklava to see the valley where the events of The Charge of the Light Brigade took place. Day 11: Sevastopol, Chersonesus, Bakhchysaray Explore Sevastopol, which resisted besieging British, French and Turks for 349 days during the Crimean War. Tour nearby Chersonesos, a 6th century BC Greek colony that became a Byzantine city. Its ruins are now an open-air museum. On the way down to Yalta, stop in Bakhchysaray to visit the magnificent Khan's Palace, seat of the Crimean khans, the last descendants of Genghis Khan's hordes in the Western world. Spend a final evening aboard the Golden Eagle Private Train. Day 12: Feodosia, Sudak In Feodosia, explore the Ayvosovsky Musuem. A gifted 19th century seascape painter, Ayvosovsky's work came to the attention of Pope Gregory XVI, Pushkin, Gogol and Glinka. Stop in Sudak to admire the grand 14th century Genoese Fortress. Arrive in beautiful Yalta this evening. Days 13-15: Yalta In palm-lined Yalta, spend three nights in a fine hotel enjoying the lovely Mediterranean climate. Get a feel for the city's history with visits to Chekhov's house, the Botanica Gardens, Alupka Palace, the Massandra Winery and the Livadia Palace, where the Yalta Conference of 1945 established Europe's post-war borders. This trip also runs in the reverse direction and without St. Petersburg. Call 800-424-7289 for more details. Trip Details
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MIR Signature Features
- Admire the restored Amber Room in Catherine's Palace
- Wander Red Square, appreciating the fantastic artistry of St. Basil's Cathedral
- Pay your respects at Minsk's monuments to its war dead - up to half of the population was lost
- Dine at Lastochinko Gnezdo, a castle perched above the sea near Yalta with breathtaking views
- Sip champagne where history was made in Livadia Palace
- Stroll and shop on Kiev's Andreevsky Uzviz, the shortest route between the aristocratic Upper Town and the tradesmen's town, Podil
Day-by-Day Itinerary
Suggested Extensions
Extend your stay in either St. Petersburg, Moscow or Kiev. Contact us for details.« View a Printer-Friendly PDF of this information
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