Rostov-on-Don - Moscow

Time distance: 13 nights/14 days

Day 1 – Rostov-on-Don

Embarkation to boat in Rostov-on-Don Accommodation on board / Dinner on board Overnight on board

Day 2 - Rostov-on-Don

Breakfast and dinner on board City tour and visit of Starocherkassk Rostov-on-Don is one of the most important cities in the south of Russia. It was founded in 1749 at the place formally occupied by the Temernic Custom-House. The city is located on the crossroad of the North Caucasus, Central Russia and the Ukraine. Rostov-on-Don is the capital of the Don Cossack region and is usually called "The Gates of the Caucasus". Starocherkassk was the capital of Don Cossaks from 1644 year. There are a lots of historic and cultural monuments of the XVIII-XX centuries. The history of Starocherkassk is associated with names of Peter the Great and Alexander Suvorov, Emelian Pugachov and Condraty Bulavin, Alexander Pushkin and other famous persons. Lunch "meal box" or on board Time at leisure Overnight on board

Day 3 - Cruising

Breakfast and dinner on board Free time Lunch "meal box" or on board Start of navigation Overnight on board

Day 4 - Volgograd

City tour and visit of Mamaev Kurgan Volgograd originated with the foundation in 1589 of the fortress of Tsaritsyn. The fortress, which took its name from the local name Sary Su (Yellow Water/River in the Tatar language), was established to defend the unstable southern border of Tsarist Russia and became the nucleus of a trading settlement. Mamayev Kurgan is a dominant height overlooking the city of Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad). Today Mamayev Kurgan features a memorial complex commemorating the Battle of Stalingrad (August 1942 to February 1943). Breakfast, lunch and dinner on board Overnight on board

Day 5 - Saratov

City tour and visit of Art museum Saratov is a major city in Russia located between Ukraine and Kazakhstan. One of the city's most prominent landmarks is the 19th century neo-Gothic Conservatory. When it was built in 1912, the Conservatory was Russia's third such institution (after Moscow and St. Petersburg). Saratov is also famous for its Radishchev Art Gallery, named after Alexander Radishchev. It contains more than 16,000 exhibits, including works by some of the finest Russian painters, from Russian icons to Aleksandra Ekster, Pavel Kuznetsov, Aristarkh Lentulov, Robert Falk, Pyotr Konchalovsky, Martiros Saryan and Fyodor Rokotov . Breakfast, lunch and dinner on board Overnight on board

Day 6 - Samara

City tour The city of Samara was first mentioned in official documents in 1586 in the reign of Fedor Ioannovich when in the spring time construction of a fortress on the Volga was started for protection from the Nogays and Kalmyks, and provision of the waterway from Kazan to Astrakhan. Breakfast, lunch and dinner on board Overnight on board

Day 7 – Simbirsk (Ulyanovsk)

City tour and Lenin Museum Ulyanovsk formerly Simbirsk, is a birthplace of Vladimir Lenin. During the Soviet period, Ulyanovsk lost much of its historical heritage. All traces of the original wooden fort are gone, as are all churches of old Simbirsk; only a few 19th century buildings remain in the city, most notably the houses where Lenin lived between 1870–1887. The Holy Trinity Cathedral was being rebuilt. Breakfast, lunch and dinner on board Overnight on board

Day 8 - Kazan

City tour Kazan evolved into two distinct parts: the upper town with the Kremlin, where the Russian gentry, merchants and craftsmen lived, and the lower town, the Old Tatar and new Tatar settlements, where Tatar tradesmen, merchants and even peasants lived, since cultivated fields extended to the very edge of the lower town. Breakfast, lunch and dinner on board Overnight on board

Day 9 – Nizhny Novgorod

City tour The city was founded by Grand Duke Yuri II of Russia in 1221 at the confluence of two most important rivers of his principality, the Volga and the Oka. Nizhny Novogorod is divided by the Oka River into two distinct parts: the Upper City located on the hilly eastern (right) bank of the Oka and the Lower City (Zarechnaya Chast). Much of the city downtown is built in the Russian Revival and Stalin Empire styles. The dominating feature of the city skyline is the grand Kremlin (1500-11), with its red-brick towers. Other notable landmarks are the two great medieval abbeys. The Monastery of the Caves features the austere five-domed cathedral (1632) and two rare churches surmounted by tent roofs, dating from the 1640s. The Annunciation monastery, likewise surrounded by strong walls, has another five-domed cathedral (1649) and the Assumption church (1678). Breakfast, lunch and dinner on board Overnight on board

Day 10 - Yaroslavl and Kostroma

City tour and Spassky Monastery Yaroslavl: stretching for 18 miles on both bank of the Volga, Yaroslavl is an important Volga port with a population 0f 600,000. It was founded in the 11-th century by Prince Yaroslav the Wise and today retains many noteworthy monuments of its colorful past. Of special interest is the magnificent 13th century Spassky Monastery ensemble, a group of majestic 17th century cathedrals, an elegant rotunda remnant of an ancient trading centre. Loveliest of all is the church of Elijah the prophet, situated in the town’s central square. The frescoes on the walls and vaulting inside the church constitute a veritable museum of old Russian paintings. City tour and visit to Ipatyevsky Monastery Kostroma, like Moscow, was founded by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky in 1152. A peculiar feature of the old part of Kostroma is the abundance of wooden houses. Their facade decorations and forged balcony railings add very special features to their appearance. However, Kostroma`s principal attraction is the Ipatiev Monastery. The Ipatievsky Monastery was founded almost seven centuries ago. It is from this monastery that Michael Romanov, the first of the Romanov dynasty, was called to become tsar of Russia. Breakfast, lunch and dinner on board Overnight on board

Day 11 - Uglich

City tour and Cathedral of the Resurrection Uglich: founded in 1148, Uglich is one of the most beloved towns in old Russia. The view of the town as it is approached from Volga river is especially lovely with the cathedral of Resurrection and St. John’s church looming on the horizon. At the end of the 16th century, Maria Nagaya, seventh wife of Ivan the Terrible lived in honorary exile in the Kremlin at Uglich. It was here in her garden that the tsarevich Dmitry met his death and where the Church of Demetrius of the Blood was built and still stands today. Within the Kremlin is the oldest building in Uglich, the Palace of Tsarevich Dmitry. Breakfast, lunch and dinner on board Overnight on board

Day 12 - Moscow

Breakfast and dinner on board City tour Kremlin and Cathedral City tour (no entrances): Tverskaya street, Red Square, St. Basil’s, Bolshoi theatre, Novodevichy convent, Vorobievi hills (Moscow University). Excursion to the Kremlin + 1 Cathedral. Kremlin: Tourists will see Blagoveshensky, Arkhangelsky and Assumption Cathedrals, church of the 12 Apostle – the wonderful Monuments of Russian church architecture with unique richly decorated interior. Armory – houses a unique collection of ancient arms, tsar’s garments, precious chinaware, jewelry, carriages and other objects of decorative applied art of the Russian and foreign artists of the past centuries. Lunch "meal box" or on board Time at leisure Overnight on board

Day 13 - Moscow

Breakfast on board Disembarkation The order of visits and the time at leisure depend on the ship timing and technical facilities and could be modified. A stop could be replaced by another one.