St Petersburg Social Agenda

6:00pm to 6:45pm - Welcome Drinks at Kempinski Hotel

Join your fellow delegates for a welcome drink at the luxurious conference hotel, the Kempinski Hotel; a perfectly luxurious way to kick off the exciting conference week ahead.

Cost: Inclusive
Venue: Kempinski Hotel, Moika 22, St Petersburg
Inclusions: White and red wine, still and sparkling water

For delegates wishing to continue onto the Welcome Dinner, it is a 10 minute walk from the hotel to the pier. Alternatively you can get a taxi at your own expense.

7:30pm to 10:00pm - Welcome Dinner cruising the Neva River
(Cruise departs at 8:00pm. Latecomers will not permitted and no refunds will occur)

Continue to bond with your fellow delegates as you join us for a night cruising on the Neva River!

Enjoy food, laughter and wine as we set sail on this two hour cruise to the sounds of jazz from the grand piano. CPE Conferences have reserved tables on the lower deck for our delegates, so you can enjoy a Welcome Dinner overlooking the Russian cultural centre of St Petersburg from a completely different viewpoint!

Cost: $175 AUD per person
Venue: Central Pier (Pier with Lions) of the Palace Bridge, Admiralteyskaya Emabankment, 2 (cruise will return to the same location)
Inclusions: Cruise ticket, 3 course dinner from the premium dinner package, wine (Please note that this cruise is unguided)

Please note that the cruise company reserves the right to change the route due to the weather.
This is not a private cruise, and there will be other guests enjoying the river cruise.

9:30am to 1:30pm - Private tour of the Hermitage Museum (including guided tour of the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Exhibitions)
Meet your guide in the foyer of the Kempinski Hotel at 9.30am for a 9.45am departure. It will take 5 minutes to walk to the museum from here.

Welcome to the 2nd largest art museum in the world! Formerly the Russian Royal Family’s “Winter Palace”, the Hermitage Museum is as beautiful architecturally as the three million (plus) works of art and artefacts it houses from around the world. Russian Empress, Catherine the Great initiated this enormous art collection when she first purchased paintings from Berlin in 1764. Today, the museum boasts pre-historic, Egyptian, oriental and European art within it’s walls.

The Hermitage's collection of impressionist and post-impressionist art is among the most famous in the world, and definitely one of the key reasons to visit this extraordinary museum. With our English-speaking guide, we will explore the main exhibits of the Hermitage, and then the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist exhibitions of the General Staff Building before then having the opportunity to peruse the museum at your leisure.

Cost:  $115 AUD per person
Venue: State Hermitage Museum, Palace Square, 2, Sankt-Peterburg, Russia, 190000
Inclusions: Guided Tour around the Hermitage Museum (approx 1.5hours), Guided Tour around the Impressionist and Post-impressionist exhibition at the General Staff Building (opposite the main Hermitage Building) - approx 1 hour

(Please note that there will be a break of approximately half an hour in between the 2 tours)

7:00pm to LATE - Feel Yourself Russian - Folkshow
Meet at the entrance of the Nikolaevsky Palace at 6.40pm for a strict 7.00pm performance. Latecomers will not be permitted until there is an interval.

Feel Yourself Russian is the oldest and most popular show in St Petersburg. The show itself, performed in the Nikolaevsky Palace, is staged in two parts, and takes in around two hours of singing, dancing and sword tricks that will have you clapping in unison.

The Nikolaevsky Palace was originally built in 1853-61, and was one of several palaces built for the children of Nicolas 1 Russia. Nowadays it continues to be a place of luxury, and you can enjoy listening to the famous Russian music and appreciate the incredible skills of the Russian folk ballet dancers; all whilst admiring intricately decorated main staircase and the precious interior of the palace.

The palace is not generally open to the general public, so every guest of the show is technically a guest of the Russian Tsar himself!

Cost: $ 195 AUD per person
Venue: White Gala Hall - Nikolaevsky Palace. 190098, St. Petersburg, pl. Labor 4
Inclusions: Ticket to the show

Please note that tickets here are limited and are on a request basis only. If you cannot book tickets online, please contact the CPE Conferences team - [email protected] - so that we can request additional allocation. You will need to prepay in full for these tickets. If in any case we are unable to get more allocation, you will be offered a full refund.

7:00pm to 9:30pm - Ballet: Giselle at the Mariinsky Theatre
Please meet the group outside the main entrance of the Mariinsky Theatre at 6:15pm to collect your tickets.  The performance will last 2 hours 10 minutes, excluding the one interval. (Finish time above is approximate)

Enjoy a night with your fellow delegates as you immerse yourself in the ballet production of Giselle, at the home of one of Russia’s oldest theatres.  

The Mariinsky Theatre is an architectural and historical wonder. Named after Empress Maria Alexandrovna, the first wife of Tsar Alexander II, it has been host to significant moments in the history of music and ballet. Since it’s 1860 opening, its name has changed on multiple occasions to replicate the political environment at the time. Today the Mariinsky headlines excellence in the performing arts and is performing home to the Mariinsky Ballet, originally known as the Imperial Russian Ballet.

One of the worlds most performed classical ballets, Giselle is a timeless story of romance and betrayal. Famous for its ethereal beauty, it tells the story of a young girl who dies of heartbreak following the deception of an already betrothed man, Albrecht.

Cost: $205 AUD per person
Venue: Mariinsky Theatre, Theatre Square, 1, Sankt-Peterburg, Russia, 190000
Inclusions: 1 x admission ticket to the theatre

E-tickets will be distributed to you either at the Welcome Drinks or on the night of the performance.
Please note that tickets here are limited and are on a first come, first serve basis. If you cannot book tickets online, please contact the CPE Conferences team - [email protected] - so that we can request additional allocation

9:45am to 1:00pm - Kunstkamera Private Tour
Meet your guide in the foyer of the Kempinksi Hotel at 9.45am. Taxis will be provided to transfer you to the Kunstkamera building.

Established by the founder of St Petersburg, Peter the Great, in 1727, Kunstkamera is Russia’s first recognised museum. Commonly known as the cabinet of curiosities the Kunstkamera building hosts the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, an exhibition with a collection of almost 2 million items!

Kunstkamera is a literal take on the German words meaning 'Art Chamber’. At over 300 years old, the museum is filled with an abundance of history and holds artefacts from Peter the Great’s private collection

Cost:  $100 AUD per person
Venue: Kunstkamera, University Embankment, 3, Sankt-Peterburg, Russia, 199034
Inclusions: Guided tour of the museum, visit to the observatory, one way taxi (you must make your own way back to the hotel)