New Year's stories of St. Petersburg and Vyborg: the magic of winter holidays

Late breakfast at the hotel. Meeting with the guide in the lobby of the three base hotels in the afternoon.

11:45 Departure from the St. Petersburg Hotel.

12:15 Departure from the Oktyabrskaya hotel.

12:30 Departure from the Teatralnaya Hotel and the Sadovaya Express (meeting in the Teatralnaya lobby). The sign "Petersburg greets".

12:30 Bus tour "Winter holidays". Getting to know the festive city, the central squares decorated with New Year's beauties-Christmas trees. A retrospective of the traditions of New Year and Christmas celebrations in St. Petersburg from past eras.

14:30-16:30 Excursion to the Yusupov Palace, one of the rare noble mansions in St. Petersburg, where not only the state apartments, the halls of the art gallery, the miniature home theater, but also the luxurious living quarters of the Yusupov family have survived, retaining the warmth and charm of the former owners.

To choose from: Transfer to the base hotels before 18:30-19:30 or free time at the museum and the city center without transfer.

Breakfast at the hotel.

08:15 Departure from the Saint Petersburg Hotel.

08:45 Departure from the Oktyabrskaya hotel.

09:00 Departure from the Teatralnaya Hotel and the Sadovaya Express (meeting in the Teatralnaya lobby). The sign "Petersburg greets".

09:00 Suburban bus tour "Along the old Peterhof road". Peterhof Road is a unique complex, almost the same age as St. Petersburg, combining imperial residences and private estates, gardens and parks located on the shores of the Gulf of Finland.

Excursion to the Grand Palace – a majestic and exquisite palace, whose facade stretches along the terrace for almost 300 meters, occupies a dominant position in the composition of the Peterhof ensemble.

Its ornate interiors are filled with numerous works of art and tell about the life of the Russian rulers.

16:00-17:00 The end of the program at the metro station "Pl. Vosstaniya" on Nevsky Prospekt, at the Moscow railway Station.

Breakfast at the hotel. Room release, check-out with your belongings. Meeting with the guide in the hotel lobby.

09:30 Meeting with the guide at the monument to Peter the Great at the Moscow railway station in St. Petersburg, the plaque "Vyborg".

Transfer to Vyborg. A guided tour that tells about the historical events and nature of the Karelian Isthmus. Arrival in Vyborg.

12:30 p.m. Visit to Castle Island, where the medieval knightly Vyborg Castle is located. Vyborg Castle is a symbol of the city, its heart and core. It was from him that the difficult history of the city and people began, and all roads in Vyborg lead to the Castle.

Is that all? Was there a secret passage? Where is the Matveev hole? Why did Peter the Fool 1 get the nickname "Vyborg Beard"? Who lived in the castle? And kings, and servants, and military men, and even prisoners.

Vyborg Castle will be 732 years old in 2025. We are greeted by the witnesses of the legend of the deep antiquity: castle towers: the tallest in South Karelia is the tower of St. Olaf, the most unusual with a Heavenly name.

As well as artifacts of maritime archaeology-a Swedish anchor and cannon from 1790; real medieval walls in a cozy courtyard. And each of us can witness a different, museum and cultural-historical life of the ancient castle.

14:00 Transfer to the hotel. Placement.

14:30 Lunch for an additional fee (950 rubles, paid in advance).

15:30 Christmas master class on baking real Vyborg pretzel at the Pretzel Factory in Domus Posso at the intersection of "5 balconies". You will learn about the history of Vyborg pretzel, recipes and participate in the manufacturing process yourself. We will try an authentic medieval pretzel recipe.

17:00 Interactive program "Christmas at the manor". The program includes:

• a story about the traditions of celebrating Christmas in the Scandinavian countries. The story of the Burgher Estate, two neighboring monasteries, about the symbols of Vyborg – the witch Louhi, the cat Totti, the Franciscan monks and the Dominicans. Find out who Joulupukki is and if he looks like Santa Claus;
• tasting of the famous Vyborg pretzel and glega, a Scandinavian hot berry drink with spices and spices;
• medieval theater – reincarnations of the heroes of medieval Vyborg (Finnish reindeer herders, dwarfs, knight, monk, Finnish townspeople, Swedish king);
• funny fortune–telling (they pull out playful fortune-tellers - who was who in medieval Vyborg).

20:00 Free time.

09:00 Breakfast in the hotel restaurant, room release.

10:00 Meeting with the guide.

10:00 Walking tour of the center of Vyborg. Each epoch and culture has left its own vivid impressions in the appearance of the city.

On the narrow, cobblestone streets, there are: the oldest stone house in Russia, in which ordinary citizens have been living for 400 years; the witch's house; various towers: Sentry, Round, Town Halls.

As well as burgher's, knight's, merchant's houses; schools: Russian, Finnish, Swedish. There are three cascaded squares, each with its own church: Cathedral Square with an Orthodox one, Theater Square with a Lutheran one, and Market Square with "temples" of commerce and banks; and in the middle is the Vyborg tramway.

Krasnaya and Sigovaya squares, although not neighbors, but two Russian rulers "live" there. Bears, squirrels, goat's heads, sheep's heads and rich floral ornaments — all these and other inhabitants of the northern territory on the portals and facades of the creations of the Art Nouveau era we will see on the streets of Vyborg.

11:00 Master class at the Chocolate Museum. Here you will learn about all the subtleties of making chocolate. You will hear the legends of chocolate, as well as master the art of chocolate and receive a chocolate figurine you have prepared.

13:00 Lunch for an additional fee (950 rubles, paid in advance).

Continuation of the walking tour, during which we will make a short stop at the Vyborg tram, a monument to tram traffic that has existed in the city for almost half a century.

There is a small cafe in the recreated tram where you can enjoy hot tea or coffee.

Free time to explore the city on your own. The opportunity to walk around the Castle Island and explore the territory of Vyborg Castle.

Optional walk to the Singing Field. This is a unique venue designed for summer musical and theatrical events. Or you can walk to the Water Tower on Battery Hill, one of the largest in Fennoscandia.

A walk along the Fortress Street, the main urban artery, where souvenir shops are concentrated. Here you can buy Vyborg ale, beer and other memorabilia.

15:00 Free time in the Old Town to buy souvenirs.

17:00 Departure from Vyborg. Return to St. Petersburg at approximately 20:00.