December-March 2024

The First Day

Arrival in Arkhangelsk from Moscow (Airport TALAGI). meeting at the airport, transfer to the city.

Lunch at restaurant “Pochtovaya Kontora”

Sightseeing tour “Arkhangelsk as the first port in Russia”.

The city of Arkhangelsk takes a considerable place in the row of important Russian cities. Arkhangelsk was founded because of the nearby sea. The history, contemporary life, sightseeing of the city is introduced during the excursion.

Coming into the shop at the Arkhangelsk Algae Plant, the only one Russian enterprise extracting and processing the Arctic algae, used for both food and natural cosmetics.

Visiting the Northern Maritime Museum. Excursion on the main exposition “Thousand years of northern seafaring”.

The Northern Maritime Museum is located in the historical center of Arkhangelsk. This is where both the monastery center and the main port started. The museum is located in the building of a former marine station between two piers- the former Cathedral (now it’s Red) Pier and the so called Pier of Far Voyages. The artifacts in museum are connected with the history of marine development of the North, including the Maritime Charter, written by Peter the First (the reprinted Charter of 1825 is in museum’s collections). The exposition “Thousand years of northern seafaring” is presented in the image of a stylized sailing ship having decorated constructions which symbolize the fragments of ship drawings, details of tackle, elements of inner and outer parts of a ship.

Accommodation at Pur-Navolok Hotel.

20:30 Dinner at restaurant.

In case of good weather the excursion “Looking for the northern lights”.

Colorful flashes of northern lights look like a real miracle; lots of people would very much like to watch it even once in a lifetime. Impressions from fantastic patterns become brighter if observe it outside the city, in a beautiful landscape.

Note: Hunting for the northern lights depends on different factors, sometimes on cloudiness or low solar activity. It is possible “to travel” for the northern lights on the second day of the program.

The Second Day

Breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant.

09:30 Leaving for Malye Korely.

10:15 Country excursion around the Museum of Wooden Architecture and Folk Culture “Malye Korely” (25 km from Arkhangelsk). This museum has a unique collection – 120 monuments of wooden architecture from the whole of the Arkhangelsk Region (churches, chapels, mills, household buildings). This is the biggest Russian museum in the open air, where the wooden constructions are a part of a natural landscape. You are greeted with welcome bread and salt, have excursion around Kargopol-Onega sector of the Museum. During the excursion you can see Russian wooden architecture of the XVI – XX centuries created by local carpenters, you are presented some elements of Russian Northern folk culture, learn some secrets of traditional technologies of wooden buildings, get to know about traditional Russian household, even the very old way of heating the house, learn about the traditional way of peasants’ living and peculiarities of everyday life in the southwest of the Arkhangelsk Region.

Master-classes on folk crafts (you can choose):

·        “Tetjorki” – baking spring rite cookies.

·        “Printed cloth” – sharing the secrets of traditional handcraft.

·        “Painting on wood in Mezen manner” – learn the technique of folk craft.

Free time for watching other sectors of the Museum, shopping for souvenirs.

13:00 Lunch at the restaurant “Malye Korely” in the Tourist Center.

14:00 Leaving for Arkhangelsk.

14:45 Visiting the Historical and Architectural Complex “Arkhangelsk Merchant Yards”. Today the collections of the museum have more than 265 artifacts, presenting nature, history and culture peculiarity of Pomor area. Here are some rarities, for example the Gospel by Tyapinsky of 1570, collection of artifacts from Willem Barents wintering of 1598, artifacts belonged to August personage and famous statesmen (Peter the First, Tsarevna Sofia, Metropolitan Philaret, Patriarch Nikon, Mikhail Lomonosov, St. John of Kronstadt and some others). There are also artifacts of considerable art importance: Kholmogory bone-carving, facial golden and silver embroidery, city relics like the stored coach of “Berlin” type used to carry the Braunschweig Family etc.

Coming back to the hotel on the Embankment of the Northern Dvina River.

Dinner at the hotel’s restaurant.

The Third Day

Breakfast at the hotel restaurant, checking out the hotel rooms.

Pedestrian excursion along the Chumbarov-Luchinsky street which is a kind of open air city museum, where the artifacts are urban wooden houses of the end of the XIX – beginning of the XX century, the oldest house built in 1848 is conserved here. During the travelling on foot you can see the sculpture compositions devoted to a northern fairy-tales’ writer, also the monument to Russian women-keepers of hearth and home, and other monuments bringing us to the history of the Russian North.

YOU CAN CHOOSE:

§ Master-class on painting of traditional Pomor kozulja, an Arkhangelsk spicy cake. In Arkhangelsk area lots of traditional crafts have been kept. You can try one of them at a tasty master-class on painting kozuljas. It is believed that kozylja brings luck and can be served as an amulet. It is also a good and tasty gift for any holiday!

§ Visiting Pomor ARTel. Interactive excursion program “ On a visit to Sylanty Pomorich”

During the program guests of the house get acquainted with the Arkhangelsk merchant Sylanty Pomorich, his family and the history of Arkhangelsk merchantry. You can listen to a local fairy-tales, even music performed on the saw, participate in the improvising folk instrument orchestra. The host of the family tells who they called “plovers”, what was important to bring to fishing and what kind of free time a fishman had. The excursion is devoted to Pomor culture, to everyday life of Pomor family.

§ Visiting “the Arctic Embassy” - a contemporary multifunctional interactive site for those who are willing to know more about Arctic. The exposition is located in the building of the Northern Shipping Company. It presents archeological findings from archipelagoes Nova Zemblya and Franz Joseph Land. Some of the archeological findings dating back thousands and million years.

Visiting to “Belomorskye Uzori” shop. Authors’ works and rear examples in Russian folk traditional style. Artistic products from wood painting and carving: souvenirs, boxes, plates, salt sellers, baskets, spoons, buckets etc. Hand weaving and knitting: mittens, legwarmers, jackets, jumpers, socks, hats and others. Linen things with decorative sewing line: tablecloths, curtains, napkins, towels etc. Things from birch bark: boxes, tueses. Kargopol clay toes.

Lunch at restaurant “Pomorsky”

Free time for going to the souvenir shops, taking a walk around the city.

Recommended traditional souvenirs of the Arkhangelsk Region: “bird of happiness” – a wooden bird with split wings and tail, Kargopol clay toy, products from wood and birch bark, Kholmogory bone carving, jewelry with Arkhangelsk diamonds, cosmetic algae sets.

Recommeneded gastronomic souvenirs from the Arkhangelsk Region: local fish, northern berries (cranberry, cloudberry, lingo berry), raindeer meat, marmalade based on agar-agar, traditional painted cookies “kozylya”.

Transfer to the airport

Tour operator reserves the right to make changes in sequencing of excursions and visiting the places.