The Baltic Cultural Jewels: 8 days/ 7 nights

Vilnius

Vilnius - Trakai

Breakfast. Morning City Tour, the 3-hour acquaintance with Vilnius Old Town where you can feel the atmosphere of the city's history of the 16-19th centuries while walking along its narrow winding streets or visiting the most exiting architectural and historic monuments: Vilnius Cathedral erected on the historic site where pagan gods were worshipped and where Vilnius was founded as far back as the 13th c., a nearby Gediminas Castle on the hill rising above the city centre, a gem of the Lithuanian Gothic’s - the 16th c. St. Anne's Church, the Vilnius University, a famous centre of science and enlightment since its very foundation in 1579, Vilnius Town Hall, Jewsih Quarter and the Dawn Gate with a miraculous icon of Virgin Mary.
Lunch in Vilnius.

A pleasant 4-hour-tour to Trakai former capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, 27 km to the west of Vilnius, is a favourite place for an outing. The Trakai Castle situated on an island in the midst of Lake Galve is the most famous and most photographed 15th cent. castle.  Standing on an island in Lake Galve, the Castle now houses an interesting museum telling its history, famous in the times of the Grand Duke Vytautas when the country borders were stretching from the Baltics till the Black Sea. Enjoy a small  town -Trakai,  located on a 2-km-long peninsular with attractive old wooden houses, mostly built by Karaites, a Judaist sect brought by Duke Vytautas from the Crimea and still living here.
Transfer back. Dinner and overnight in Vilnius.

Vilnius – Pazaislis Monastery - Kaunas

Breakfast. Departure to Kaunas (100 km from Vilnius), the second major city in Lithuania.

Stop at the Church and Monastery of Pazaislis to see one of the most wonderful mature Baroque architectural masterpieces in north-eastern Europe. The monastery is located on the pickturesque bank of the Kaunas Lagoon.

Lunch in Kaunas.

Kaunas City Tour. Kaunas is known for its beautiful Old Town. The Old Town of Kaunas is a concentration of the most important, ancient architectural monuments: the 13th century Castle, the Old Town Hall, nicknamed the "White Swan", the Archicathedral Basilica, the Church of St. Francis Xavier and the Jesuit monastery, Perkunas House and Vytautas Church. The green and flowering pedestrian street Laisves Aleja is the main business and leisure area of Kaunas.

Dinner and overnight in Kaunas.

Kaunas – The Hill of Crosses – Rundale Palace - Riga

Breakfast. Departure to Riga (250 km from Kaunas), the capital of Latvia.

Stop at the famous Hill of Crosses near Šiauliai (150 km from Kaunas). The Hill of Crosses, a unique historic place in the world. It is probably the best place to get aquinted with cross-making, a branch of Lithuanian folk art, wich was inscribed on the UNESCO Non-material and Verbal Heritage Masterpiece List. On this hill more than 100 000 crosses have been discontinuously put up to plead for grace or to express gratitude since the ancient times. It is the only place of its kind in the world, included to the Guinness Book of Records for its uniquenes.
Lunch en route.

Stop at the Rundale Palace (30 km from Hill of Crosses), this Palace (18th cent.) is the most outstanding monuments of Baroque and Rococo art in Latvia. The palace is an example of the early work of Italian-Russian architect Rastrelli who also designed the famous Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. You will be impressed by the authentic beauty the Golden Hall, the White Hall, private quarters of the Duke of Courland Johan Ernst Biron. Interiors are decorated with authentic 18th century furniture, paintings and china. To complete your impressions have an enjoyable walk in a beautiful French-style park.
Arrival to Riga. Dinner and overnight in Riga.

Riga - Ethnographic Open-Air Museum

Breakfast. Riga City Tour by bus and a walking tour. Riga has hundreds of ways for enticing visitors - its rich history, architecture, spacious gardens and parks, museums, art galleries and world-class opera...and daily treats like a walk in the enormous colorful central market or going to a cozy café, club or pub...
The tour includes the most significant sights of Riga and begins along the central boulevards of Riga, enjoying the view of the City Canal parks, the Art Nouveau buildings of the beginning of the 20th century, the Opera House. In Old Riga you will see the Dome Cathedral, the Church of St. Peter, the old Guild Houses, the Swedish Gate, the architectural ensemble Three Brothers, St. Jacob's Church, the Parliament House, Old Riga Castle, and view the many wonderfully restored buildings, now housing cozy restaurants, cafes, bars and souvenir shops.

Lunch in Riga.

Tour to the Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum (5 km from Riga) is one of the show-pieces of Latvia's cultural heritage, founded in 1924. This is one of the oldest open-air museums in Europe. Situated in a pine forest on the bank of Jugla Lake, the museum consists of some 90 traditional rural buildings dating back to the 17th century: historical dwellings, homesteads, a tavern and windmills have been gathered here from all over Latvia.

Riga - Sigulda - Tallinn

Breakfast. Departure to Tallinn (307 km from Riga), the capital of Estonia.
Stop in the Gauja National Park, Sigulda city (50km from Riga) often referred to as the Latvian Switzerland.  Gauja National park includes the valley of the Gauja River and together with its tributaries it forms a particularly original landscape. The territory comprises more than 500 monuments of archeology, architecture, history starting with 11th century.
Enjoy beautiful vistas of the Gauja River Valley, visit the 13th century Turaida Castle, now housing a small History Museum, and relax walking in the adjoining Sculpture Park, featuring works of Latvian sculptors.
Lunch en route.
Late afternoon arrival to Tallinn. Dinner and overnight in Tallinn.

Tallinn - Kadriorg Palace

Breakfast. Morning City Tour by bus and walking tour takes you to the surroundings of Tallinn and its Old Town. Unlike most European cities, which have ancient buildings mixed in between modern ones, Tallinn's Old City is complete. You leave bustling modern life behind when of cobblestones and dim alleys, sputtering torches and secret stairways. The Old City holds new surprises around every corner, even for its old inhabitants.
City tour includes a visit of  the Upper Town - Toompea (Cathedral Hill) with the impressive Russian Orthodox Church, the 13th century Gothic style Dome Cathedral. The Upper Town viewing points offer excellent bird's eye views of the Lower Town. The tour continues in the Lower Town. Among its highlights - the Gothic Town Hall (early 15th century), the pharmacy, opened in 1422 and still functioning, the Great Guild and Blackheads Fraternity Houses - both from the 15th century.
Lunch in Tallinn.

Visit to Kadriorg (5 km from Tallinn) famed for its baroque palace and park ensemble, built in 1718 as the summer palace for the family of Russian tsar Peter I. The palace is now home to the Kadriorg Art Museum. In addition to perusing the nation's collection of foreign art, visitors get to see the mind-bogglingly ornate Great Hall, and the room upstairs that served as president's office in the 1930s.
Overnight in Tallinn.

Tallinn

Breakfast. Transfer to the Tallinn airport.
Departure.

Itinerary includes:
* 7 overnights in centrally located hotels;
* 7 Breakfasts;
* 6 Lunches (3 course with water + coffer or tea);
* 7 Dinners (3 course with water + coffer or tea);
* English speaking guide escort during whole tour;
* 35-50 seats coach with air-conditioner and video (2 transfers airport - Vilnius, Tallinn - airport are included);
* Sightseeing tours (Vilnius, Trakai, Pazaislis Monastery, Kaunas, Rundale, Riga and Tallinn);
* Entrance fees (Vilnius University campus, Trakai Castle museum, Pazaislis Monastery, Rundale Palace, Riga and Tallinn Dome Cathedrals, Turaida castle, Riga Ethnographical museum).


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