Russia and Ukraine

Jewish heritage tours to Russia and Ukraine

This tour to Russia and Ukraine takes you right into heart of authentic Eastern Europe. From Kiev, take the road less traveled and wander back in time to exotic shtetls of Zhytomir and Berdichev. Continue to the grand city of St. Petersburg and see wonders from a short but impressive historic time. Then move on to modern, vibrant Moscow. There, you will stand in Red Square amidst the onion domes, see Czars’ magnificent robes and other Imperial treasures, and enjoy the utter vibrancy of modern Muscovian Jewry. A visit to Russia and Ukraine is special and a must for the discerning traveler.

Unfortunately not available.
Our hearts and prayers are with Ukraine
Please help and support. Even a little goes a long way.

Day 01 Monday

Arrival to Kiev Welcome to the capital of Ukraine. Transfer to your hotel in the center of the city. Dinner. Fairmont Grand Hotel.

Day 02 Tuesday Kiev

Breakfast at the hotel. This morning, explore Jewish Kiev, with a visit to Congregation Hatikvah, the Podol Synagogue, and the Great Kiev Community Center. You will also pay respects at the Babi Yar Memorial, site of the Nazi massacre of Kiev Jewry, and movingly commemorated by world-renowned Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko, who identified with the sufferings of the Jewish people. Before approaching the hotel, see the monument to the great Yiddish writer, Sholom Aleichem – author of “Fiddler on the Roof” as well as many other bittersweet tales of Ukrainian shtetl life. Lunch. In the afternoon, tour Kiev’s prime attraction, the historic Lavra also known as the Kiev Monastery of the Caves, founded almost a thousand years ago. Fairmont Grand Hotel.

Day 03 Wednesday Berdichev – Zhytomir – Kiev – St. Petersburg

Breakfast at the hotel. This day will focus on former Jewish Shtetls in Ukraine. Depart in the morning for a full day excursion to Zhytomir, a place where Jews once comprised one half of the population, and which now publishes a significant number of Jewish texts. We will visit the Old Jewish Quarter and cemetery. Lunch is served during the tour. Continue to Berdichev, with its own historic Jewish Quarter and Cemetery. Return to Kiev in the late afternoon or early evening. Angleterre Hotel.

Day 04 Thursday St. Petersburg

Breakfast at the hotel. Begin your sightseeing in this romantic city. See St. Basil’s Island and visit the Peter and Paul Fortress and Cathedral, resting place of the Czars. Walk along the Summer Gardens, originally the summer residence of Peter the Great. Stop by the famous statue of Peter the Great, St. Isaac’s Cathedral, Nevsky Prospekt and the awe-inspiring Church of the Spilled Blood. Next, peek into the world of Jewish St. Petersburg as you visit the Grand Choral Synagogue, consecrated in 1893. Thanks to the gracious patronage of Lily and Edmond Safra, this Moorish-style masterpiece of architecture has recently been restored to its former glory, and now contains a thriving Jewish day school. Lunch is served during the tour. Later, see the Aurora warship whose horns was the signal that began the October revolution in 1917. In the late afternoon, visit the new Synagogue and community center of the Progressive Jewish Community Shaarei Shalom. Later visit the YESOD building. (The word “Yesod” means “foundation” in Hebrew.). Angleterre Hotel.

Day 05 Friday St. Petersburg

Breakfast at the hotel. Begin the day with a tour of Pushkin, the Czar’s village, and home of the Russian Imperial family. Visit the 18th century Baroque-style Catherine’s Palace, the largest Royal summer residence (designed by famed Italian architect Rastrelli). Admire the Cameron Gallery, designed for Catherine the Great’s special dinner parties, and stroll the French and English gardens. Lunch. Next, see the “Formula of Sorrow” memorial in Pushkin. This memorial was created in 1991 to commemorate the deaths of 10,000 local Jews during the Nazi occupation. Afterwards, a short drive takes you to the nearby town of Pavlovsk, summer residence of Paul I. Visit the late 18th century Classic style Grand Palace of Paul I, built by European architects in style of a grand Italian palazzo. Return to St. Petersburg. Dinner. Angleterre Hotel.

Day 06 Saturday St. Petersburg

Breakfast at the hotel. This day is reserved for the world-renowned Hermitage Museum. Begin with a short walk to the Museum and begin the tour of this collection, which includes more than two and a half million works of art, representing different ages, cultures and peoples. Admire the masterpieces of Leonardo Da Vinci, Titian, Raphael, and Rembrandt, works of the French Impressionists, and the magnificent interiors of the Winter Palace. After the tour of the Hermitage museum, choose to stay longer or join a short walk back to your hotel. Angleterre Hotel.

Day 07 Sunday St. Petersburg – Moscow

Breakfast at the hotel. After check-out from the hotel, enjoy a short walk to the river pier, and participate in the beautiful canal cruise on the Moika River. You will pass under many scenic bridges and sail past grand, pastel-colored French architectural facades which border the riverfront (as ever, the rich loved to live alongside the water). Next, return to the hotel, and board your coach with luggage to proceed along the Moika embankment to Yusupov Palace, once privately owned by one of Russia’s richest aristocrats. See the grand reception and private halls of the Yusupovs. Later, descend to the ground floor dining room – and stand on the very site where Gregory Rasputin was assassinated in 1916 by aristocratic plotters (with young prince Yusupov at the head). Later this afternoon you are transferred to the train station where the Aurora Express will leave for Moscow. Upon arrival in Moscow, you are transferred to the hotel. Metropol Hotel.

Day 08 Monday Moscow

Breakfast at the hotel. Begin your sightseeing in this dynamic and exciting city. Pass the world-renowned Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow State University and enjoy the magnificent vista over the Vorobiev Hills. Later, a Moscow Jewish Tour, including a visit to Poklonnaya Gora Holocaust Museum and Memorial Synagogue (small donations are expected). Lunch is served during the tour. In the afternoon, Tour the Kremlin area, whose foundation in the 12th century heralded the birth of the great city of Moscow. Next, visit the adjacent Armory, a venerable museum of Russia’s Imperial treasures. These include ancient state regalia, including the Czar’s coronation robes, as well as a vast array of ceremonial weapons and glorious carriages once ridden by nobility. Metropol hotel.

Day 09 Tuesday Moscow

Breakfast at the hotel. This morning, visit the Tretyakov Art Gallery, the national treasury of Russian fine art, which, among many other treasures, contains a unique exhibition of 20th century art – including Kandinsky and Chagal. Enjoy the remainder of the day at leisure to explore Moscow’ on your own. Dinner. Metropol hotel.

Day 10 Wednesday Departure from Moscow

Breakfast at the hotel. Say goodbye to Russia as you transfer to the Moscow International Airport.