Sample program. Baltic States. 8 days / 7 nights

Transcription

1 Sample program Baltic States 8 days / 7 nights

2 REGION MAP

3 DAY 1 VILNIUS // arrival Arrival in Vilnius airport. Meet & greet by local guide Transfer to city center with panoramic tour on the way Check-in your hotel Meet and greet dinner at local restaurant Overnight at the hotel in Vilnius

4 DAY 2 VILNIUS // TRAKAI CASTLE (60 km) Vilnius city tour The splendid architectural blend of Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque styles makes this a wonderful city to explore. During sightseeing tour you will visit Old town, which is included to the UNESCO World Heritage. Visit Cathedral and Cathedral Square and pass by Gediminas Avenue, the Parliament and President's Palace, Vilnius University and Town Hall. Continue walking narrow old streets, visit St. Anna's Church - a gem of Gothic architecture, Gates of Dawn and St. Peter-Paul Church. Afternoon excursion to Trakai Castle. The 14th century red brick castle now houses the Art Museum. The castles of Trakai are the best known works of defensive architecture in Lithuania. The old town of Trakai, which includes the Island and the Peninsula Castles, surrounded by lakes, is one of the most impressive and most picturesque locations in Europe. Here still reside small national minority of Karaites, which is confessing Judaism. It is believed they were brought from the Crimea by the Grand Lithuanian Duke Vytautas. Dinner and overnight at the hotel in Vilnius

5 DAY 3 VILNIUS // HILL OF CROSSES // RUNDALE // RIGA (375 km) Departure to Latvia. On the way stop at the Hill of Crosses. The Hill of Crosses, Kryžių Kalnas, located 12 kilometers north of the small industrial city of Siauliai (pronounced shoo-lay) is the Lithuanian national pilgrimage center. Standing upon a small hill are many hundreds of thousands of crosses that represent Christian devotion and a memorial to Lithuanian national identity. Further travel to Rundale palace Rundale Palace, the most magnificent masterpiece of baroque architecture in the Baltic States, lies at a distance of 70 km from Riga. It was built in the first part of the 18th century by the Italian architect F. B. Rastrelli, the baroque genius from Italy who created many of St. Petersburg s finest buildings including the Winter Palace. The professionally renovated palace interiors are decorated with authentic 18th cent. furniture, paintings and china. The most impressive are the Golden Hall, the White Hall, the bedroom of the Duke of Courland Johan Ernst Biron. The palace boasts a beautiful French-style park. Dinner and overnight at the hotel in Riga

6 DAY 4 RIGA // JURMALA (50 km) Riga City Tour - a medieval Hanseatic town, will include St. Peter's Cathedral from whose steeple will be the best views in the city, Riga castle with its three wonderful museums, Dome Cathedral, which boasts one of the world s largest pipe organs, and the old Guild houses. You will see why Riga came to be known as one of Europe's leading exponents of the late 19th and early 20th century architectural style of Art Nouveau. The, Riga boasts Europe's greatest concentration of Jugendstil (German Art Nouveau) buildings. An architectural historian will highlight details of the finest city facades. Afternoon visit of the beach side. Jurmala is the place to enjoy sea breeze, sun, nature, architecture and cultural life. It has 150-year-old resort traditions and has become the largest resort area in the Baltic s. The look of Jurmala since 19th century has been characterized by its wooden architecture, cottage-style buildings and resort centers. Romantic streets and wooden cottages surrounded by pine trees also nowadays create the vision of the olden days. Stroll along Jomas Street- the most popular pedestrian walkway with its many little restaurants and diverse entertainment. Visit city s white-sand beach area, which is still largest draw to Jurmala. Dinner and overnight at the hotel in Riga

7 DAY 5 RIGA // OPEN AIR MUSEUM (20 km) Morning visit of Riga Central Market - since 1995, the Central Market has been a joint stock company with 100% of its shares owned by Riga City Council. It occupies 72.3 thousand square meters of space and has over 3000 trade stands, each 1 to 100 square meters in size. The market has five pavilions in the historical buildings they were originally used as Zeppelin hangars. Every day at the Central Market you can buy fresh vegetables, dairy produce, meat, fish and grocery in the pavilions. There are also open areas, manufactured goods market, night market and Farmer s day-and-night market. Afternoon visit of Open Air Museum. Located at a distance of 14 km from the centre of Riga on the banks of the picturesque Lake Jugla. The museum was started in 1924 and now it is one of the oldest open air museums in Europe. Old houses, household articles of peasants, fishermen and craftsmen have been brought there from all regions of Latvia. There is even an inn, a mill and several churches. In the exhibition hall you can find exhibitions of applied art. The museum has 107 buildings on its territory all in all (about 100 ha). Dinner and overnight at the hotel in Riga

8 DAY 6 RIGA // SIGULDA // TURAIDA // PARNU // TALLINN (355 km) Morning departure to Estonia. On the way stop in Gauja National Park and visit of Sigulda and Turaida. One of the most picturesque towns in Latvia - Sigulda, often called the Latvian Switzerland, is located about 50 km from Riga in the Gauja River valley. Sigulda is situated in the Gauja National Park and is known as the most popular tourist and leisure destination as well as a famous winter sports resort in Latvia because of its bob-sleigh track and the down-hill skiing routes. The Turaida Museum Reserve is the historical center of Turaida and comprises archeological, historical and art monuments that tell us about the events that have taken place since the 11th century. Second stop in Parnu, the best known Estonian resort and also a Hanseatic city, a harbor city and a university city. The sleepy rhythm of Pärnu changes completely when the flag of the Estonian summer capital starts flying high on the summer equinox life on the beach, dozens of festivals, night clubs and the big party crowd that have moved here. The city is very charming and it contains a nice 19th century shopping district. While walking in the city enjoy its parks and the streets. Dinner and overnight at the hotel in Tallinn

9 DAY 7 TALLINN // KADRIORG City tour of Tallinn, a picturesque old city, where whole districts date back to the Middle Ages. You will visit the Old Town with its quaint narrow streets and beautiful merchants' houses exemplifying the best of Gothic architecture. The tour includes Toompea Castle, the 13th century Dome church, the 19th century Russian orthodox Cathedral of Alexander Nevskij, the 15th century town Hall square, the Old Guild built to celebrate Tallinn's membership in the Hanseatic League, and St. Olaf's church. On Driving part visit Tallinn s suburbs and Song Festival Grounds, St Brigittes monastery and Pirita area. Afternoon tour of Kadriorg Palace. The palace, constructed as a gift by Peter the Great to his wife Catherine I in the 1720s, is an excellent example of Baroque architecture. The Foreign Art Museum of the Kadriorg Palace displays paintings, sculptures, graphic art and applied art of Western Europe and the Russia from the century. Dinner and overnight at the hotel in Tallinn

10 DAY 8 TALLINN // departure Free day accordingly to flight schedule Transfer to the airport Flight home

11 Contact or visit us Riga Office 13/15 Kr.Barona Street, Riga, LV-1011, Latvia Tel.: Fax: info@btgroup.lv Vilnius Office A.Mickeviciaus Street 2, Vilnius, LT08119, Lithuania Tel.: Fax: info@btgroup.lt Tallinn Office Raua Street 14, Tallinn 10124, ESTONIA Tel: Fax: info@btgroup.ee #baltictravelgroup