Kiev - Odessa

Time distance: 12 nights/13 days

Day 1 – Kiev

Arrival to Kiev Transfer to the motor ship, embarkation Accommodation on board / Dinner on board Overnight on board

Day 2 – Kiev

City tour and visit of St. Sophia Cathedral Kiev is one of the oldest and most important cities of Eastern Europe, it is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine. Gradually acquiring the eminence as the center of the East Slavic civilization, Kiev reached its Golden Age as the center Kievan Rus' in the X-XII centuries. Noteworthy historical architectural landmarks include the Mariyinsky Palace (designed and constructed from 1745 to 1752, then reconstructed in 1870), several Orthodox churches such as St. Michael's Cathedral, St. Andrew's, St. Vladimir's, the reconstructed Golden Gate, an eternal flame at the World War Two memorial Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The giant highly visible from the Dnieper hills is Mother Motherland statue standing at the Museum of the Great Patriotic War. Saint Sophia Cathedral is an outstanding architectural monument of Kievan Rus'. The first foundations were laid in 1037 by Yaroslav the Wise. On the inside, it retains mosaics and frescos from the eleventh century, including a dilapidated representation of Yaroslav's family. Originally the cathedral was a burial place of the Kievan rulers. Breakfast, lunch and dinner on board Optionally: Opera Theatre Overnight on board

Day 3 – Kiev

Kievo-Pechersk Lavra Kiev Pechersk Lavra also known as the Kiev Monastery of the Caves, is a historic Orthodox Christian monastery. Since its foundation as the cave monastery in 1051 the Lavra has been a prominent center of the Orthodox Christianity in Eastern Europe. The Kiev Pechersk Lavra contains numerous amounts of architectural monuments, ranging from belltowers to cathedrals to underground cave systems and to strong stone fortification walls. The Kiev Pechersk Lavra caverns are a very complex system of narrow underground corridors, along with numerous living quarters and underground chapels. Breakfast, lunch and dinner on board Optionally: visit to museum of wooden architecture “Pirogovo” Folklore concert on board Overnight on board

Day 4 - Kanev

Breakfast and dinner on board Walking tour and tomb of Taras Shevchenko One of the most important cities in Kievan Rus’, it was mentioned in the Kievan Cave Patericon as existing in the last half of the 11th century. From the middle of the 12th century it was an important trade center on the Dnieper route to Constantinople (until the latter's capture by the Turks in 1453). Saint George's (or Dormition) Cathedral, built in 1144 by Vsevolod Olhovych, has been preserved there to this day. The Kanev Museum-Preserve, where Taras Shevchenko is buried, the Kanev Nature and Historical Reserve, and the archeological sites of Kniazha Hora and the Kanev settlement are located nearby. Shashlyk-party on land Overnight on board

Day 5 – Kremenchug

City tour Kremenchug was supposedly founded in 1571. From its situation at the southern terminus of the navigable course of the Dnieper river, and equally advantageous positioning on the crossway from Muscovy to Black Sea, it acquired a great commercial importance early on, and by 1655, it was a wealthy Cossack town. Breakfast, lunch and dinner on board Optionally: visit of Kolkhoz Overnight on board

Day 6 - Zaporozhye

City tour and visit of Cossacks’ History museum Archaeological finds in the area suggest that the Scythian nomads were living here about 2 to 3 thousand years ago. In XV-XVII centuries this place was famous of cossack's fortress Zaporizka Sich. The city's Khortytsia Island which faces modern Zaporizhia across the Dnieper River, was one of the historic locations for the Zaporizhian Sich - the main fortress capital of the Cossack state (the Zaporozhian Host) and the Cossack Hetmanate republic. Breakfast, lunch and dinner on board Optionally: Cossack show Overnight on board

Day 7 – Kherson

Boat trip along Dnepr Delta with a picnic Breakfast and dinner on board Overnight on board

Day 8 - Sevastopol

City tour and Panorama The unique geographic location and navigation conditions of the city's harbours make Sevastopol a strategic important naval point. During the Soviet era, Sevastopol, a city of enormous strategic significance for the military, was a so-called "closed city". The downtown core situated on a peninsula between two narrow inlets features beautiful, mostly Mediterranean-style, typically three-story residential buildings with columned balconies and arches, with retail and commercial spaces occupying the ground level. Visiting the Central Hill with its 19th c. classical-style houses, walking down its cobblestone streets under old shady trees is a treat for any visitor to this romantic seaside city with its often dramatic history. Panorama created by Franz Roubaud and restored after its destruction in 1942 is housed in a specially constructed circular building. It portrays the situation at the height of the siege, on 18 June 1855. This masterpiece combining enormous paintings and artefacts like cannons and period furniture is a must-see for every visitor to the City of Russian Glory. Breakfast, lunch and dinner on board Optionally: Bakhchisaray Concert of Black Sea Fleet ensemble Overnight on board

Day 9 – Sevastopol and Yalta

Breakfast and dinner on board City tour and Livadia Palace Yalta is located on the site of an ancient Greek colony, said to have been founded by Greek sailors who were looking for a safe shore on which to land. It is situated on a shallow bay facing south towards the Black Sea, surrounded by wooded mountains. The town came to worldwide attention in 1945 when the Yalta Conference between the "Big Three" powers; the Soviet Union, the United States and the United Kingdom – was held at the Livadia Palace. Today, Yalta has a beautiful embankment along the Black Sea with several beaches along. Livadia Palace was a summer retreat of the last Russian tsar, Nicholas II, and his family in Crimea. Today the palace houses a museum, but it is sometimes used by the Ukrainian authorities for international summits. The palace contains 116 rooms, with interiors furnished in different styles. There are a Pompeian vestibule, an English billiard-room, a Neo-baroque dining room, and a Jacob-style study of maple wood, which elicited particular admiration of Nicholas II. Lunch in a local restaurant Overnight on board

Day 10 - Yalta

Breakfast, lunch and dinner on board Optionally: Visit of Alupka Palace with wine tasting Overnight on board

Day 11 - Odessa

City tour and Art Museum Odessa is a major seaport on the Black Sea. Numerous monuments of antiquity confirm links between this territory and the Eastern Mediterranean. In the Middle Ages these lands were a part of the Kievan Rus, Galich and Volyn Principality, the Golden Horde, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Crimean Khanate and the Ottoman Empire. A collection of pieces of art in Odessa Art Museum is one of the richest and diverse in Ukraine. The museum is situated in the center of Odessa over the sea in the palace of XIX century. Breakfast, lunch and dinner on board Time at leisure Optionally: evening performance Overnight on board

Day 12 - Odessa

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.