Christmas in Moscow

Fly to Moscow, meet your Tour Manager and transfer to your hotel in the city centre. Settle in to your room, and perhaps enjoy a drink at the bar before you head out for dinner – you'll find an enticing choice of restaurants to consider right on your doorstep, wherever you choose to stay.

Today's guided tour brings to life this, one of the world’s great cities. See Red Square, where multi-coloured, onion-domed St Basil’s Cathedral, Lenin’s eerie Mausoleum and the great Victorian pile of GUM (the former State Department Store and now a glittering shopping mall complete with dazzling decorations) look out over the vast space to the colourful stalls of Moscow’s largest Christmas market.

Encircling Red Square, like rings on a tree-trunk or the layers of a Russian doll, you'll find the rest of the city’s central areas, each vying to outdo the others with its extravagant festive decorations. A giant Christmas bauble adorns Manezh Square, while Tverskoy Boulevard is transformed into a wintertime paradise for children of all ages.

The rest of your day is left free. Browse the markets on Red Square, warmed by a gluhwein or vodka, visit a museum or wander the city's shops and stores. Unlike most European cities, Moscow remains fully open over "our" Christmas, meaning you can enjoy a full day of sightseeing and shopping before beginning your celebrations with dinner at your hotel this evening.

After the chance to swap presents, this morning, we'll head out for a second included guided tour. Our destination is the mysterious citadel of the Kremlin. Behind its turreted walls you'll discover a fascinating enclave of imposing – and off-limits – government buildings like the Senate House and the Presidium, the vast State Kremlin Palace concert hall, as well as beautiful squares, churches and palaces. See the three cathedrals of the Assumption, the Annunciation and the Archangel – the last containing the Tombs of the Tsars – and the Ivan the Great Belltower, the Kremlin’s tallest structure. Neither the monumental Tsar Bell or Tsar Cannon have ever been used, while the ornate facade of the Armoury Palace hints at priceless treasures hidden within.

After a fascinating morning, sit down for a glass of champagne and a Christmas lunch at a Moscow restaurant, before spending the afternoon as you see fit.

Spend today relaxing or making the most of your time in Moscow, or join our festive optional excursion. Take a short horse-carriage ride through the winter wonderland of Kolomenskoye Tsaritsyno, the former Royal estate in the south of the city, before enjoying lunch washed down with a vodka tasting at Korchma Taras Bulba - a traditional Ukranian tavern recreated in the heart of Moscow.

Make the most of your final evening in Moscow, tonight, and soak up the atmosphere as the city readies itself for its own Christmas - still a few days away, on 7th January.

Bid “do svidanya” to Moscow and your hotel, today, as your return to the airport to catch your flight home at the end of a wonderful - and very different - Christmas holiday.