Day 1, Thursday, July 17, 2008: Depart from the United States on your overnight flight to St. Petersburg. Dinner and breakfast served on board.

Day 2, Friday, July 18, 2008: Upon arrival in St. Petersburg, we are met and assisted at the airport and enjoy an orientation tour en route to our hotel. St. Petersburg is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The stately architecture of the city's buildings harmonizes with the precise layout of its streets and spacious squares, gardens, rivers and canals, beautiful embankments, bridges and monuments. A relatively "new" city, it was founded in 1708 by Peter the Great, who engaged the finest scholars, architects and sculptors in constructing this pre-revolutionary home of the Tsars. We drive past the Smolny Institute and the famous Bronze Horseman statue, continue down the broad Nevsky Prospect shopping street, passing the Admiralty and many important historical sights. This afternoon we have a guided tour of the Peter and Paul Fortress with the tombs of Peter the Great and the Romanov Dynasty. Tonight we enjoy Shabbat dinner together. Overnight in St. Petersburg.

Day 3, Saturday, July 19, 2008: After breakfast at our hotel, the morning is free, or we may choose to attend Shabbat services. This afternoon we visit Petrodvorets, the former summer residence of the Tsars, which was built by Peter the Great as the Russian answer to Versailles. A system of multiple fountains and waterfalls with an abundance of gold sculptures below the Grand Palace is still being restored following the destruction of World War II, a remarkable testimony to the skill of the restorers. From the terrace we view the cascade of the 129 fountains. Overnight St. Petersburg.

Day 4, Sunday, July 20, 2008: Following breakfast we tour the Hermitage Museum with its incomparable collections of art treasures. Originally the Winter Palace of the Tsars, the Hermitage was not opened to the public until 1852. Catherine the Great was the first ruler to collect art on a large scale and the museum contains many objects of Russian culture and Oriental art in addition to its huge collection of Western masters. The Hermitage possesses one of the world's richest collections of impressionist paintings, thanks largely to the private collections of Stroganov and Yusupov families and others who commissioned such artists as Bonnet, Cezanne, Picasso and Matisse. This evening we enjoy dinner with folklore entertainment at a local restaurant. Overnight St. Petersburg.

Day 5, Monday, July 21, 2008: After breakfast, we visit the Choral Synagogue. Next is an excursion to the town of Tsarskoye Selo, the home of the Imperial family from the days of Peter the Great up to the time of the last Tsar. We visit the 18th century palace of Catherine the Great, a baroque masterpiece with a facade almost 304 meters long. The building is still being restored after extensive damages from World War II. Next to the parks and palaces stands the town itself, developed mainly in the 19th century as a summer resort for the aristocracy and well-to-do of St. Petersburg. The town was the home of the great poet Alexander Pushkin, whose statue was used for target practice by German soldiers during World War II. On the way back to St. Petersburg we stop at the "Formula of Sorrow", a memorial to the victims of the holocaust. We return to St. Petersburg. The last stop today is the magnificent St. Isaac's Cathedral. This architectural monument of stupendous size has an abundance of sculptured decorations of great beauty, reliefs, gilt work and marble. Tonight we board our comfortable sleeper train to Moscow. Overnight on the train!

Day 6, Tuesday, July 22, 2008: Upon arrival in Moscow we transfer to our hotel. We enjoy a guided tour of Moscow, including Red Square, the Kremlin, Lenin's Tomb, G.U.M. Department Store, St. Basil's Cathedral, and the Arbat shopping district. Optional evening cultural activity. Overnight Moscow.

Day 7, Wednesday, July 23, 2008: After breakfast we embark upon a morning tour of Jewish Moscow, featuring the Great Synagogue, Polyakov synagogue, the former Jewish State Theater building, the apartment building where the artist Mark Chagall worked, the wooden Marina Roschcha Synagogue, the Choral Synagogue, and Nikolskaya Street. Farewell dinner and overnight Moscow.

Day 8, Thursday, July 24, 2008: Following breakfast we transfer to the airport for our flight back to the United States.

The Memories Last Forever!
Itinerary subject to change