A day tour to Veliky Novgorod from St Petersburg gives you the opportunity to see one of the oldest and most important cities of Ancient Rus. Novgorod was founded more than a millennium ago (859) on the River Volkhov. This is much earlier than the first mention of Moscow in the chronicles (1147) and many centuries before the foundation of St Petersburg (1703). The famous trading route from the “Varangians to the Greeks”, i.e. from the Scandinavians to Byzantium, passed through the city which gave it strategic importance.

  Veliky Novgorod is located 200km from St Petersburg and can be reached by railway. The city’s main sight is its ancient kremlin which is now listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. During the tour you will visit the kremlin and several other main sights in and around the city, including the Yuriev Monastery and the Vitoslavitsy Open-Air Museum of Wooden Architecture.

  Although the tour lasts for almost 14 hours (almost 5½ of which you will spend on the train), you will be back in St Petersburg by 21:00. This tour is also possible by car but it will take longer and be more expensive.

St Petersburg → Veliky Novgorod → St Petersburg

 Total distance of the tour –  400km

• 06:30 •

 Transfer from the hotel to St Petersburg’s Moskovsky Railway Station. A driver with a sign saying  will wait for you at the lobby of your hotel or place where you stayed.

• 07:20 •

 Departure of the express to Veliky Novgorod.

 Duration: just under 3 hours

• 10:20 •

 Arrival in Veliky Novgorod. Meeting with the guide and breakfast at a café (not included).

  Transfer to Yuriev Monastery.

 Guided tour around Yuriev Monastery (1119) – Yuriev Monastery is considered one of the oldest monasteries in Russia. According to legend it was founded in 1030 by Yaroslav the Wise, but its first mention in chronicles came in 1119 when construction work on its main cathedral began. The monastery became one of the richest and significant of the Novgorod Republic during the subsequent centuries. Today it is once more a working monastery.

 Guided tour around the Vitoslavitsy Open-Air Museum of Wooden Architecture - with an area of just under 35 hectares, the Vitoslavlitsy architectural and ethnographical museum is really a Russian village made up of streets, squares and houses of various ages which have been brought here for preservation. Here you will feel immersed in Russian everyday life throughout the centuries and learn about traditional folk culture. It consists of four ethnographical zones representing typical peasant estates with all household outbuildings.

• 13:30 •

 Transfer to Novgorod Kremlin.

 Guided tour around the Novgorod Kremlin - the Novgorod Kremlin, which is also referred to as the Detinets, is the most famous sight in the city. It was first mentioned in 1044, although its surviving walls date from the 14th century. It is one of the best preserved kremlins in Russia with almost 1.5km of walls (in places 15m high and 6.5m thick) and 12 towers (the tallest of which is 41m tall). In addition to St Sophia’s Cathedral, located inside are several museums and monuments – most famously the Millennium of Rus Bell Monument.

 Visit to St Sophia’s Cathedral – standing inside the Novgorod Kremlin is one of Russia’s oldest and most revered cathedrals – St Sophia’s Cathedral. The current version was built between 1045 and 1050 on the orders of Prince Vladimir Yaroslavich of Novgorod to serve as the spiritual centre of the Novgorod Principality. Its interior is decorated with beautiful frescos and the cathedral also contains a necropolis for prominent people in Novgorod’s history, including Prince Vladimir Yaroslavich himself. All in all it is a sight which must be seen when visiting this ancient and important city.

• 16:00 •

 Free time in the city.

 Please note that you should get back to the railway station by yourself which is approximately 1km from the Novgorod Kremlin. It is possible to get on the train 30 minutes before departure so you should be at the railway station at least by 17:40.

• 18:10 • 

 Departure for St Petersburg

 Duration: just under 3 hours

• 21:02 •

 Arrival in St Petersburg.

 Transfer to the hotel. The driver will wait for you next to your wagon with a sign says . 

​

• The tour  is available the whole year round.
• Some religious sights such as active monasteries require a specific dress code in order to be allowed to visit - for women a scarf to cover your head and a skirt covering your knees (no trousers); for men no shorts and all headwear must be removed.
• The tour is available in     - other languages upon request.

​

• CANCELLATION POLICY •