Cruise - Along the Volga: St. Petersburg - Nizhny Novgorod - Volgograd - Rostov - 16 Days (CR-38)

On arrival at St Petersburg’s airport, you’ll be met by our driver who will be carrying a Go Russia sign. He’ll transfer you to the ship for a welcome cocktail reception.

Today we’ll leave the ship to explore this most elegant of Russian cities. Its legacy of history and the arts has delighted many a visitor and we’re sure you’ll be blown away by its striking beauty. Our guided tour will ensure you don’t miss any of the city’s must-sees. The fortress complex of the Cathedral of Peter and Paul, which before the revolution housed political prisoners, features a splendid cathedral inside which you’ll find the tombs of the Romanovs. Along the banks of the River Neva you’ll see the magnificent Hermitage museum. This world class museum was once the Winter Palace of the Tsars and now houses over three million priceless works of art.

We cruise to Mandrogi today. This pretty village sits amidst tranquil forest, perfect for a wander. We’ll be met by the villagers who will introduce us to the local culture and traditions and then you can learn more about the production of vodka at Remeslennaya Sloboda (optional). A buffet lunch of shashlik (shish kebab) is provided. There’ll be free time to explore on your own before we reboard the ship.

The tiny island of Kizhi is our stop today, accessed via the Volga-Baltic Canal which will take us to the northern end of Lake Onega. There, we will visit the renowned open-air Museum of Wooden Architecture, its exhibits collected from various areas of the country and restored to their former glory. The Church of the Transfiguration, with its 22 domes, is the ultimate in Russian fairy-tale church architecture.

Goritsy is our port of call today, a tiny settlement where the largest Russian Orthodox monastery of the Russian North, the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery, is located. After exploring the monastery, we’ll continue our river journey in the afternoon.

The ship docks in charming Yaroslavl today, an important port strung out along the banks of the River Volga. The city takes its name from Prince Yaroslav the Wise. Of special interest to history buffs is the magnificent 13th century Spassky Monastery complex, a group of several majestic 17th century cathedrals, an elegant rotunda and the remains of an ancient trading centre. Our city tour takes us to the Church of the Prophet Elijah and many other cultural highlights.

We arrive in Nizhny, as the locals call it, Russia's fifth largest city. Commanding magnificent views of both the Volga and Oka rivers, its ancient Kremlin and pleasant pedestrian promenade “Pokrovka” make it an appealing place for tourists as you'll see when we disembark.

We reach the Chuvash republic today and enjoy a city tour in historic Cheboksary. The fortress dates from 1555 but the place remained a sleepy backwater until the coming of the railway in 1939. During our visit you will enjoy a number of ancient churches and monasteries (among them Vvedensky cathedral (1657) and Saint-Trinity monastery (1566), as well as a view of a lovely bay beautifully situated in the middle of the city which has become a very popular gathering place for local residents.

In Kazan today, we're reminded that Russian history often looks to the east. Our destination today, nicknamed the Pearl of the Central Volga Region was founded by the Mongols back in the 13th century. An important centre of Tatar culture, once it was the capital of the powerful Khanate of Kazan, falling to the Russians under Ivan the Terrible's incursions in the 16th century. Presently, it is a city of around a million inhabitants (half Russian, half Tatar) and absolutely charming with a unique blend of Muslim and Christian culture. A focus of today's visit will be the World Heritage Site of Kazan Kremlin, the Qol-Şarif mosque rebuilt inside the citadel.

Formerly called Simbirsk, this town has been Ulyanovsk in honour of Lenin since 1924. Ironically, though Lenin was born there, it was during the Soviet era that much of the town's historical heritage was torn down including the old wooden fort and all its old churches. However, the houses where Lenin was born and grew up between 1870 and 1887 remain. There's also an interesting museum which we will have the opportunity to visit.

Samara, today's destination, was once a closed city due to its importance to the Soviet defence industry. It's history goes back much further to its founding in the 14th century. In 1935, Samara became Kuybyshev, renamed in honour of the Bolshevik leader. A few years later it was chosen to be Russia's standby capital, ready to take on the role should Moscow fall to the invading Germans.

Another important city on the banks of the Volga, Saratov was once home to the Volga Germans. Settling here in the 18th and 19th centuries, they were exiled to Siberia and Kazakhstan at the outbreak of World War Two and few returned. After the war, the city became a military aircraft manufacturing base as well as a focus for the Russian space programme. Thus until 1991, Saratov, like Samara, was a closed city.

The fact that this city is named after Russia's most important river is no accident. The city formerly called Tsaritsyn and later Stalingrad was bestowed the honour as a result of its residents' outstanding heroism during World War Two. Heavy German bombardment in a battle which lasted two hundred days pushed the city to the limit and left it in ruins. With losses on both sides amounting to between one and two million, this was one of the great tragedies of the war. We'll make a guided visit to Mamaev Kurgan to pay our respects at the statue of The Motherland Calls.

We sail along the Volga today, taking the opportunity to enjoy the scenery we pass at a leisurely pace.

Modern Rostov-on-Don was established in 1749 to regulate the trade with Turkey. Once the Volga-Don shipping canal was constructed in 1952, the city could handle trade from five seas: the Black Sea, Sea of Azov, Caspian Sea, White Sea and finally the Baltic.

Our driver will be waiting for you as you disembark the ship ready to transfer you to the airport for your flight home.