Palace Tours − Luxury Tours Collection The Crimean Express (Northbound) The Crimean Express (Northbound) Embark on the brand−new Crimean Express journey from Kiev, which debuts in 2010! Spend two days in Kiev, one of Europe's oldest cities, before traveling by air to Yalta, where you will stay for two nights and enjoy visits to such places as Massandra Palace and the famous fairy−tale castle, the "Swallow's Nest." Travel on board the Golden Eagle private train for seven nights as you head north−west from Balaklava through Moldova, through Lviv, and Belarus' capital of Minsk. This fascinating tour continues as you are taken to several important destinations such as the Catherine Palace in Pushkin near St. Petersburg and the Red Square in Moscow, where your epic journey comes to an end. ITINERARY • Day 1 − Welcome to Ukraine Arrive at Simferopol Airport, where you are met and transferred to the luxury Hotel Oreanda in Yalta for a three−night stay. • Day 2 − Enjoy a full day of Yalta sightseeing Today there is a guided tour of Yalta including Chekhov's House and the Botanical Gardens, followed by lunch at the Swallow's Nest, a fairy−tale castle breathtakingly perched high above the sea. This restaurant is a world famous location and many world leaders have eaten here. In the afternoon we take a scenic cruise along the picturesque coastline before visiting the Massandra Palace and Imperial Winery, touring the cellars (they have bottles dating back to 1775 and many bottles from the Tsars personal collection). • Day 3 − Adventure in Yalta This morning we visit Alupka Palace which was built for Count Mikhail Vorontsov, former special envoy to the United Kingdom and friend of the Marlborough Family. The Palace is a strange, but attractive combination of a Scottish castle with Arabian additions. Churchill stayed here during the Yalta conference of February 1945. In the afternoon we enjoy a private tour of the Tsar's Summer Palace at Livadia and the site of the Yalta conference between Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill. A champagne reception in the grounds will be followed by a concert of chamber music and dinner in the restaurant attached to the palace. • Day 4 − Travel by road from Yalta to Sudak and board the Golden Eagle in Sevastopol After breakfast we take the spectacularly scenic coastal road from Yalta to Sudak, a popular beachside resort on the Crimean peninsula, with a well−preserved and imposing Genoese Fortress which overlooks the town, and the centre of the Crimean viticulture industry before arriving in the seaside resort of Feodosiya where we visit the Aivazovsky Gallery. Late afternoon we board the Golden Eagle for our departure to Sevastopol. • Day 5 − Sightseeing in Sevastopol and Bakhchisarai Today we arrive into Sevastopol which is home to the Russian Black Sea Fleet and is a town steeped in the history of the Crimean War and World War II, on both occasions being under siege for almost a year. We visit Balaclava and the Diorama depicting the Word War Two battle and from where there is a fine view of the valley where the Charge of the Light Brigade took place. The valley is now covered in neat rows of vines and in the middle is a white stone memorial to the infamous Charge. 1 • Day 6 − Explore Balaklava Our tour of Sevastopol this morning includes the Old Town, the Panorama (a 360−degree painting and montage depicting the siege of Sevastopol during the Crimean War) and Khersones, reputed to be the most complete ancient Greek settlement in existence, and only opened to foreigners a few years ago. In the afternoon we leave Sevastopol and travel by train and make the short trip to the Bakhchisarai where we visit the sixteenth century Hansaray (or Khan's) Palace and Uspensky Cave Monastery. An early evening departure sees us heading northwards away from the Black Sea. • Day 7 − Tour Ukraine's elegant city of Odessa We arrive in the elegant city of Odessa in the morning with its tree−lined Primorsky Boulevard featuring street cafes on the embankment and the Potemkin Steps where we spend a full day. This Black Sea city was immortalised in Einstein's 1925 film 'Battleship Potemkin'. Nearby is the impressive Opera and Ballet Theatre. • Day 8 − Kishinev city tour Passing over the Moldovan border during the night, spend the morning travelling through the picturesque Moldovan countryside before we arrive at lunchtime in the capital city of Kishinev. After lunch, our afternoon tour of the city includes a visit to a local winery • Day 9 − Travel to the capital of the Western Ukraine We travel back through Moldova and back into Ukraine and have an early afternoon lunchtime arrival in Lvov, capital of the Western Ukraine and an ancient city that has seen many rulers. Named 'Lemberg' during Polish/Austrian rule, and again briefly during Nazi occupation, the old city, with its winding streets has survived almost untouched. • Day 10 − Full day tour of the ancient city of Kiev Our full day tour of the ancient city of Kiev includes the beautifully restored Monastery of Caves, Lavra Complex which has the highest bell tower in the former USSR, the huge Mother Ukraina World War Two monument and museum, a stroll along Khreshchatyk Street, Saint Sophia's Cathedral and Independence Square. • Day 11 − City tour of Minsk We spend the day in Minsk, capital of Belarus and enjoy a tour of this city which saw fierce fighting during World War Two before rejoining the Golden Eagle in the late afternoon as we travel towards Moscow and enjoy our farewell dinner onboard the train. • Day 12 − A city tour of Moscow This morning we arrive in the capital city of Russia. Our city tour of Moscow today takes us to Red Square, an iconic symbol of Russia's former military and political might. Here we see an eclectic mix of fascinating architecture, such as the ornate St Basil's Cathedral with its magnificent onion−domed spires, the grandeur of The Kremlin and the sombre and evocative site of Lenin's tomb. With our Freedom of Choice touring options you may instead wish to visit, for example, the Tretyakov Gallery or the Museum of the KGB. After our day's tour, we transfer the five−star Moscow Marriott Royal Aurora, centrally located for a one−night stay. • Day 13 − Arrive in Moscow and disembark the Golden Eagle For clients taking the St Petersburg extension, we will take the morning high speed train from Moscow to St Petersburg, where you are transferred to the Kempinski Hotel Moika 22, a luxury five−star hotel in the centre of the city for a 2 two−night stay. For clients leaving the tour in Moscow, transfers will be provided to the airport for onward flight connections. • Day 14 − St Petersburg (Post−Tour Extension − Optional) Today we tour this magnificent city and visit Catherine the Great's rococo Summer Palace in Pushkin, including the world−famous Amber Room. Lunch is at the Podvorye Restaurant in Pavlovsk before returning to the imperial capital city of the Russian Empire for an afternoon tour of the key sights including St Isaac's Cathedral and Nevsky Prospect. • Day 15 − St Petersburg (Post−Tour Extension − Optional) After breakfast, airport transfers are provided for onward international flights. DESTINATION INFORMATION • Bakhchisarai Bakhchisaray is a town in Central Crimea, centre of the Bakhchisaray district, best known as the former capital of the Crimean Khanate. Its main landmark is Hansaray, the only extant palace of the Crimean Khans, currently opened as a museum. • Balaklava Balaklava is a town in the Crimea, Ukraine which has an official status of a district of the city of Sevastopol. It was a city in its own right until 1957 when it was formally incorporated into the municipal borders of Sevastopol by the Soviet government. Balaklava has changed hands many times during its history, from the Ancient Greeks, to the Byzantine Empire to the Genoese who conquered it in 1365. Now the ruins of a Genoese fortress positioned high on a clifftop above the entrance to the Balaklava Inlet are a popular tourist. During the Second World War, Balaklava was the southernmost point in the Soviet−German lines. In 1956 Balaklava, together with the whole Crimea, passed from Russia to Ukraine. It became part of the independent state of Ukraine in 1991. Today there are over 50 monuments in the town dedicated to the remembrance of military valor in past wars, including the Great Patriotic War, the Crimean War and the Russian Civil War. • Feodosiya Feodosiya is a port and resort city in Crimea, Ukraine, on the Black Sea coast. The city is also for its golden beaches, mineral springs, mud baths and sanatoria. Other popular tourist locations are the Ivan Ayvazovsky Picture Gallery and the Genoese fortress. 3 • Kiev Kiev is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. Kiev is an important industrial, scientific, educational and cultural centre of Eastern Europe. It is home to many high−tech industries, higher education institutions and world−famous historical landmarks. The city has an extensive infrastructure and highly developed system of public transport, including the Kiev Metro. During its history, Kiev passed through several stages of great prominence and relative obscurity. • Kishinev Kishinev also known as Chisinau is the capital city and industrial and commercial center of Moldova. It is also the largest city of Moldova and is located in the center of the country, on the river Bîc. Economically, the city is the most prosperous in Moldova and is one of the main industrial centers and transportation hubs of the region.