City trip to Minsk

City trip to Minsk

Minsk in Belarus

Highlights of this City trip to Minsk:
– possibilities for theater, concerts including open air in Minsk
– memories of WW2 in a huge and new museum, at the Stalin Line and the Khatyn Monument
– excursions in the Minsk region, to the castles of Mir and Nesvizh

Minsk is both a modern and trendy city, as well as a city that still exudes the atmosphere of the USSR. Additionally Minsk is clean, safe, friendly, home to ancient and modern culture, and above all it is virtually unknown to foreigners.

The program is partly optional, please inform us your interests and we complete the program. We also help you with tickets for a cultural show in the evening, especially classical music and ballet are performed at high level.

A visa is no longer required for stays up to 30 days with arrival and departure at Minsk Airport since July 2018, for most countries.

Read more about the highlights of travelling in Belarus, plus practical advise, here.

Day 1

Transfer from the Airport to the hotel in Minsk. The city and also your hotel are situated at about 40 minutes by car from the airport. Start of your city trip to Minsk!

Overnight in Minsk.
Victory Square in Minsk, Belarus

Day 2

Sightseeing tour in Minsk that includes the main avenues and the architectural monuments of the XVIIth – XXth centuries. These include the Upper Town with the City Hall, the Holy Spirit Cathedral and the Cathedral of Holy Virgin Mary. And you will enjoy walking the old streets of the Trinity Suburb. The Victory Monument and the National Library (included into the list of the most outstanding buildings of the world) will be explored as well.

Afterwards you will move on to the Dudutki museum, which is a former country landowner’s estate. Here typical village life of the XVIIIth – XIXth centuries is impressively created. Today it is a popular open-air museum, displaying all the traditional Belarusian crafts. Beside the working farm with different animals, it includes an original working windmill and lots of functioning workshops. They are presenting to visitors carpentry, pottery, braiding, blacksmithing, bakery and even cheese-making.

The craftsmen will be happy to show off their skills and guests will be invited to try! And do not miss a chance to have some training in horse-riding or try some splendid traditionally cooked meal accompanied by homemade moonshine (samogon).

During our visit in 2018 we even witnessed an open air Mass. And the possibility to fly a small airplane!

Overnight in Minsk.
Belarus open air museum

Day 3

Free day.
There are options for guided excursions:

Option 1, the Stalin Line

1) Transfer to Stalin Line (35 km from Minsk, 4 hours) – an open-air museum of military fortifications, including the defensive line with trenches. But also with anti-tank obstacles and ditches, anti-personnel obstacles and machine-gun pillboxes. Visitors can walk around a pillbox and sit in a gun emplacement, stroll along the trench system and clamber over a tank. The guides are dressed in uniforms of the day. To feel the atmosphere of that by-passed war you should also try the sample rations eaten by soldiers of the time.

Option 2, Mir & Nesvizh

2) Transfer to Mir (100 km from Minsk, 8 hours), which is a small town 100 km to the south-west from Minsk. It is most famous for the fairy-tale Mir Castle, still known today as the “medieval flower”. The Castle is an impressive architectural monument, included into the list of World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO. It was erected at the end of the XVth century. Today it is a combination of Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance architecture that makes Mir Castle so unique. This red brick castle is also a historical monument, which used to belong to several aristocratic families. All of whom have left their mark in the history of the town and of the country in general.

Followed by a transfer to Nesvizh – a delightful historic town, one of the oldest in the country. You will visit the magnificent Nesvizh Palace – former residence of the aristocratic Radzivili family. The Palace also includes beautiful park and Farny Roman-Catholic Church of the XVIth century. The complex once numbered around 170 rooms, with a series of underground passages connecting it to the town’s monasteries.

Today the exposition of the Palace includes more then 30 exhibition halls, including Prince’s apartments, Golden and Star halls, Hunter’s hall and others. Return to Minsk.

Option 3, visit to a farmstead

3) Visit to a the typical Belarusian farmstead. Meeting local people and picnic with tasting Belarusian cuisine. Folklore show with traditional songs and dances could be also organized upon request.
Return to Minsk and accommodation.
Minsk, Belarus

Day 4

Transfer to the airport and departure.

At two people the price of this city trip to Minsk is €425 per person, at four people it is €340 per person. For other group sizes please mail us for an offer.
Included in the offer are:
– Letter of Invitation (LOI) for the visa
– three nights accommodations in 3* hotels in Minsk. Breakfast included, stay in TWIN rooms
– transfers during days 1, 2 and 4 in a car with driver & guide-interpreter (resp. a minivan when 3-6 people)
– services of an English speaking guide during days 1, 2 and 4
– entry tickets for the Dudutki Folk museum

Not included in the offer are the international flight tickets, the visa and services not mentioned. Finally we charge €15 per booking as a contribution to the GGTO Guarantee Fund.

Optional excursions

The costs for the optional program on day three are:
1) Stalin Line, a total of €150 at 1-2 people, a total of €200 at 3-6 people
2) Mir & Nesvizh, a total of €295 at 1-2 people, a total of €360 for 3-6 people
3) The cost of lunch in the Belarusian farm is €20 per person, plus transfer of in total €150 at 1-2 people, €200 in total at 3-6 people.
4) The cost of dinner in a local Belarusian restaurant starts from €25 per person

Budget option

You can also book this program on a budget-basis. An indication of the cost is €255 per person at two persons. Included are three nights of accommodation including breakfast in a 3* hotel, your invitation letter plus a public transport ticket to the Dudutki open-air museum.
It is possible to add excursions, and you may also rent a car for the period, which we will facilitate. Please write us for the options.

    Information

    PLACE

    Minsk

    DATES

    You determine

    PRICE

    €425 p.p. at 2 persons full-service; €255 p.p. indication with self-drive

    LENGHT

    4 days

    Route map of tour in Belarus

    Contact