Rococo in St. Petersburg, Russia

Upon your arrival to the historic city of St. Petersburg, founded by the Tsar Peter the Great in 1703, your guide will be waiting to take on a student tour to study architecture, showing you the abundance of Rococo buildings within the city. This style came into fashion in France, during what is known as the late Baroque Period. The first place you will visit is the Palace Square, where your group will enjoy such sights as the Winter Palace and the Opera House. After, your group will head to the Summer Garden, where you will be able to talk and learn more about Peter the Great and the Rococo art style. A delicious dinner

awaits you, as you prepare for the next day of sightseeing.

After a traditional Russian breakfast, your group will visit the famous Hermitage Museum, founded by another famous Russian monarch, the Tsarina Catherine the Great. This palatial complex is quintessential Rococo, with the use of pastel tones, rich decorations, asymmetric patterns and gold leaf and is the second-largest museum in the world. Your guide will show you around the five accessible buildings to the public, as well as all the art exhibits within. It will be a lot of walking, so make sure you bring comfy shoes and lots of water. After that grand tour, your group will visit the Passage Mall, for some dinner and

shopping, as well as enjoying the nightlife of this robust city.

Up bright and early, your group will visit the original citadel of the city, located on the Neva River. There, you will visit the beautiful Peter and Paul Fortress and the Cathedral within. After, your group will go down Nevsky Prospect, a famous street lined with beautiful historic buildings, where you will be able to have some lunch and do some more shopping. Finally, your group will arrive at the Alexander Nevsky Monastery, as well as the Mikhaillovsky Castle, for a guided tour of both Rococo structures.

After breakfast, your guide will join you for a car ride to the town of Tsarkoye Selo. It’s a short 30-minute drive away, where your group will arrive at the Catherine Palace. Founded in 1717 by the second wife of Peter the Great, Catherine the First, this impressive palatial complex is around one kilometer in circumference, so they are many things to see. You will be able to spend the day in the same place where the Tsars lived during the summers, walking in the many gardens, as well as the exhibitions within the many rooms.

Your sightseeing adventures continue as you travel to Nikolo-Bogoyavlenskiy Morskoy Sobor, another magnificent example of Rococo architecture in St. Petersburg. After, your group will head to the Smolny Cathedral and Convent, where you will be able to tour the grounds and beautiful structures. After having

lunch, your group will visit Yusupov Castle, once home to the noble Yusupov Family, and famously, the site of Gregory Rasputin’s assassination in 1916. It now houses a wonderful museum, as well as manicured gardens and stately, gilded rooms.

The final full day of your trip, your tour of the city’s Rococo wonders begins with a guided tour of Saint Isaac’s Cathedral, followed by a visit to the Botanical Gardens created by Peter the Great in 1714 as an herb garden. It now houses 25 greenhouses, as well as outdoor gardens and parks. After lunch, your

group will visit the Fabergé Museum, located in the Shuvalov Palace. It is home to around 4,000 works of decorative applied and fine art, but their greatest treasure is their collection of Imperial Fabergé eggs.

After an early morning, your group will be able to spend the final hours in the wonderful city of St. Petersburg taking in all the sights and getting some final shopping in, before heading to the airport to head back home.