KAZAN – BOLGAR
Duration : 3 days
Day 1. KAZAN KREMLIN & CITY LEGENDS AND FOLKLORE
Guide & transport
Morning arrival to Kazan. Meet the guide at the railway station/airport. Transfer to the city centre.
A walking tour “White-stone Fortress”. The Kazan Kremlin is the main sight of the city; it is a UNESCO world heritage site. The white-stone Kremlin is the heart of the ancient city that incorporates the culture of the East and West. Inside the fortress, there is one of the symbols of Kazan – the famous “leaning” tower of Tsarina Suyumbike.
Auto-walking excursion – “Legends and secrets of millennial Kazan”.
The sights of the thousand-year-old city combine the culture of the West and the traditions of the East: the Old Tatar settlement, where the Tatars lived since the 16th century, the Textile settlement, they grew up as a result of the industrial reforms of Peter I, the square of fountains, the Kaban Lake with its mysteries and legends, the recreated Tatar village Tugan Avylym (My Native Village), the new building of the Puppet Theater, Kazan Federal University, Freedom Square as the cultural and administrative center of Kazan.
Lunch at the restaurant.
Folklore program “Yakyn Duslar” will immerse you in the world of the ancient culture of the Tatar people. Each people of the world is unique, and its soul, hidden in spiritual creativity – folklore, is one of the kind. All tourists have the opportunity from the first minute of their stay in Kazan to touch the age-old culture of the Tatar people.
Late afternoon – arrival in the hotel. Check-in.
Free time without guide.
Day 2. BOLGAR – MECCA OF THE NORTH
Guide & transport
Breakfast. Meeting with guide at the hotel lobby.
You can get acquainted with new sites in Bolgar. See one of the most significant building structures added to the contemporary collections of
the architectural heritage of Tatarstan – Ak Mechet (the White Mosque).
Lunch in the restaurant in Bolgar.
A walking sightseeing tour “Mecca of the North” in the town of Bolgar. More than 700 years ago, on the site of the present city of Bolgar, there was an ancient city, the capital of Volga Bulgaria – an early-feudal state located in the interfluve of Volga and Kama rivers. The historical and archeological site of Bolgar was included in the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites.
During the excursions, you will walk along the ruins of the white-stone walls of ancient buildings and imagine the life that existed here many centuries ago. See all landmarks on the territory of the ancient city: the Congregational Mosque, the Eastern and Northern Mausoleums, the Mausoleum of the Khans, the Small Minaret, the Black Chamber, the White Chamber, the Khan’s Bath, the Khan’s Palace.
Visit the Literacy Museum on the Volga Embankment, a memorial sign built to commemorate the offcial adoption of Islam by the ancient
Bulgarians, which houses the world’s largest printed Koran.
Departure to Kazan. Return to the hotel.
Free time without guide.
Day 3. BAUMAN STREET
Guide & transport
Breakfast. Check-out. Meeting with guide at the hotel lobby. Departure for the sightseeing program with luggage.
A walking tour “Kazan Arbat”. Bauman Street is one of the favorite walking places for residents and guests of Kazan, a meeting place for lovers. During the tour, you will make many amazing discoveries: jets of fountains, the bell tower and the Epiphany Church, where Fyodor Chaliapin was baptized, a monument to Chaliapin, the National Bank building, zero line, Peter and Paul Cathedral and other attractions.
The Chak-Chak Museum is a place where you will plunge into the atmosphere of Tatar life and feel like guests in an old Tatar family.
Here you will learn the secrets of making chak-chak, see the traditional kitchen dishes that were used earlier, you will discover a lot of new, seemingly, in familiar things.
Lunch in the city restaurant.
Departure to airport.
Available languages
Guide:
English-speaking/French-speaking/German-speaking/Spanish-speaking/Czech-speaking. Other languages are upon request.