►Tours ► Weekend Tours ► From Moscow ► Weekend tour to Volgograd

  A weekend tour of Volgograd (Stalingrad) will take you on a journey to the history of the Second World War as it was here that the largest land battle in human history took place - the Battle of Stalingrad, which turned out to be the breaking point for Hitler. It is believed that around two million people died in the battle and the city itself was razed to the ground. Today the city has been rebuilt as a monument to the courage and resistance of the Soviet soldiers, with many memorials and museums dedicated to the bloodiest of battles. The main memorial is the Mamaev Kurgan Memorial Complex with its humungous Mother Russia Calls Monument which serves as a monument to remind humanity of the horrors of war.

  In addition you will see a real Soviet-style city, as Stalingrad was rebuilt after the war predominantly in the architectural style known as Stalinist Empire, recognisable for its grandeur, and monumentalism.

 Total distance of the tour: 1,822km

 SATURDAY | MOTHER RUSSIA CALLS

 09:40 | Flight to Volograd

 Duration: 1¾ hours

 11:25 | Arrival in Volgograd, your driver will meet you with a sign saying . Transfer to your hotel.

 City tour of Volgograd. The highlights of the excursion include:

• Mother Russia Calls Monument – the largest monument in Russia and a real wonder of the country. It took eight years to build and upon completion it was the tallest statue in the world. It stands on the top of a 14-metre tall kurgan (a manmade mound) where the remains of almost 35,000 defenders of Stalingrad have been buried.
• Heroes Square - the large pool on this square is surrounded by monuments depicting heroic feats of soldiers performed during the Battle of Stalingrad. Here you will see a wounded soldier standing his ground, a medic carrying a wounded soldier from the battlefield and a commander continuing to lead his troops in his final minutes.
• Mourning Square – the memorial here depicts a mother weeping over the body of her son. It represents all mothers who lost children during the war and is reminiscent of the Christian scene of Pietà – the Virgin Mary holding the body of Christ.
• Military Glory Hall – this monument lists the names of the Soviet soldiers who fell in the battle. The names are depicted on 24 red flagstones and the are approximately 7,500 in total. In the centre of the hall is a giant arm carved out of marble holding a torch. 
• Ruined Walls – this monuments recreates the destruction suffered by the city during the war. Two giant walls line the central staircase up the complex containing high-reliefs depicting figures of solders, weapons and tanks. All this is accompanied by stirring, patriotic music.
• Battle of Stalingrad Museum-Panorama – this panorama consists of a 16 metre by 120 metre painting, which makes it the largest panorama in Russia. It depicts the concluding stages of the battle – the operation known as Operation Koltso. The museum also has over 3,500 display items, including portraits of Soviet commanders, collections of weapons, and photographs, detailing the course of the battle.
• Pavlov’s House – this ordinary four-storey building in the centre of Volgograd would not be of any interest if you didn’t know of its history. During the Battle of Stalingrad, this building was the focus of a fierce battle. For 58 days, 25 people held off a German attack to the last man. It is not known how many Germans died in the operation to take the house. There is even a suggestion than more Germans died attempting to capture this one building than in the conquest of Paris.
• Ruins of the Mill – this building was not restored after the war in order to serve as a reminder of the destruction of the city. The mill will built close to the bank of the Volga will helped the Soviets to defend the building. During the battle it became a base for a Soviet division and a fortress against the Germans, which aided the Soviets in relieving the siege of Pavlov's House.
• Fallen Heroes Square – this is the biggest square in the city. It was here that Field Marshal Paulus was taken prisoner and subsequently held in the basement of the department store here. A mass grave for Soviet soldiers is also located here.

Transportation: by a car |  Duration: 4 hours

 Night in Volgograd.

 SUNDAY  | OLD SAREPTA AND VOLGA-DON CANAL

 Breakfast at your hotel.

 Excursion to the old part of Volgograd, survived after WWII. The highlights of the excursion include:

• The house of the merchant Shlykov and the trading rows - the most beautiful building to survive the Battle of Stalingrad.
• Old Sarepta – in 1765 on the banks of the River Volga at the mouth of the River Sarpa, 28km south of Tsaritsyn (Volgograd), the first colony of foreign settlers was founded in Russia. It was Russia’s only settlement in Russia of Hussites (a branch of Lutherans). The open-air museum's buildings mainly date from the late 18th-century which is quite a feat considering the destruction the city suffered during the war years.
• St Nicetas' Church - an 18th century architectural monument and one of the few churches in Volgograd to survive the war years and the Soviet era. It was built using the funds of a favourite of Empress Elizabeth.
• The Vladimir Lenin Volga-Don Canal - this canal was built to link the River Volga and the River Don at the points where they flow closest to each other. It was opened in 1952 and became an important link in the water transport system of European Russia. You will see the first and second locks of the canal and the giant statue of Lenin which stands there - the biggest Lenin statue in the world. Previously a statue of Stalin stood here.

 Duration: 5h  |   Transport: by a car

 At the end of the excursion you will have free time in the city.

 17:00 | Transfer to the airport.

 19:40 | Flight to Moscow.

 Duration: 2h

 21:35 | Arrival in Moscow.

• The tour is planned for starting on Saturday and ending on Sunday, but it is possible on any day except for Monday when the museums are closed.
• The approximate price of return flights between Moscow and Volgograd is USD115, but this depends on how early you book the flight.
• If you plan to travel by train, you should be aware that the quickest train connecting Moscow and Volgograd takes almost 19 hours.
• Optional excursions should be booked before the start of the tour to schedule the itinerary.
• The tour is available in     other languages upon request.
• All excursions/guided tours included in the itinerary are private which means private guides and private transport along the programme - unless otherwise stated.
• The tour is suitable for travellers with children.
• Best time to travel on this route: from April to November. 

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​• COST OF THE TOUR WITH 3* HOTELS •

• COST OF THE TOUR WITH 4* HOTELS •