St. Petersburg and Helsinki Twin City Break

Explore two fascinating cities in one visit

Prices from £839 per person
Period: all year round

Peter the Great founded St. Petersburg in 1703 as his capital. The city is majestic with palaces, churches and cathedrals, river embankments and canals, handsome parks and dozens of bridges. 

This package starts and ends in Helsinki, the gracious capital of Finland. Explore these two beautiful cities by the Baltic in one unforgettable visit packed with art and culture.

Example itinerary

Thursday - Helsinki, the daughter of Baltic
Arrive at Helsinki-Vantaa airport and later on check in to your city centre hotel. Helsinki is easy to explore on foot as everything is within easy reach – it is a beautiful city on a human scale. The architecture ranges from graceful neo-classical to art nouveau and modernism.

For those who are keen shoppers, Helsinki offers an interesting choice of boutiques and open-air markets. Helsinki also offers excellent restaurants using Finnish ingredients like reindeer, game, fish and berries.

Friday - Welcome to St. Petersburg
Board the early morning Finnish train “Sibelius” in Helsinki. After arriving to St. Petersburg in early afternoon, it is time for a lunch at a local restaurant.

The Peter and Paul Fortress is one of the great landmarks of St. Petersburg. It was founded in 1703 on a small island in the River Neva to protect the town against Swedes. The fortress housed a part of the city’s garrison, and later served as a notorious political prison. Over the years, the residents included Dostoyevsky, Gorgy and Trotsky.

Visitors can admire the gilded spire of the Peter and Paul Cathedral that stands in the middle of the fortress. The cathedral is the highest building in the city, and on top of its spire stands a magnificent golden angel holding a cross. All Russian emperors and empresses from Peter the Great to Alexander III are buried in the cathedral. Other buildings in the fortress house the City History Museum and the Mint, one of the only two places in Russia where coins and medals are minted.

In the evening, you can enjoy a leisurely stroll along the bustling avenue of Nevsky Prospekt, the city’s most famous street.

Saturday - For art lovers
Have a good breakfast at the hotel, as you need energy for a comprehensive tour of The Hermitage, one of the greatest museums in the world. The tour includes Old Masters, State Rooms in the Winter Palace, and the Impressionists’ Exhibition.

The Hermitage has one of the greatest art collections, including works by Leonardo Da Vinci, Raphael, Renoir, Degas and Matisse. The collection of Spanish art can only be compared to Prado Museum in Madrid, and the French collection is the largest outside France.

Lunch is at a local downtown restaurant.

The Afternoon’s Panoramic sightseeing tour includes the most essential sights of this magnificent Russian city, such as the Admiralty, the Peter-and-Paul Fortress, the city’s founding monument; the brilliant St. Isaac’s Cathedral, decorated with more than 500 paintings, sculptures and mosaics by Russian masters; and the onion-domed Church of the Bleeding Saviour. Former palaces of czars, extravagant mansions, and richly decorated churches create an imperial ambience all around the city, the home of Russian rulers for two hundred years.

Sunday - Imperial Palaces and return to Helsinki
Breakfast at the hotel. Morning excursion to Pushkin, one of the former imperial summer residences, and a visit to the Catherine’s Palace.

The town of Pushkin was originally called Tsarskoye Selo (Czar’s Village). The Empress Elizabeth had the original palace, named Catherine’s Palace, expanded and renovated in 1752. The work continued during the reign of Catherine the Great.

The palace is a combination of white and gold, and has a huge ballroom and ornately decorated drawing rooms. The most famous of these is the Amber room, which was raided by the German’s during the war, and restored after its return to Russia.

Traditional Russian lunch at a local restaurant, and then a transfer to the railway station for the “Sibelius” train. You will arrive back to Helsinki in the evening.

Monday - Goodbye, Helsinki
If you have not booked an early return flight you will have the opportunity to further explore the delights of Helsinki. There are fabulous design shops, excellent restaurants and various museums and galleries.

Package prices

In Helsinki: Sokos Hotel Presidentti ***+ (or similar) (Eteläinen Rautatiekatu 4)
Sokos Hotel Presidentti is a traditional hotel situated right in the heart of Helsinki. The hotel facilities include a restaurant, a pub, three saunas and a swimming pool. Bedrooms all have private facilities, TV, radio, minibar, telephone, hair dryer and ironing board.

In St. Petersburg: Hotel Dostoevsky ***+ (Vladimirsky Prospect)
Located in short walking distance from the main street Nevsky Prospekt in the historical centre of St. Petersburg. 207 rooms with bath/shower, sat-TV, telephone. Restaurant, fitness centre, business centre.

or

in St. Petersburg: Hotel Renaissance ***** (Pochtamtskaya Str 4)
The Renaissance St. Petersburg Baltic Hotel is an ideal place to enjoy the city’s charm with a fabulous location next to St. Isaac’s Cathedral and steps away from Mariinsky Theatre and the Hermitage Museum. Luxury accommodations with elegant interior design, comfortable furnishings and large work area, broadband Internet, air-conditioning, safe, mini-bar, iron, hair dryer, pay-per-view movies and satellite TV.

Prices per person:

In Presidentti and Dostoevsky from £839 in a twin room and £989 in a single room.
In Presidentti and Renaissance from £909 in a twin room and £1074 in a single room.

What is included in the price?

• Scheduled return flight from London Heathrow. Flights from other airports are available for additional charge
• Two nights in a city centre hotel in Helsinki including buffet breakfasts
• Two nights in a city centre hotel in St. Petersburg including buffet breakfasts
• Two lunches in St. Petersburg
• Transportation between Helsinki and St. Petersburg by the Finnish “Sibelius” train (2nd class)
• Transfers in St. Petersburg by van or bus
• Excursions as per programme
• Visa support letter
• Departure taxes and fees, service charges and taxes in included items

Please note that transfers in Helsinki and visas for Russia are not included in the price.

Optional extras

• 1st class in rail (compartments for 6) 90 euros per person
• Optional evening programme: ballet or opera (60-90 euros), folklore or circus (30 euros per ticket)
• Additional nights in Helsinki and/or St. Petersburg
• Helsinki Card

Visa for Russia

A visa is required for all passengers on the tours to Russia and each passenger must apply for the visa in his/her country of domicile. As the visa application must be accompanied with confirmation documents, they will be provided by our local agent. To obtain the necessary visa support letter, we require some personal information for each passenger (surname, first names, date of birth, gender, nationality and passport number).

Please visit the Russian Embassy page for further information on visa requirements www.rusemblon.org

Tailor-made trips to Russia

Please contact us if you require train tickets for Helsinki – St Petersburg or Moscow or accommodation only in Russia. We are also happy to create tailor-made holidays in Russia according to your wishes. We can combine Scandinavia, Baltic countries and Finland in your itinerary.