A Week in Russia

June 14th – 21th 2016 Weather

• Moscow in June is beautiful! Expect warm (but not hot) days and cool nights. Bring comfortable walking shoes, light sweaters and a light jacket

• Sunrise is at 3:45am and sunset is at 9:15pm Things to Know

• 1.00 USD = 65.7501 RUB

• A beer costs = 275 ($4), cocktail = 500 ($7.50), dinner at pub = 1000 ($15) and a fancy dinner with wine and dessert = 2400 ($35)

• Agree on a fare before entering a taxi (a 10 minute ride should cost about 400 RUB ($6), try to avoid gypsy cabs

• The metro is closed from 1am to 5:30am here is a helpful guide to using the metro in Moscow

• When meeting a Russian for the first time, shake hands firmly and maintain eye contact

• Many Moscow restaurants are either very posh, or very run-down. Be prepared to come across both on your trip

• Get ready to drink chilled, straight vodka. And a lot of it.

• Russians like to look good, so plan on dressing nicely if you don’t want to stick out as a tourist. No athletic gear and sneakers!

• Many bars and clubs employ “face control” policies meaning they can deny anyone entry because they look boring, poor, disheveled or anything else Budget

Accommodation $80 per night (5,197 RUB) for 8 nights = $640 + taxes (41,580 RUB)

Daily Activities $80 per day (5,197 RUB) x 5 days = $400 (25,988 RUB)

Food & Drink $80 per day (5,197 RUB) x 7 days = $560 (36,383 RUB)

Transportation Subway pass: $0.75 per ride (50 RUB) x 10 rides = $7.50 (500 RUB) Train Ticket to St. Petersburg - $67 (4353 RUB) Visa $193 For visa + $160 for service fee + $40 for voucher = $393

Planning Fee $120 for 6 days

TRAVEL TOTAL: $1674 COMBINED TOTAL: $2187 (142,090 RUB) Hotel Options

• Four Squares Okhotny Ryad Hotel (1 Room Apartment $70 per night) • is the main strip in Moscow, throbbing with shops, restaurants, and nightlife • The Kremlin and Red Square are walkable • 5 minute walk from subway stop • Accessible to airport via 10min taxi to Belorussky Train Station

• Hotel Kamergersky (Double Room for $82 per night) • Slightly closer on Tverska ya • Still 5-10 minutes from two subway stops • Simple, no elevator, good reviews

• Kitay Gorod Hotel (Double room with breakfast for $76 per night) • Located in Basmanny District • Right in front of Kitay-Gorod metro station • 0.5km from city center and all major attractions

• Veliy Hotel Mokhovaya Moscow (Superior Double Room for $104 per night) • Located in • Touristy and colorful, Arbat is still close to main attractions in Moscow • More expensive, but great reviews and more value for the money June 14th: Arrival Information

• Ta ke Aeroexpress train from airport to Belorussky Rail Terminal, transfer to ЗамоскворецкаяАл ма-Атинская

• Take subway for 4 min (3 stops) to Teatralnaya Station

• Walk 7 minutes from Teatralnaya to Home Hotel at Kamergersky Pereulok June 14th: An Evening in Tverska ya

• Check in, get settled!

• Ask the hotel for nearby recommendations, they always know best!

• Explore

• Walk north to Pushkinskaya Square

• Dinner/Drinks/Clubs (follow your instincts)

• Cherdak Bar • Time Out Bar - awesome rooftop • Mendeleev Bar Fancy speakeasy • Café Pushkin – the fanciest restaurant in Moscow (no reservations before 8pm) • Grand Café Dr. Zhivago

• Transport: 520 RUB • Food/Drink: 3000 RUB

TOTAL: 3520 RUB ($53) *Click on the map for link to saved Google Trip June 15th: Walking Tour

• Private walking tour includes: • Breakfast at Kitchenette • Red Square • Monument of Patriarch • Walking tour of Moscow 10am – • Saint Basil's Cathedral (350 RUB) Germogen 4pm (6000 RUB + lunch) • Lenin’s Mausoleum • Okhotny Ryad • GUM department store underground mall • Return to hotel to relax, regroup • Gastronome No1 • Manege building • State Historical Museum • Fountain "Four Seasons“ Kazan Cathedral • Lunch in traditional • Metro to Chkalovskaya Station • • The Resurrection Gates Russian restaurant • Iberian Chapel • The Russian State Library • Dinner/drinks in Basmanny District • Zero Kilometer and Dostoevsky monument • Dinner at Beer & Brut • Moskva Hotel • Pashkov House • Drinks/music at Imagine Cafe • Monument of Marshal Zhukov • Cathedral of Christ the • Manege square Savior • Alexander Garden • Patriarch bridge • Tomb of the Unknown Soldier • View of Kremlin • Changing of the Guards • Monument of Peter the • Ruin Grotto Great • Obelisk of Romanov • Red October chocolate factory • The Gogolevsky Boulevard • Activities:* 6000 RUB • Arbat street Stalin's skyscraper • Metro: 200 RUB • • Food/Drink: 4500 RUB This tour is private and you may Personally request any stops be added or removed per your TOTAL: 10,700 RUB ($164) preference June 16th: Daytrip to Sergiev Posad

• Take metro from Okhotny Road to Komsomolskaya (4 stops), walk to Yaroslavsky Station

• Take train from Yaroslavsky to Sergiev Posad (1 hr express, 1:30 local, purchase ticket on arrival)

• Visit the magnificent UNESCO protected Troitse- Sergieva Lavra (about 1km from train station

• Lunch at Gostevaya Izba (500 RUB)

• The Craftsmanship & Souvenirs market

• Return to Moscow in the afternoon

• Train: 1500 RUB • Food/Drink: 1000 RUB

TOTAL: 2500 RUB ($137) June 16th: Evening in Kitay-Gorod

• Train from Sergiev Posad to Yaroslavsky Station

• Metro to Kitay-Gorod Station

• Kitay-Gorod Walking Tour

• Hungry? Mu-Mu Cafeteria for quick, cheap, authentic meal • Noev Kovcheg (Noah’s Ark) for fancier, Armenian dinner

• Have some drinks • Bilingua (awesome bookstore/lounge/café but possibly closed) • Café Tan t s y

• Walk back to hotel

• Transport: 500 RUB • Food/Drink: 7000 RUB

TOTAL: 7500 RUB ($114) June 17th: Museums & Arbat

• Enjoy breakfast at the hotel (500 RUB)

• Subway to Novokuznetskaya

• Walk 8 min to The State Tretyakov Gallery (400 RUB)

• (250 RUB) Pick one or two exhibits as the museum is VERY large

• Lunch at Kukhmisterskaya Professora Pufa (400 RUB)

• 4pm – Start walking tour of Arbat Street

• Dinner/drinks at White Rabbit

• Taxi home • Activities: 650 RUB • Transport: 600 RUB • Food/Drink: 7000 RUB • Shopping: 2000 RUB *After two museums you may be far too tired to embark on a walking tour of Arbat. Check alternate options if this is the case TOTAL: 9800 RUB ($148) June 18th: The Kremlin & Novodevichy

After the Kremlin, visit Novodevichy Convent & Cemetery UNESCO • The Kremlin museums are heritage sites (included in tour) 3-4 hours of activities • Taxi or bus (or walk 26 min) to Tinatin for Dinner

• The Kremlin is the most • Walk 15 minutes across the river to Kievskaya Station popular tourist activity in Russia

• The Kremlin is CLOSED on Thursday, June 16th

• Full private tour for 15,600 ($240) including “skip-the- line” tickets

• Tour: 15,600 RUB • Transport: 50 RUB • Food/Drink: 3000 RUB

TOTAL: 18,650 RUB ($287) June 19th: Train to St. Petersburg

• Taxi to Leningrad Station

• 5:40am Train to St. Petersburg, arrive 9:40am

• Breakfast on train

• Check into hotel (or drop off bags if room isn’t ready)

• Lunch at Russian Fishing Restaurant? • Very far, mixed reviews • Catch your own fish, then they cook it! • Train: 4,400 RUB • Transport: 50 RUB • Museum of Soviet Arcade • Food/Drink: 5000 RUB Machines TOTAL: 9,450 RUB ($145) • Dinner at Literary Cafe

• Drinks at Café Idiot June 20th: St. Petersburg

• Breakfast at Gosti

• The Hermitage (600 RUB)

• The Hermitage is an all day affair • Take your time and enjoy exploring as much as you can • Book tickets online in advance to avoid long lines at the museum

• Lunch at Rasputin Café

• Walk through Palace Square • Back to Hotel • Hermitage: 600 RUB Transport: 100 RUB • Dinner • • Ter rass a • Food/Drink: 5000 RUB • Severyanin TOTAL: 5,700 RUB ($87) • Drinks at Mishka Bar June 21st: Russian Tea & Bolshoi

• Return from St. Petersburg, check into hotel

• Enjoy afternoon tea at Café Pushkin (930 RUB incl. wine)

• 6:30pm head to the Bolshoi Theatre

• Have a cocktail and appetizer at Turandot

• Early to bed as you’re up bright and early to head to the airport!

• Bolshoi: 3900 RUB • Transport: 50 RUB • Food/Drink: 6000 RUB

TOTAL: 9,950 RUB ($152) June 22nd: Departure

• Arrive at airport 2 hours beforehand (by 7:05am) for International check-in

• Taxi already arranged

• Breakfast on plane Alternate: Arbat District Day

• Metro from Okhotny Road to Mayokovskaya Station

• Stop by Patriarshi Ponds

• Walk to Breakfast at Cook'kareku

• Metro to Arbatskaya Station

• Arbat Walking Tour • Street food snack on thehttp://www.moscowprivatetours.com/tours/kremlintour/ Arbat (Terem o k ?) • Dinner at White Rabbit in Arbat District

• Find some live music, have some drinks

• Taxi back to hotel

• Activities: FREE • Transport: 500 RUB • Food/Drink: 7000 RUB • Shopping: 2500 RUB

TOTAL: 10,000 RUB ($150) Most Beautiful Metro Stations

Moscow is home to the world’s most stunning metro system. In fact, you could spend an entire day just touring its museum-quality metro stations. Since you have limited time on your trip, I have listed the top 9 stations and tried to incorporate them into your trip where possible. If you have extra time or your plans change on any day, visiting these stations is a great option.

• Kiyevskaya

• Mayakovskaya

• Novoslobodskaya

• Komsomolskaya

• Dostoyevskaya

• Chkalovskaya

• Elektrozavodskaya

• Novokuznetskaya

• Park Pobedy Moscow Breakfast & Lunch BREAKFAST

• Kitchenette - smart potted plants and sleek exterior mark it out on Kamergersky Pereulok, Once inside, their eggs benedict burst deep yellow over warm, sweet brioche, with rich Hollandaise and good, strong coffee. The breakfast menu is a respectable length and, considering the location, prices are good. They also offer a 10 percent discount on weekdays before noon, when the 350 ruble business lunch deal gets going. They get extra marks for opening at 8 a.m. 6 Kamergersky Pereulok. Metro Teatralnaya. Tel. (495) 221 88 47

• Cook'kareku (Russian for cock-a-doodle-doo) serves breakfast 24/7 with a 30 percent discount on food from a country where it's breakfast time at the time of ordering. This means there is a bumper crop of discount dishes between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. Moscow time, when it is deemed breakfast time in France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Scandinavia. If there between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m., you can get a discount on a bizarre-sounding Pad Thai breakfast.

9 Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya Ulitsa, bldg 4. Metro Barrikadnaya. Tel. (495) 660-53-39

• Uilliam's isn't the cheapest morning stop in Moscow, but that's not unexpected when it's full of clientele with tiny dogs peeking out of their designer handbags. Still, its flagship breakfast is both generously sized and delicious, coming in at 700 rubles for two courses. A yogurt-topped acai berry shot accompanies a crispy sesame bagel, which can be spread with fragrant, lemony hummus, slathered in smoked salmon, or both. Eggs follow, poached to perfection, surrounded by spinach and drowning in Hollandaise. A treat.

20A Malaya Bronnaya Ulitsa, Metro Mayakovskaya. Tel. (495) 650-64-62” LUNCH

• Mu-Mu is a classic Russian cafeteria that’s cheap and offers authentic food and no problem if you don’t speak the language. You can get a solid meal here for about 750 RUB

• Odessa Mama – charming Georgian café with entrees around 500 RUB

STREET FOOD

• Kroshka Kartoshka is definitely the Russian tycoon of street food kiosks. It’s hard to walk through the city without noticing the friendly red and yellow logo of the fast food chain known as “the little potato.” Kroshka Kartoshkas are green kiosks that sell…well mostly potatoes, but the potatoes come stuffed and topped with a wide choice of toppings from pickles to lox and bacon. The potato will cost you around 5-6$, which some locals say is not really worth it, but after seeing and smelling these on every corner you might just be ready to pay 5$ for a big potato.

• Teremok, which means something along the lines of fairytale house in Old Russian, is a kiosk chain in Moscow that serves blinchiki (Russian crepes) with a variety of scrumptious fillings. The Teremoks are brown on the outside and orange on the inside, the food itself is simplistic and a quick fix for both salty and sweet cravings. Amongst the filling choices are lox, butter, jam and even caviar, all this for the street food price of 50 rubbles, roughly $.075 a crepe. Moscow Dinner & Drinks

DINNER • Ugolek on Tverskaya – trendy restaurant with great food, sometimes cash only? Little English is spoken Bolshaya Nikitskaya st., 12, Moscow, Russia • Cafe Pushkin – the most famous restaurant in Moscow. Arrive before 8pm to avoid reservations and wait at the swanky bar until your table is ready. Entrees from 1400 RUB – you don’t even want to know ($21 - !?!?!?!) • Strelka Bar – eclectic Scandinavian/Italian/Russian place Entrees from 400-100 RUB ($6 - $17) • Turnadot – ridiculously fancy, opulent and ostentatious, entrees here are around 1700-2400 RUB ($25 - $35). • Tinatin – Authentic Georgian food, though outside of the main city loop • Oblomov – Upscale restaurant located in a 19th century mansion serving traditional Russian food • Beer & Brut – Cozy, welcoming, eclectic Russian pub in Basmanny District. Reasonably priced authentic meals and warm atmosphere. • White Rabbit - Modern, whimsical restaurant and bar with upper mid-range prices. Around 1000 RUB for a meat entrée and 700 RUB for a cocktail • Noev Kovcheg (Noah’s Ark) for fancier, Armenian dinner

DRINKS • Didu – Unique bar with crazy plastic sculptures all over the walls • Bilingua – Cool bookstore/music venue/café, though possibly closed down. • Prospekt Bar – Great summer bar with outdoor couches and film screenings on summer nights • Cherdak Bar – Funky unusual bar & café: “Grandma’s lampshades and old red Soviet TV set” • Time Out Bar - awesome rooftop • Mendeleev Bar Fancy speakeasy Have a great trip!