Day 1 – Welcome to Moscow

Cities covered : Moscow

Arrival in Moscow. You will be met at Moscow airport and transferred to your hotel.

Accommodation in a **** hotel in Moscow.

 

Day 2 – Sight seeing tour of Moscow and board the luxury train

Cities covered : Moscow

A full day sightseeing tour shows you the magnificent Red Square, the Kremlin grounds and other highlights of Moscow. You will forget old stories about Russia being grey and dark. It has become a vibrant city, full of life, comparable to Paris or Rome. In the evening transfer to the railway station where your private train Grand Trans-Siberian Express is ready for you to board for the first leg of the almost 8000 km long journey to Beijing.

Welcome dinner and accommodation on board the Grand Trans-Siberian Express.

 

Day 3 – Travel to Yekaterinburg

Cities covered : Yekaterinburg

Today you enjoy a typical day on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Your private train passes through endless scenery of forests, lakes and small settlements, followed by the Ural Mountains. A day to relax, watch the landscape and listen to lectures about Russia and its people. In the evening you arrive in Yekaterinburg, the “Capital of the Ural Mountains”.

Accommodation in a **** hotel in Yekaterinburg.

 

Day 4 – Cross into the capital of the Urals

Cities covered : Yekaterinburg

Yekaterinburg – “Capital of the Ural Mountains”. The city was founded in 1723 by Czar Peter I as the center of metallurgical industry. By the 20th century it had become one of the largest and the most important financial, industrial and cultural centers of Russia. Yekaterinburg is located at the geographical border defined by scientists between Europe and Asia.

In the morning a sightseeing tour shows you the city center and you visit a place of remarkable importance for Russian history: the “Cathedral on The Blood” which was built at the place where Czar Nicholas II and his family were executed by the Bolsheviks in 1918.

In the afternoon an excursion into the Ural forests takes you Ganina Yama, which today is considered by Russians as a “holy place”. It is an assemble of small wooden chapels which were erected in the 1990’s to honor the last Czar’s family of the Romanov dynasty who were then buried in Ganina Yama.

Accommodation on board the Grand Trans-Siberian Express.

 

Day 5 – Travel through Siberia to Novosibirsk

Cities covered : Novosibirsk

Again an almost full day of relaxation and lectures on the train, today you are passing through the plains of Western Siberia and reach Novosibirsk in the late afternoon. With 1,5 million inhabitants Russia’s third largest city and the biggest of Siberia, it is widely regarded as the center of Siberia. It was founded in 1893 as the future site of the Trans-Siberian railway bridge crossing the Siberian River Ob.

Accommodation in a **** hotel in  Novosibirsk.

 

Day 6 – Sightseeing tour of Novosibirsk

Cities covered : Novosibirsk

In the morning a city sightseeing tour shows you some remarkable orthodox churches which have survived the Soviet period. You will have an interior visit of the famous Opera House which is the largest of Russia, situated in the centre of the city at Lenin Square. In the afternoon, an excursion takes you out of the city into the Taiga, the “real Siberian forest”. About 30 km out of the city you have the opportunity of visiting the largest open air railway museum of Russia, a collection of more than 60 showpieces of steam, diesel and electric locomotives as well as several historical passenger cars – a perfect insight into the development of the trains on the Trans-Siberian Railway.

Accommodation on board the Grand Trans-Siberian Express.

 

Day 7 – Tour of Krasnoyarsk – the Closed City

Cities covered : Irkutsk

Krasnoyarsk, like Yekaterinburg and Ulan Ude used to be a “closed city” during Soviet times – closed to foreigners and also to most Soviet citizens at that time. It is located along the Yenissei River which is the greatest river system flowing to the Arctic Ocean. A sightseeing tour shows you several view points and the main shopping street which is fascinating as the local mayor decided to decorate it with palm trees in summer time – in the middle of Siberia! During a boat cruise on the Yenissei River you will have a great view on the city and the huge railway bridge crossing the river.

Accommodation on board the Grand Trans-Siberian Express.

 

Day 8 – Visit the “Paris of Siberia” Irkutsk

Cities covered : Irkutsk Irkutsk is famous for its trade with Mongolia and China and used to be called “Paris of Siberia” because of its colorful lifestyle during the timeof the Tsars. You visit the old town with its large quarters still consisting of wooden houses only, before invited to the cultural highlight of the tour, a private classical concert in a palace of historical background.

Accommodation in a **** hotel in Irkutsk.

 

Day 9 – The Blue Eye of Russia – Lake Baikal

Cities covered : Ulan-Ude

Today one of the top highlights of the tour with the Grand Trans-Siberian Express and will amaze you for the rest of the day. Lake Baikal holds the biggest fresh water reserves in the world. It stretches up to 26 miles from east to west and more than 370 miles from north to south. Lake Baikal is the deepest lake of the world, reaching 1.620 meters at its deepest part. The mountain ranges around Lake Baikal and the deep blue water of the lake, you will never forget.

In the morning a one hour bus drive takes you from the hotel to Lake Baikal. A walk through the village of Listvyanka shows you to St Nicholas church, a typical orthodox wooden build church beautiful renovated in the 1990’s. On a great Siberian lunch you can taste the famous Omul fish which is living only in Lake Baikal.

In the afternoon a boat takes you on a short cruise on Lake Baikal to the small village of Port Baikal where the private train is waiting for you.Today the private train is running at low speed along the scenic Circum Baikal Railway line between Port Baikal and Sludyanka, which for many years is used only by a few of local trains and tourist trains. A photo stop will be arranged at a small village where you can get off the train, put your feet into the clear and cold water of Lake Baikal and also visit the typical wooden houses of local people. A Baikal barbecue is also a part of the program.

Accommodation on board the Grand Trans-Siberian Express.

 

Day 10 – Ulan Ude

Cities covered : Ulaanbaatar ,  Ulan-Ude

Ulan Ude is the capital of the so-called “Buryat Autonomous Republic” of the Russian Federation. Buryats are an ethnic group close to Mongolians with an amazing mix of cultures. Ulan Ude is a meeting place between East and West. Like Irkutsk, the city still has large areas with typical Siberian wooden houses. Your sightseeing excursion goes to “Ivolginsky Datsan”, the largest Buddhist Monastery in Russia.

When leaving Ulan Ude, the Grand Trans-Siberian Express switches from the Trans-Siberian mainline to the Trans Mongolian mainline on its way to Ulaanbaatar. In the evening the train reaches the Russian border station Naushki and the Mongolian border station Suchebaatar. Russian and Mongolian immigration formalities will take place in the train. You may stay in your compartment and don’t have to leave the train.

Accommodation on board the Grand Trans-Siberian Express.

 

Day 11 – Ulaanbattar

Cities covered : Ulaanbaatar

In the morning the Grand Trans-Siberian Express arrives in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. During a sightseeing tour you will visit the famous Ghandan Monastery, the central Sukhabaatar Square, the Bogd Khan Museum which used to be formerly the winter and sometimes also the summer palace of the Khan’s, as well as the Zaisan monument at a viewpoint high above the city. From there you will have an excellent view of the city which is surrounded by large areas of nomadic yurt settlements. An amazing cultural music and dance show will introduce Mongolian folk music and culture to you.

Accommodation in a **** hotel in Ulaanbaatar.

 

Day 12 – Ulaanbattar

Cities covered : Ulaanbaatar

Today an unforgettable excursion will take you to the Terelj National Park which is famous for its nature. A stone formation called the “turtle” and the beautiful mountainous scenery will fascinate you. In the park area you will have the chance to meet a herder family inside their yurt. A Naadam show specially arranged for the participants of the Grand Trans-Siberian Express demonstrates 3 disciplines of the Mongolian National Naadam festival: Wrestling, Archery and Horseracing.

Accommodation in a **** hotel in Ulaanbaatar.

 

Day 13 – Travel from Mongolia to Beijing (Air OR Train)

Cities covered : Beijing ,  Ulaanbaatar

Option 1: Ulaanbaatar – Beijing

Another day for discovering the Mongolian capital city Ulaanbaatar! Today you visit the Historical Museum which explains the long history of the Mongolians from Genghis Khan’s times until today. In the afternoon you have time at leisure and if you wish, you can visit a cashmere factory and see how the famous cashmere clothes are designed and produced. In the evening a 2 hour flight takes you from Ulaanbaatar to Beijing, the Chinese capital.

Accommodation in a ***** hotel in Beijing.

Option 2: Ulaanbaatar

In the morning you leave Ulaanbaatar for a 30 hour journey on chartered standard cars attached to a regular train from Ulaanbaatar to Beijing. In the afternoon the train reaches the plains of Gobi Desert which is not a sand desert but a stone desert in this part of Mongolia. Temperatures can reach 35-40° C here in summer time. In the evening the train arrives at the Mongolian-Chinese border, where there bogies of the train are changed from Russian 1520 mm to Chinese 1435 mm bogies.

Accommodation on board the train.

 

Day 14 – Day tour of Beijing

Cities covered : Beijing 

Option 1:In the morning you visit the Temple of Heaven and in the afternoon the Imperial Palace (“Forbidden City”) and the huge Tian An Men Square.Accommodation in a ***** hotel in Beijing.

Option 2:After lunch time arrival in Beijing. In the afternoon you visit the Imperial Palace (“Forbidden City”) and the huge Tian An Men Square.

Accommodation in a ***** hotel in Beijing.

 

Day 15 – Visit the Great Wall of China

Cities covered : Beijing

Today you visit the Great Wall of China, which often is called “8th world wonder”. The Great Wall wall stretches from East to West. On the return way you visit the Ming Tombs and the Olympic Park where there will be a photo stop at the Olympic stadium which is called “Bird’s Nest”. A farewell dinner will be held in one the famous Beijing duck restaurants.

Accommodation in a ***** hotel in Beijing.

 

Day 16 – Depart Beijing

Cities covered : Beijing

Airport transfers are provided by our service team to connect with your flight departing Beijing.

 

 

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