Fly to Moscow, meet your tour manager and transfer to your chosen hotel. Settle in to your room, and perhaps enjoy a drink at the bar before you head out for dinner – you'll find an enticing choice of restaurants to consider right on your doorstep, wherever you choose to stay.
Today's guided tour brings to life this, one of the world’s great cities. See Red Square, where multi-coloured, onion-domed St Basil’s Cathedral, Lenin’s eerie Mausoleum and the great Victorian pile of GUM (the former State Department Store and now a glittering shopping mall complete with dazzling decorations) look out over the vast space to the colourful stalls of Moscow’s largest Christmas market.Encircling Red Square, like rings on a tree-trunk or the layers of a Russian doll, you'll find the rest of the city’s central areas, each vying to outdo the others with its extravagant festive decorations. A giant Christmas bauble adorns Manezh Square, while Tverskoy Boulevard is transformed into a wintertime paradise for children of all ages.The rest of your day is left free. Browse the markets on Red Square, warmed by a gluhwein or vodka, visit a museum or wander the city's shops and stores. Unlike most European cities, Moscow remains fully open over "our" Christmas, meaning you can enjoy a full day of sightseeing and shopping before beginning your celebrations with dinner at your hotel this evening.