Combined: Hunting for the Northern Lights

Trip Description

Accomodation

Stay program

• day 1

  Arrival in Saint Petersburg

  Arrival in Saint Petersburg. Welcome and transfer from the airport to the city center. Check-in at your accommodation.

• day 2

  First discovery of Saint Petersburg

  Guided city tour in French. The tour includes: Nevsky Prospect, the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, the Kazan Cathedral, Palace Square (the Hermitage), the Smolny Convent, the University district, and the Admiralty. Then, guided tour in French of the Peter and Paul Fortress and the Peter and Paul Cathedral, with the tomb of the Romanov family.

• day 3

  Hermitage Museum

  Guided tour in French of the Hermitage Museum, one of the largest museums in the world, spread across five different buildings. Tens of thousands of pieces are exhibited there in about 1,000 rooms.

• day 4

  Pushkin, or Tsarskoye Selo

  The visit includes a walk in the gardens and a tour of the Catherine Palace, a splendid 18th-century castle in Baroque style. It is particularly known for its ballroom and the very famous Amber Room. The 300-hectare gardens are just as beautiful, divided between the French and English styles, and populated with many small pavilions.

• day 5

  From Saint Petersburg to Murmansk by train

  Transfer to the station. Departure by night train to Murmansk in a 4-berth compartment. Night on the train.

• day 6

  Discovery of the polar capital

  Arrival in Murmansk. Welcome and transfer to the city center. Guided city tour in French. The walk includes: Five Corners Square, the monument to the defenders of the Soviet Arctic during the Great Patriotic War ("Alyocha"), as well as the memorial dedicated to soldiers and sailors who died in peacetime. Excursion to the Lenin icebreaker, the world's first nuclear icebreaker (optional). Then, check-in at your hotel.

• day 7

  Hunting for the Northern Lights

  Day dedicated to discovering the culture of the Sámi, also known as the Samis or Lapps, the indigenous people of Northern Europe. Visit to the Sámi village "Sàme Syyyt", in the middle of the tundra and pine forests (Tchoum, traditional Sámi tents, alley of Sámi idols, etc.). Discovery of the reindeer farm, huskies, arctic foxes, rabbits... Then, a ride in a quadricycle or a reindeer sleigh, popular Sami games, photos in national Sami costume and more. Tasting of Lim, Sámi salmon soup, Lovozero bread and Pakoula, lichen herbal tea. At nightfall, you will set off with the local guide to experience the hunt for the northern lights, an exceptional and unique experience to live at least once in your life (depending on weather forecasts, the day of the northern lights hunt may be changed). Return to Murmansk.

• day 8

  Teriberka, village at the end of the world.

  Full day dedicated to visiting the village of Teriberka, located 150 km north of the Murmansk region. Situated on the coast of the Barents Sea, the village of Teriberka became famous thanks to the film "Leviathan" by Andrey Zvyagintsev. Lost at the end of the world and now abandoned, Teriberka is at the heart of exceptional nature. You will discover the Arctic tundra as well as one of the most picturesque coasts of the Arctic shoreline, popularly called "Dragon Eggs". 3 km on foot, you can discover a beautiful waterfall falling into the Barents Sea. You will also visit the old boat cemetery and the "old Teriberka," inhabited by Pomor Russians (a Russian ethnic minority living in the region since time immemorial), with its rustic and haunted houses. Lunch in a local restaurant on site. Return to Murmansk.

• day 9

  Departure

  Transfer to the airport/train station and return.