GRAND-TOUR “PEARLS OF BELARUS”
1st
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Arrival in Minsk before 8:15 a.m. Meeting with a guide at 8:15 a.m. (local time) inside the railway station near the escalator under the light information board with train schedule. The tour manager will be holding the following sign – “Grand-Tour”.
Breakfast. Sightseeing bus and walking tour “Minsk – the capital of Belarus”. You will see architectural monuments of historic buildings of the old town - Church of Our Lady and Red Church, male and female Bernardine monastery, street shopping rows, Town Hall, and ancient Nemiga. A walk around the restored Trinity suburb - the old quarter of XVIII-XIX centuries will leave unforgettable impressions. Picturesque twisting streets, cozy cafes, craftsman houses, artist galleries.
Accommodation at the hotel.
Transfer to Dudutki. You will visit one of the most popular ethnographic museums in Belarus with folk crafts demonstration: pottery, old blacksmith shop, carpenter's workshop, and bakery. On the territory of the complex you will see a stable with Orlov trotters, ponies, donkeys, the only one in Belarus ancient windmill in action, and vintage car exhibition. Visitors will have the opportunity to ride on the old carriages and cabs, to visit the picturesque picnic-ground.
Tasting the local products will help you to plunge into the real atmosphere of szlachta life of the XIX century:
- The miller’s treats (lard (salo), bread, onions, salted cabbage)
- Brewery eats and drinks (old gentry vodka, traditional snacks)
- Bakery treats (bread, cheese, butter, herbal tea)
- Treats at the forest bee-keeper’s house (honey).
Return to Minsk. Accommodation at the hotel. Evening walking around the city.
Visiting the Stolitsa Shopping and Entertainment Center with many boutiques of famous Belarusian brands (open until 10:00 p.m.). Overnight stay.
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2nd day
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Breakfast. Check out. Transfer to Nesvizh.
Nesvizh is one of the most significant towns in the history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, crowned with the Radziwill family’s eagle, the most powerful magnates of the principality. The Nesvizh palace and park complex is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, with diverse architecture and the largest landscaped park. Visiting the palace and park complex: it was designed by the Italian architect Giovanni Maria Bernardoni, the man who participated in the construction and reconstruction of the famous St. Peter Basilica in Rome. The excursion is held around the castle halls: Big dining hall, Small dining hall, and the Ballroom. The system of defense fortifications turned the palace into an unassailable fortress, considered to be one of the most perfect fortresses of Europe. Nesvizh Park filled with mysterious legends and myths. Corpus Christi Church (Farny catholic church) (XVI century.), the first Baroque monument in Eastern Europe, it contains graves of members of the powerful house of Radziwill.
Transfer to Vitebsk. Accommodation at the hotel. Overnight stay.
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3rd day
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Breakfast. Sightseeing excursion “Vitebsk is the Cultural Capital of Belarus”.
Perfectly preserved and restored buildings of historic area of the city of the XVIII-XIX centuries. Town Hall – the symbol of a free city. Church of the Resurrection is one of the most beautiful monuments of Vilnius Baroque, majestic Cathedral of the Assumption, the pedestrian street of Suvorov with souvenir shops, art galleries, cafes, restaurants, coffee shops located along it. The Annunciation Church is a monument of ancient architecture of the XII century.
The pearl of modern architecture is the Summer Amphitheatre - the best performance venues in Europe, which runs the world famous arts festival “Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk”.
Transfer to the memorial house of Mark Chagall, where he spent his childhood and youth. You will plunge into the atmosphere of the late XIX and early XX centuries, a deeper understanding of the inspiration source of artist who played the melody of his life on the amazing Vitebsk violin.
Transfer to the Zdravniovo estate (16 km) - the Ilya Yefimovich Repin museum. A guided tour of the museum. You will enjoy a nice bracing walk in the park, century-old pine trees, mirrored surface of the pond , the steep bank of the high-speed river, an opportunity to take pictures on the artist model hill “Mont Blanc”. The amazing beauty of this nature reserved area, where Repin lived for a long time and created his great paintings, can leave no one indifferent.
At the end, you will enjoy tea drinking with Zdravniovo aromatic herbs and traditional Belarusian sweets.
Departure at 08:40 p.m. (039Б train).
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TOUR PRICE: 165.00 €
Extra charge for single room – 35.00 €
3 Lunches on request – 15.00 €
Preschool-age-children use 10,00 € discount
** For non-cash payments, from 2 to 3 per cent will be charged for conversion
Prices include:
- Transport services;
- 2 nights at the hotel*** in Vitebsk and Minsk (Standard double rooms);
- 3 breakfasts;
- Sightseeing tour around Vitebsk, Zdravniovo, Nesvizh, Minsk, Dudutki;
- Tea party in Zdravniovo;
- Tickets to museums + 4 tastings in Dudutki;
- Certified guide services.