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‘The Grand Tour’: Five Moments To Cherish as the Curtain Closes

If you’re a fan of Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond, you’ll know that the trio has decided to end “The Grand Tour.” It’s bittersweet news for the show’s fanbase. On the one hand, enthusiasts won’t have any more content from the beloved celebrities. However, we can revel in the fact that Clarkson and company have logged over 20 years of automotive shenanigans for viewers to enjoy. 

The Amazon Prime Video show reunited the three world-famous petrolheads after a falling out forced them off the BBC set of “Top Gear” in 2015. The trio didn’t stay off-camera for long, though. The three were back to reviewing cars in a year. Well, with the show ending, we look back at some of our favorite moments beyond the beautifully crafted shots of the latest cars. 

“The Excellent”

• Creating a coral reef
• Racing supercars from the past, present, and future
• Breaking a speed record with an amphibious car
• Creating a path through the Highlands

In Season 1, Episode 9 of “The Grand Tour,” Jeremy Clarkson “sympathetically marries” the chassis and drivetrain of a Mk 1 Land Rover Discovery with the admittedly lovely body of an R107 Mercedes-Benz SL. “The Excellent,” as Clarkson deemed it, is an exciting prospect. I’m afraid it was less than spectacular in execution. 

Creating a coral reef didn’t go so well for the ambitious trio at ‘The Grand Tour’

Season 1, Episode 10 pits Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May against the clear, aquamarine waters of Barbados. They had a bizarre mission: sink bare-metal husks of popular cars to jumpstart a coral reef ecosystem. As expected, everything goes wrong, and the team ends up accomplishing very little of their mission.

‘The Grand Tour’ had no shortage of supercars, but these three demonstrate diversity

“The Grand Tour” starts with a hypercar holy trinity in the pilot. However, season 2, episode 1 begins with an automotive juxtaposition: a strictly gas-powered Lamborghini Aventador S, a hybrid Honda NSX, and a fully-electric Rimac Concept One. It’s a delightful dichotomy, right up until Hammond tragically crashes the million-dollar Rimac. Unfortunately, it isn’t the first time Hammond has had a potentially deadly crash .

‘The Grand Tour’ broke a speed record on the water

In the ninth episode of season 2, Clarkson, Hammond, and May cannibalize several vehicles to create an amphibious car. Not only that, but the trio have to take their creation to Coniston Water in England’s lake district. The site is itself famous; it’s where Donald Campbell died attempting to break a speed record in 1967. Luckily, the team emerged victorious, if also silly-looking.  

Carving a path through the Highlands is a gorgeous scene

In season 3, episode 7, the team heads to the Scottish Highlands to attempt the North Coast 500. Instead, they decide to turn the trip into a lesson in laziness and shorten their route. Still, it’s breathtaking views from start to finish, and Clarkson’s Alfa Romeo GTV6 prompts you to stifle your common sense. 

It’s understandable, though. I have to advise against attempting the NC500 without ample time. I took to the Highlands aboard a 750cc Suzuki motorcycle without factoring in weather and time. Rookie mistake. That said, the parts of the NC500 that I traversed were nothing short of stunning.

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Erik Sherman

Erik Sherman joined the MotorBiscuit team as an Autos Writer in 2022. An admitted petrolhead and an avid motorcyclist, Erik has owned everything from classic cars to motorcycles to modern driver’s cars. Erik also has extensive experience with military and emergency vehicles, ranging from ambulances and fire engines to MRAPs and M-ATVs. Erik is an eager car and motorcycle reviewer with experience covering everything from sports cars to pontoon boats and jet skis.

Erik holds a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations (IRG) from the University of Texas at Austin and has studied Chinese, Energy, and European Politics at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. Erik’s background is unorthodox; he is a United States Marine Corps (USMC) combat veteran, water survival practitioner, and a former firefighter/EMT. Additionally, Erik is a regular volunteer and former instructor with the American Red Cross (ARC).

‘The Grand Tour’ Recap and Reaction: Dumb Fight At The O.K. Coral

Being as outspoken as he is, we were all fairly surprised to see Clarkson behave himself in Germany in the previous episode. But thrust him into the proverbial powderkeg of America and he has some fairly sedate opinions about music. There is some inevitable poking at Drumpf – and his disgusting grope terms – before turning to the unbelievable fad of smoking. Some Americans remove all the filters from cars to pump out the maximum amount of pollution. You know, because they can.

The Alfa Romeo Giulia

James and Richard have been arguing over if the BMW M3 is better than the cheaper Jaguar XS. Neither is willing to let Jeremy voice an opinion with the new Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio. Determined to get down and sort out their argument, Hammond and May set route to Scotland. Childish as he is old – and Clarkson is getting on a bit – Jeremy goes to Wales with all the film crews.

According to Clarkson Logic, all Alfa Romeo’s must have problems. For the Giulia, it appears that the front doors are set too far forward and not being as pleasing to look at as some other cars. But with carbon fibre throughout, a 2.9-litre V6 engine and 500 horsepower, looks don’t really matter. The Giulia is a veritable masterpiece with a top speed of 191 MPH. It also is very comfortable to run at most speeds in most modes. Before he can try out the ‘race’ mode, two very irate presenters call up asking after their missing film crew.

Feigning poor signal, the call is buttoned as Clarkson engages ‘race’ mode around the Grand Tour track. According to the mad driver, it is somewhat like taking a watch to space – knowing you probably won’t need it, but love that it would work. Giving it to The American for a drive around their Eboladrome – being called so for the first time since The Grand Tour began – it comes in at 1.27.1 on a wet lap. This either proves wet laps slow down cars or the Giulia is rubbish. Maybe both.

Conversation Street

With this week’s title card showing a distinctly smaller Hammond for their little joke, Jeremy immediately jumps back to Alfa’s only to be quickly shot down in favour of pickup trucks. Hammond is fully onboard – being a spiritual hill-billy. But the UK hasn’t embraced pickups, with the dramatically unsecured boots. It occurs to the presenters that the US simply shots anyone robbing them.

There is also the much-understated problem of modern cars. Over the past six decades, cars have gone from being glorious and beautiful to functional and ugly. Aerodynamics and efficiency have their parts but why was beauty kicked to the kerb?

Coral Reefs

With pollution slowly choking the planet and endangering coral reefs the world over, The Grand Tour has decided to see how they can undo the damage. Thirty-eight years ago, the government of Barbados sank a ship in order to regrow coral and it is working. But what if they used old cars? Buying five old cars, The Grand Tour stripped out anything not recyclable metal to dump into the sea to do the same trick. Getting them out to sea will be Jeremy’s job. But instead of overcompensating – which he usually does – the five thousand dollars could only net him a tiny skiff.

The first car falls into the sea after Hammond accidentally pulls the release rope, believing it to be a guide rope. In their new take – with four cars – the car is attached to their boat. Unfortunately, the weight of their coral base forces the boat to sink.

For your entertainment, The Grand Tour will now use three stripped down cars to form the base for coral reefs. Hiring a barge with attached crane, the cars will be towed on a specially-built raft. They will then be secured by the Grand Tour ‘s lead diver. Dressed in antique equipment, James is abandoned to secure the cars as the other two enjoy a sunny afternoon. After James returns with complaints that the drifting boat dragged him away, Jeremy is forced to secure the cars himself. Despite some bad signs, he apparently does well.

Celebrity Brain Crash

Continuing with their train of high-profile celebrities, The Grand Tour has somehow roped in led singer of ACDC, Brian Johnson. But after being thrown a ball, Johnson is trampled by a bunch of wussy little men who think they are playing ‘football’. Too upset to process the death, the Grand Tour presenters can only argue the names of ‘football’ and ‘soccer’ with the audience. It somehow ends with the audience taking over the tent and three men surrendering their pride to survive.

The next morning, circumstances have failed to improve. Instead of securing the cars properly, Clarkson has somehow left them adrift and they made shore. Attempts to relocate them back to the designated site only end with them being thrown from the hotel and then having the boat un-loaned from them. Reduced to one shell, drastic measures are taken.

Adapting the Land Rover to float, it is attached to a jet ski driven by Clarkson and slowly towed towards the dumping spot. That is until a hydrosail forces his pride to a race and he abandons his comrades for several hours. Eventually returning, they finally manage to get their last hope to the site and sink it properly – with harpoons and knives. The Grand Tour crew took such delight in filming in the Caribbean that they decided to go out and film another episode there next week. But their producer had already arranged for them to go to France and drive about in the rain.

Observations

• Considering the long and bickering history of the three, a surprise race between the M3, XS and Giulia was more expected than simply cutting out the other two cars.
• There has been a long tradition of Clarkson, Hammond and May’s more ambitious ideas failing. Bur this one might actually work – eventually.
• Sorry America, you are wrong. Nobody plays your wussy rugby rip-off except your pathetic little whiners who have to wear armour to avoid hurting their feelings. Let them play rugby, a real sport. [ Editor’s Note: Be nice, Graham ]
• In just a few decades, the Land Rover will be the centre of a mass of coral and marine life. Nice one, Grand Tour .

Dumb Fight at the O.K. Coral

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• 1.2 Track Test
• 1.3 Conversation Street
• 1.4 Celebrity Brain Crash
• 1.5 Tent Location
• 2 Cars featured

Synopsis [ ]

The presenters then travel to Barbados to solve the problem of dying corals by dumping five car body shells into the ocean. The first attempt is disastrous, as they lose two cars and the boat they were attempting to load them on to. Because they had sunk the cars in the harbour used by cruise ships, they are asked to leave by the authorities.

Constructing a raft and hiring a crane boat, they manage to drop two cars into the reef site, and May is assigned to anchor them down while Clarkson and Hammond go jet skiing. When they discover that May was unable to anchor the cars down, Clarkson dives in and welds them to the sea bed.

Back in Barbados, the presenters discover that the cars have washed back into the beach. In their attempt to get the cars back into the sea, their raft is disintegrated. After May unsuccessfully uses a bulldozer to pull the cars back to the harbour, Clarkson uses their crane boat to pull them back into the ocean before they are kicked out of the hotel premises. The next morning, they pull a Land Rover into the ocean before Clarkson ditches his partners to chase an MOD70-class trimaran. They eventually reach the reef site and sink the Land Rover.

Track Test [ ]

Clarkson drives the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio in Wales, before testing its speed around the Eboladrome .

Conversation Street [ ]

Sting: The presenters are standing, with Hammond at a significantly smaller height.

Clarkson brings up the Alfa Romeo Stelvio, much to the annoyance of Hammond. Then the trio discuss why the pickup truck never caught up in the U.K. Also, they talk about the decline of American automotive design. During the conversation, Clarkson brings up an awkward moment at the airport when May mentioned that his jacket smelled of old record players.

Celebrity Brain Crash [ ]

Back in the tent, the presenters introduce Celebrity Brain Crash with former AC/DC vocalist Brian Johnson. On the way to the tent, he is tackled and trampled to death by football players. This leads to the presenters and the audience having a bit of a disagreement about the meaning of the word "football".

Tent Location [ ]

The tent is in Nashville, Tennessee facing the Cumberland River.

Cars featured [ ]

This is the second time, the presenters have a fight with the audience, ending with them chanting 'USA'. The first is in The Holy Trinity .

• 1 Hammond's Rimac Crash
• 2 Mike Skinner

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• The Grand Tour
• The Best Grand Tour Episodes

The Best Episodes of The Grand Tour

With 23 episodes from The Grand Tour Series 1 & 2 available to stream on Amazon Prime, now is a great time to rank all of the episodes available so far to see which is best. The list below is a direct result of hundreds of votes placed through our site by you, fans of The Grand Tour!

There were a few surprise results here, so without further ado let’s get into it!

1. S02, E09 – ‘Breaking, badly’

Richard Hammond and James May attempt to set a new British water speed record for amphibious cars. A staggering 85 percent of all people who try to break records on water are killed but this doesn’t put off Clarkson, Hammond and May as they set about building their own road legal machine from an unholy union of car, boat and jet engine and then use it to spear across the choppy waters of a vast lake during something called “Coniston Speed Week”. Rated 9.9/10.

2. S02, E10 – ‘Oh, Canada’

Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May reluctantly agree to test three SUVs in the rugged landscapes of Canada. Clarkson in the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio, Hammond in the Porsche Macan Turbo Performance Pack and May in the Range Rover Velar. The boys will test their cars’ sporting side at a race track and their utilitarian side with some enormous dogs, before ending in an epic race across the snowy mountains. Rated 9.8/10.

3. S02, E02 – ‘The Falls Guys’

Jeremy Clarkson drives the all-new, 647 horsepower Ford GT from New York city to Niagara Falls, a trip that is made more challenging by the car’s uncompromising, racing-car-for-the-road design and by James May who, using only public transportation, is trying to beat Jeremy to the finish line. Rated 9.4/10.

4. S02, E03 – ‘Bah humbug-atti’

Jeremy Clarkson asks if Europe’s glamour set still need their jets and helicopters to fulfil a busy day of breakfasting in St Tropez, skiing in the Alps and dining in Turin or if they’d be better off with a car. And it’s not just any car because he’s testing the new, 1,479 horsepower Bugatti Chiron with an epic cross-Europe dash. Rated 9.4/10.

5. S01, E13 – Past v Future

Clarkson compares his Volkswagen Golf GTI to May’s BMW i3 with a drag race at an airstrip and a road trip from London to Dartmoor to attend a Roger Daltrey and Wilko Johnson concert. Clarkson and Hammond make May hang out with “winchers” who drive their 4x4s deep into mud. Rated 9.4/10.

6. S01, E06 – Happy Finnish Christmas

Hammond welcomes the new right-hand-drive Ford Mustang GT and gives it a tour of London and Stonehenge before Clarkson arrives and proceeds to argue that Mustang has no place in Britain and that the Ford Focus RS is a better option. Meanwhile, May talks about the historic 24 Hours of Le Mans rivalry between Ford and Ferrari, which gave birth to the Ford GT40 and the Ferrari P3. Rated 9.3/10.

7. S02, E07 – ‘It’s a gas, gas, gas’

Richard Hammond and James May work out that the average motorist loses 36 days of their lives filling up with fuel. The pair vow to do something about it using their skill and ingenuity to invent a system for filling up on the move. Rated 9.2/10.

8. S02, E01 – ‘Past, Present, or Future’

Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May compare a V12-powered Lamborghini Aventador S, a hybrid Honda NSX and an all-electric Croatian supercar called the Rimac Concept One in a battle of past, present and future, set against the dramatic and car-unfriendly backdrop of Switzerland. Rated 9.2/10.

9. S02, E06 – ‘Jaaaaaaaags’

Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May set out to prove that old Jaguars are not only stylish and roguish but also strong and reliable with a road trip across Colorado. Along the way, they set laps around a punishing dirt track and test 0-100-0 performance at America’s highest commercial airport before embarking on one of the most perilous challenges they’ve ever attempted.  Rated 8.9/10.

10. S02, E08 – ‘Blasts from the Past’

Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond visit some evocative old motorsport locations in Europe using a pair of re-born 1950s sports cars, painstakingly rebuilt by their manufacturers to the original designs. With Clarkson in the Aston Martin DB4 GT lightweight and Hammond in the Jaguar XKSS, the pair start their adventure on the street circuit in Pau, France before their fun is interrupted by the arrival of James May in a modern Honda Civic Type R which he insists is better in every way. Rated 8.9/10.

11. S01, E12 – [Censored] to [Censored]

The presenters travel to Wank, Germany, where May in a Bentley Bentayga, Clarkson in a Range Rover, and Hammond in a Jaguar F-Pace plan a road trip on the Romantic Road via Kissing, Bavaria, then Petting, Bavaria, to Fucking, Austria. After passing Landsberg Prison and staying overnight in Fucking, Clarkson and Hammond suggest to May that they should skip Wedding (Berlin) and head for the Nürburgring instead. Rated 8.9/10.

12. S01, E03 – Opera, Art and Donuts

The presenters go “Grand Touring” in Italy with May in the Rolls-Royce Dawn, Clarkson in the Aston Martin DB11 and Hammond in the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat. Clarkson and May’s tour starts at the Palio di Siena horse race, before viewing The Birth of Venus painting at Uffizi Gallery in Florence. Clarkson and Hammond race each other the Mugello Circuit. Rated 8.9/10.

13. S02, E05 – ‘Up, down and round the farm’

Jeremy Clarkson decides to make one of those Ken Block-style car skidding videos that are very popular on the internet using an old Subaru and a suitable swathe of English farmland. His endeavours are swiftly dismantled by Richard Hammond and James May who are on hand in the studio tent to reveal some of the embarrassing behind-the-scenes footage. Rated 8.8/10.

14. S01, E05 – Morroccan Roll

To settle an argument over the best sports car, the presenters go to Marrakech, Morocco to compare the Mazda MX-5, the Zenos E10S and the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider. During the road trip Clarkson suddenly pulls over due to a leg cramp while driving the 4C. Later, he challenges Hammond and May to weigh their cars to prove that the 4C is lighter, using an improvised scale and animal carcasses as counterweight. Rated 8.8/10.

15. S01, E07&08 – The Beach (Buggy) Boys

The presenters are set a challenge by their producer, Andy Wilman, who wishes to show that beach buggies are poor vehicles. Their challenge is to drive one thousand miles (1,600 km) along Namibia’s Skeleton Coast in three beach buggies, each built to their personal specifications but all derived from the Volkswagen Beetle. Rated 8.7/10.

16. S01, E01 – The Holy Trinity

In this very first episode of The Grand Tour , Clarkson, Hammond and May testing three hybrid hypercars; the McLaren P1, Porsche 918 and Ferrari LaFerrari at the Algarve International Circuit in Portugal. Rated 8.5/10.

17. S01, E09 – Berks To The Future

The tent is within the courtyard of Ludwigsburg Palace, where Clarkson praises Germany as the “cradle of the automobile.” May reviews the new Honda NSX. Clarkson fuses the body of a 1978 MGB Roadster with the chassis of a Land Rover Discovery to make a “proper” sport utility vehicle, but when the MG body falls off, he replaces it with a 1980s Mercedes-Benz SL. Rated 8.5/10.

18. S01, E02 – Operation Desert Stumble

Producer Andy Wilman sends the presenters to the King Abdullah II Special Operations Training Centre (KASOTC) outside Amman, Jordan for a SAS-style military training exercise. Rated 8.3/10.

19. S01, E10 – Dumb Fight at the O.K. Coral

The presenters then travel to Barbados to solve the problem of dying corals by dumping five car body shells into the ocean, but they lose two cars and a fishing boat on their first attempt before they are forced out of the premises by authorities. They manage to drop two cars into the reef site, and May is assigned to anchor them down while Clarkson and Hammond go jet skiing. Rated 8.0/10.

20. S01, E11 – Italian Lessons

To prove that a second-hand Maserati priced under £8,000 are a better buy than a Ford Focus, the presenters travel to Circuit de Croix-en-Ternois in France for a series of tests with Clarkson’s Biturbo S Coupé, Hammond’s 430 Saloon, and May’s Zagato Spyder. Because May injured his right arm prior to the challenge, he bought an automatic variant. The presenters then embark on a road trip through Northern France. Rated 8.0/10.

21. S01, E04 – Enviro-mental

The presenters travel to South Wales and set out to make the most environmentally friendly car bodies using the platform of a Land Rover Discovery. They take an 11 mile road trip to a dirt track, where they race against three normal cars. The idea of environmentally friendly car bodies is abandoned after Clarkson’s meat car is infested with maggots, Hammond’s garden car catches fire, and May’s mud and hay car falls apart. Rated 7.8/10.

22. S02, E04 – ‘Unscripted’

Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May attempt to show what would happen if  The Grand Tour  made a completely unscripted film with no pre-arranged locations, no set-up stunts, and no planned incidents. All they agree is that the starting point will be in Croatia, where Jeremy arrives in an Audi TT RS, while Richard turns up with a not-at-all-comparable Ariel Nomad. What follows is a demonstration of why some kind of script is generally a good thing. Rated 6.3/10.

23. S02 Mini-Special – ‘Feed the World’

In this mini-special, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May take it upon themselves to try and end world hunger with an incredible journey across Mozambique. The three notice that people in the coastal regions of this country are well-fed on the bountiful supplies of fish from the ocean, while those in the interior exist on the brink of hunger. Their solution is to find a way to transport that fish inland but, predictably, they cannot agree on the best method to do this. Rated 5.7/10.

Were you surprised where some of your favourite episodes ended up? Let us know in the comments below!

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Top gear: series 25 episode 2 preview, related posts, ‘funeral for a ford’ – the grand tour series 3 episode 14 preview, ‘survival of the fattest’ – the grand tour series 3 episode 13 preview, ‘legends and luggage’ – the grand tour series 3 episode 12 preview, james may is our man in…japan, ‘sea to unsalty sea’ – the grand tour series 3 episode 11 preview, ‘the youth vote’ – the grand tour series 3 episode 10 preview.

Eres un figura… Gracias, Un saludo

Mozambique last !? This was for me the best and funniest of all the episodes!

I thought enviro-mental was one of the highlights in season one,although what James built was stupid and just not funny.They should re-do that episode except this time they all follow Richard Hammond’s concept idea.

Really disappointed with the mini special, was looking forward to it all series, think next time they should do a normal 2hr special cos that 1 was rubbish an just felt rushed :/

Yeah so was I to be honest. I wonder if carting around such a large crew puts a limit on how far they can go or what they’re able to do.

feels like all they do is talking while driving. usually we would’ve see them detour, buying souvenirs, ‘upgrading’ their vehicles, enjoying the view, etcetera etcetera

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The Grand Tour episode 12 is the best in the series so far

By Ally Heath

The Grand Tour episode 12, coming again from the shores of Loch Ness , focused its attention on a three-way comparison between a trio of British SUVs. An excellent film consisting of the new Jaguar F-Pace, the huge Bentley Bentayga and the ever-present Range Rover .

They weave their way between Austria and Germany, enjoying a route through sleazy towns whose names they might struggle with during their BBC reign, but under their own license, they relish in being naughty. Their lustful journey starts at "Wank" which Jeremy pronounces dutifully using the German enunciation, of "Vank" and they head onto the town of "Fucking". You can sense the teenager still living in all of them – trying not to chuckle, like the day in the back of the classroom when they discovered there was a place in France called "Brest".

Read more: Clarkson stands up for women in the Grand Tour episode 11

It's an interesting trio of cars and they are happy partners in a joyous combined test. The film is enjoyable, the company is entertaining, and the final race between them is stunningly shot and invigorating to watch.

Each of the three cars are fascinating cars in their own way and seeing them on the same scale makes them all the more intriguing. It's worth noting that the top spec F-Pace Hammond drives is cheaper than the extras alone on James' Bentayga.

Read more: The Bentley Bentayga is a £140,000 luxury dune smasher

The engine of the mighty Bentayga is a almighty 6.0 W12 complete with twin turbos. Despite weighing well over two tonnes, it builds speed at a remarkable rate. Slice that engine in half and you have the dimensions of the Jaguar, a 3 litre V6 growler with a supercharger. With aluminium weight saving applied to the Jag’s chassis, it's seriously quick and nimble too. Power and speed is one thing, but little prepares you for seeing these beasts fly and achieve air during their wonderful racing laps.

The Bentayga at first seemed like a clumsy accident, but as GQ accurately predicted at the time of its launch, the Bentley seems to have grown into it.

Read more: The ultimate weekend getaway: Polo at Coworth Park with a classic Range Rover

However, the other two wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the success of the old Range Rover. Let’s not forget, the Range Rover wasn’t designed to attractive a wealthy elite and footballers who wanted chic, understated luxury and prowess on the road – it just happened that those audiences decided to love it anyway. And so all the competitors followed, trying to get a slice of the same audience, now they knew what that audience liked.

This is why the Range Rover is the real winner. It was designed not for a target audience, but for a purpose. To climb any mountain and ford any stream, without sacrificing any comfort or ability on the road. It’s the original. It’s stayed true to its ethos and really can achieve anything off-road, as the Grand Tour trio demonstrated.

Read more Grand Tour episode reviews

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Dumb Fight at the O.K. Coral | The Grand Tour Season 1 – Episode Guide, Recap & Fun Facts

[column size=one_half position=first ][button color=”red” size=”big” alignment=”none” rel=”follow” openin=”samewindow” URL=www.grandtournation.com/thegrandtour/season1/episode9] ←EPISODE 9[/button][/column][column size=one_half position=last ][button color=”red” size=”big” alignment=”none” rel=”follow” openin=”samewindow” URL=www.grandtournation.com/thegrandtour/season1/episode11]EPISODE 11 →[/button][/column]

For this episode the tent is sat in Nashville. Clarkson drives the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio before the trio attempts to save the coral reef.

They start the show by showing that the majority of cars driven in Nashville are Japanese, and how all but Jeremy love the music.

They then discuss coal rolling and show some footage.

Clarkson Reviews The Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio

He travels to Wales to review the new Alfa sports saloon in which he begins by saying the car must have faults to be an Alfa. It has a big one – the seat is right beside the B-pillar which makes it very difficult to enter and exit. This is a good thing, as it shows it has human imperfections.

He loves the engine (which is very Ferrari-esque) but before he could test it on a track, Hammond rings him from Scotland asking where the film crew is.

Clarkson arrives at the Eboladrome and praises it even further before it’s taken around the track by The American. It did a 1:27.1 wet lap.

Conversation Street

Clarkson begins by talking about the Alfa Romeo Stelvio, Alfa’s new SUV. Then, because they’re in America, they show multiple photos of the best selling vehicle in the state, the Ford Raptor. From this, they talk about how a pickup truck isn’t actually overly practical because of its size and weight, and things put in the back are stolen in the UK.

After this, they discuss how good American muscle cars are to look at, even though they aren’t overly good to drive. They wonder what will be in car museums in 40 years.

James May brings up how the Nurburgring will be banning manufacturers from doing timed laps. He’s happy about this as cars which are set up specifically to get a good time on the’Ring won’t be good on the road.

The Trio Solve The Coral Issue

The presenters travel to Barbados where they set out to solve the issue of dying Coral by submerging car shells under the water for marine life to grow on and around.

Firstly they try to use a fishing boat to do this, but this fails. They do manage to drop two cars in the water and James May is asked to anchor them down while Hammond and Clarkson go jet skiing. May fails, so Clarkson dives down to the cars and welds them to the sea bed.

This fails as well as the cars are fond on the beach the next day. May uses a bulldozer to a crane before they’re kicked out of their hotel.

The next day they successfully put a Land Rover under the sea while Clarkson chases after a trimaran.

Celebrity Brain Crash

Brian Johnson gets trampled by a team of footballers before the audience argues over the meaning of ‘football’.

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The Grand Tour

Jeremy, Richard and James embark on an adventure across the globe, driving new and exciting automobiles from manufacturers all over the world. Jeremy, Richard and James embark on an adventure across the globe, driving new and exciting automobiles from manufacturers all over the world. Jeremy, Richard and James embark on an adventure across the globe, driving new and exciting automobiles from manufacturers all over the world.

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Episodes 46

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Did you know

• Trivia The opening scene cost 3.4 million dollars to produce. In total 150 cars participated, worth 26 million dollars.
• Connections Featured in Good Morning Britain: Episode dated 18 November 2016 (2016)
• Soundtracks Pumpin' Irony (uncredited) Performed by Blues Saraceno

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Last Defence Line Moscow - Memorial "Ezhi"

• Second World War (1939-1945)
• Novoskhodnenskoye sh., Khimki
• Russia Moscow Khimki

This memorial marks the line where the German Army could advance the furthest during its December 1941 offensive on Moscow, before the German attack was stopped by strong Soviet resistance.

Do you have more information about this location? Inform us!

• Text: Kaj Metz
• Photos: Wikimedia Commons

Where is it?

Helaas geen map gevonden.

55.912938, 37.402866

Point of interest

Fortification.

Looking for reliable information or news facts about WW2? Do you want to create your own battlefield tour to sights of wars from the past? Or are you interested in war medals and their recipients? TracesOfWar.com tells you more!

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St Petersburg and Moscow 6-Day Grand Tour

• 2 days of professional guide service in each city (English, Spanish, French languages are available)
• 1 day of a/c vehicle with driver in Moscow ( 8 hrs)
• 1,5 days of a/c vehicle with driver in St.Petersburg (12 hrs)
• Arrival & departure transfers in both cities
• Visa Support (if required)
• Rail ticket Moscow - St Petersburg (economy+ class)
• Entry/Admission - Saint Basil's Cathedral
• Entry/Admission - Armoury Chamber
• Entry/Admission - Moscow Metro
• Entry/Admission - The State Hermitage Museum
• Entry/Admission - Peter and Paul Fortress
• Entry/Admission - Catherine Palace and Park
• Entry/Admission - Peterhof State Museum Preserve
• Food and drinks
• Accommodation (can be arranged individually upon request)
• Your driver will meet you holding a sign with your name on it and/or the logo of ULKO Tours, so you will be able to easily recognize it.
• Sheremetyevo - A.S. Pushkin international airport, Khimki, Moscow Oblast, Russia, 141400
• Moscow Domodedovo Mikhail Lomonosov Airport, Gorod Domodedovo, Moscow Oblast, Russia
• Vnukovo International Airport, Moscow, Russia
• Not wheelchair accessible
• Children must be accompanied by an adult
• For children 2-6 there is a flat fee of 75 USD per child. Children under 2 are FREE if they do not occupy a seat on the train. Please inform your tour provider if you have any children in your party.
• A current valid passport is required on the day of travel
• Passport name, number, expiry and country is required at time of booking for all participants
• A minimum of 2 people per booking is required
• No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
• Travelers should have a strong physical fitness level
• This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
• If you cancel at least 7 days in advance of the scheduled departure, there is no cancellation fee.
• If you cancel between 3 and 6 day(s) in advance of the scheduled departure, there is a 50 percent cancellation fee.
• If you cancel within 2 days of the scheduled departure, there is a 100 percent cancellation fee.

• Shari F 0 contributions 1.0 of 5 bubbles Don't Believe Them The same thing happened to us as with Daniel S (Aug 2022 review). They took our $400 deposit and when Covid hit and our cruise was cancelled they were the only ones who did not provide a refund. They said the same thing "we used the money for other tours". Instead of holding the deposit in escrow they were robbing Peter to pay Paul. They claim we can use it for a future tour so we can't get a reimbursement from travel insurance. Read more Written October 26, 2022
• L9558EXdaniels 0 contributions 1.0 of 5 bubbles Don’t believe their terms and conditions They basically stole our money. Paid in advance for a tour in September 2020 that had terms and conditions stating that if the cruise didn’t run they would give us a full refund. I spent well over a year asking for that refund only to have them declare they had spent our money on other tours and couldn’t refund us. Then they made it difficult to claim the money on our insurance by refusing to state they were never giving our money back. Avoid at all costs! Read more Written August 10, 2022
• Harry M 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Hermitage 4 hour tour. Ekaterina my tour guide for my Hermitage Museum trip was brilliant! The taxi I called didn't arrive and I was half an hour late but I managed to phone Ekaterina and she waited patiently in the cold for me to arrive. She is mind of information and very knowledgeable about the history of St Petersburg and spoke perfect English. I would have been lost without her assistance and she even arranged for a taxi to pick me up and take me back to the hotel. I would recommend this tour 100% ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐👍 Read more Written September 29, 2021
• MikeReedWords 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles A fantastic private tour of the city We had a wonderful tour of St Petersburg with Marina. She was a wonderful guide: friendly, cheerful and hugely knowledgable. She collected us promptly at our hotel and we spent a full day discovering the key sights of the city – a perfect introduction that we could never have managed alone. She told us a huge amount about the city, its history and its place in the wider story of Russia. The tour was built around us and what we wanted to do, and Marina and the excellent driver helped make sure we got back a little early as we were heading out for the evening. A magical day! Read more Written February 19, 2020
• abhiami 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Good insight into St Petersburg We booked a 6 hr guide for a private tour of St Petersburg. Our guide Julia was informative, attentive and also looked after our 7 year old . We had a great tour learning the Russian history related to Petersburg. Would highly recommend it. Read more Written January 1, 2020
• EmilyRoseLa 0 contributions 3.0 of 5 bubbles 5 stars for the guide! Our guide was wonderful, knowledgeable, and very sweet. She knew so much about the imperialists and could answer our questions as well as give us a summary of what we were seeing, how it fit into history and the timeline of the royals, and lots of interesting, funny anecdotes! This company however is unorganized. They gave us a meeting point and then gave our guide another meeting point, so we were both waiting on opposite sides of the river at the appointed time and we lost about a half hour of the tour while getting things sorted. I tried calling the number (we had a Russian SIM card and everything) but there was no answer. We ended up finding another tour guide from ULKO Tours who was with a different group and asking him to call a contact person. In the end it sounds like there was some internal misunderstandings due to a change in employees, but that didn't give us our half hour back. Again, the tour guide herself was wonderful and if this company has sorted its issues, I would highly recommend it! Read more Written December 10, 2019
• boogiecat 0 contributions 3.0 of 5 bubbles Very touristy - appalling behavior from large tour group The performers are undeniably talented but this is definitely an experience geared toward foreign tourists. There was a very large tour group from another country at the show and some of those individuals were openly arguing during the performance in their native language which ruined some of it. There was also some dreadful behavior during the break for snacks with people leaving used glasses and half-eaten food on the tables where the food was being served from which was terribly unsanitary. I don't blame the folk show for the bad behavior but Americans or Western Europeans beware. Other reviews had hinted at the problems with the large tour groups and I didn't realize how bad it would be. The Russian performers deserve 5 stars -- excellent, so talented. The foreign tourists visiting Russia - 0 stars for appalling behavior. Read more Written November 14, 2019
• kwanleon 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Private guided tour in St. Petersburg We spent two day with this tour company, both days they show up on time, very profesional, nice and friendly, never rush for time. I highly recommend this tour is you going to St. Petersburg. Read more Written November 13, 2019
• WendyChen528 0 contributions 4.0 of 5 bubbles Excellent Response Time We organized a couple of private tours with this company over the emails, and they have been extremely responsive and professional in dealings with us. Read more Written October 24, 2019
• tustinfarm 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles St. Petersburg Day Tour Natalya (tour guide) met my wife and I on board our ship at 9:30 am and directed us to a comfortable, four-door sedan driven by Sergei. We visited the St. Peter and Paul Cathedral and the Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood in the morning and then had a delightful lunch with Natalya and Sergei at the Vodka Room No. 1 restaurant. In the afternoon, we visited the Russian Ethnographic Museum and the Faberge Museum. Natalya personally guided us to and through the churches and museums and was very informative. We the enjoyed the friendliness of both Natalya and Sergei and their willingness to answer all of our questions about daily life in Russia. We returned safely to our ship by 5:30 pm. Our day tour of St. Petersburg was one we will fondly remember! Read more Written October 22, 2019
• Juan J 0 contributions 3.0 of 5 bubbles just fine language problems ti find good fluent speakers in other tongue than English. This made the tour somewhat heavy for us. Even thought Riga is a brilliant beautiful city to tour around Read more Written October 18, 2019
• barb m 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles AMAZING Our guide Elena, was amazing. We couldn't have asked for a more informative, pleasant, helpful guide. We would most certainly recommend ULKO Tours to anyone thinking of visiting St. Petersburg on a cruise. We saw so much and enjoyed the Russian meals that were added to our tour and all at a much better price than through the cruise line. Thank you for sharing your city with us. Read more Written October 17, 2019
• BKE9 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Choose your own adventure! With your ideas and this company’s expertise, this will be the best tour you’ve ever taken!!(Especially if you have Julia as your guide and Artem as your driver) This company impressed us long before the tour. Anton in the office answered my countless questions via email beforehand. They also make sure they have all the paperwork in place for you. We had an overview of the city our first day in St. Petersburg(different company) and wanted to focus on every day living for our choice day. Our list included the subway, a grocery store, schools and getting outside of the city. What made Julia different from other guides we’ve had is that she tried to get to know us so she could accommodate our wishes. We had a few gaps and she was able to fill them perfectly. Better yet, she also let us get to know her. Julia is a wealth of information but we didn’t feel like we’ve been to a college lecture. She allowed for questions and conversation along the way. The other thing we appreciated was that our guide and driver were in sync. We had been with tours where the guide and driver didn’t agree on the route to be taken and it was very uncomfortable. Artem was an excellent driver. Rush hour traffic, bathroom stop...? No problem! When it was all over, my sister said to me “I like Julia so much I’d love to have her come visit and stay with me in the US.” I felt the same way. We left feeling we had a friend in St. Petersburg. Read more Written October 16, 2019
• osm8601 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Lovely night It was such a pleasure to find this musical performance in St. Petersburg. We were able to enjoy various forms of music during the tour. Highly recommended if you like to listen to classical music. Read more Written October 15, 2019
• Departure65727247107 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Excelleur with ULKO and Lisa Our experience with ULKO tours in Russia was our second tour with ULKO. We booked through Viator in Berlin and it was an ULKO tour as well. We were extremely pleased with both tours. Small groups and excellent tour guides. Our 2-day St Petersburg Russia tour with guide Lisa was so very educational and her knowledge very advanced. The sites were well timed and the 2 Russian lunches were authentic and very good. Our experience left us with a very good overview of St Petersburg and Russia's history. We were on NCL Getaway and we watched large NCL excursions loading buses while 14 of us took our ULKO tour. Processing through Customs was smooth with our ULKO trip vouchers. We highly recommend using ULKO for your Baltic excursions. Berlin/Sachsenhausen was also of very high quality. There isn't much time to stop for any local souvenir shopping so plan on your tour being mostly busy and site filled. Read more Written October 14, 2019

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

St Petersburg and Moscow 6-Day Grand Tour provided by ULKOtours

Moscow - Russian Rivers and Waterways Port of Call

Moscow is a wonderful city to visit, and travelers on river ship cruise tours to or from St. Petersburg spend a few days in Moscow . This capital city of Russia was our last port on a river cruise tour, and we had about four days to see most of the highlights. Our first day we did an overview driving tour and rode the subway under the Mockba (Moscow) River to Red Square. The next day we toured the State Armory and the Kremlin.

These photos show some of the other highlights you can see with three or four days in Moscow .

The Northern River Terminal is located on the Moscow Canal in the northwest section of Moscow at the Khimki Reservoir.

Most river cruise ships sailing between Moscow and St. Petersburg use the ship as a hotel while in Moscow. Because of traffic, it's often a long drive into the city, but the sights along the way are interesting, and you only have to unpack once for the river cruise.

View of Downtown Moscow from Sparrow Hills

Sparrow Hills is the best place to get a great panoramic view of Moscow. The Sparrow Hills overlook the Mockba River and are near Moscow State University.

Novodevichy Convent in Moscow

Novodevichy Convent in Moscow was founded in 1524, and was once used as a sort of prison for the unwanted wives and sisters of the Tsars. Peter the Great sent both his first wife and his sister to Novodevichy. Since the convent had such famous nuns, it was very wealthy due to the many donations of the Tsars and their families. At one time in the 1700s, the cloister had over 36,000 serfs working in 36 villages. Novodevichy was ravaged by the French armies in 1812, but the brave nuns saved the buildings by disarming the fuses set to blow them up. The Soviets wanted to make the convent into a museum in the early 1920s, but it was again saved.

Novodevichy also has a cemetery with the graves of many famous Russians, including Nikita Khrushchev, Anton Chekhov, Raisa Gorbachev, and Yuri Nikulin.

View of the Mockba River in Moscow, Russia

The Mockba (Moscow) River runs into the Volga via the 79.5 mile long Moscow Canal.

River ships sailing between Moscow and St. Petersburg on the Baltic Waterways embark and disembark at the Northern River Terminal about an hour's drive from the city. The drive time can vary significantly in length because of the heavy Moscow traffic. The river looks peaceful here, as it winds around the cosmopolitan area of Moscow.

Cathedral of Christ the Redeemer (Cathedral of Christ the Savior) in Moscow

The Cathedral of Christ the Redeemer, also known as the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, is the largest church in Russia, holding 10,000 worshipers.

The original Cathedral of Christ the Savior was built over 44 years to celebrate the 1812 victory over Napoleon. It was completed in 1883. Stalin had the church destroyed in 1931, but it was rebuilt using mostly private funds in 1999. The new church is a replica of the original. Note that it took 44 years the first time and only 4 years the second to complete the church! Isn't modern technology impressive.

One interesting tidbit is that it took three attempts to blow up the church in 1931. Stalin planned to build a huge Palace of the Soviets on the cleared land, but engineers determined that the land was too boggy. In the 60 years intervening, the space was used for a variety of things, including a year-round swimming pool!

Vendors' Market and Ski Jump at Sparrow Hills in Moscow

The panoramic view of Moscow from Sparrow Hills is a stopover for most tour groups, so we were not surprised to see a large number of vendors. The ski jump was a surprise, but Moscow gets very cold in winter, so winter sports are very popular. This ski jump is near Moscow State University and has a great view of the city. Seeing this ski jump reminded me of the famous Holmenkollen Ski Jump in Oslo, which also has a great view of that northern capital city.

Russian Soldiers' Memorial in Victory Park in Moscow

Matryoshka dolls for sale in moscow.

I thought this display of dolls was beautiful! The Matryoshka nesting dolls range in price from just a few dollars to thousands of dollars.

Central Museum of Armed Forces in Moscow, Russia

This small band greeted us at the Central Museum of Armed Forces in Moscow. They played a variety of band music and made us all feel very welcome.

Grand Triumphal Arch Celebrates the Victory Over Napoleon in the War of 1812

This arch looks a little like the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, and it is located near the Victory Park Metro Station in Moscow.

This Grand Triumphal Arch is decorated with the coats of arms from the 48 Russian provinces. To celebrate the victory over France in the war of 1812, it also includes bas-reliefs of the "Expulsion of the French." The arch was originally built in 1834, but has only been on this site since 1968.

It is a little ironic that this arch resembles the Paris Arc de Triomphe , which Napoleon built between 1806 and 1836 to celebrate his French victories.

Moscow Metro Station at the Ploshchad Revolyutsii (Revolution Square)

This station near Red Square has many statues honoring the workers of Russia.

Moscow Metro Station near Victory Park

The Metro in Moscow is one of its shining industrial achievements. Construction on the Metro was begun in 1931 and continues today. The system has over 165 stations and 155 miles of track. Over 9300 trains, traveling sometimes as fast as 56 mph, navigate the huge system each day. Almost 10 million people ride the Moscow Metro every day, which is more than the New York and London systems combined. We found the Metro to be very efficient, with trains arriving every few minutes.

Navigating the Metro system can be somewhat of a problem for non-Russian speaking riders. Most of the signage is in Cyrillic only, and the stations are quite large. Trying to find the correct exit while walking long distances underground can be challenging.

On our cruise tour, we rode the Metro as a group with our program director from near Victory Park under the Mockba River to Red Square. Several of the group ventured out on their own during our time in Moscow, and many rode the Metro. They all returned with stories of getting lost underground, but none seemed the worse for the experience, and they all loved telling the tales.

Red Square in Moscow

Red Square in Moscow is a must-see for visitors to the capital city of Russia.

The Kremlin in Moscow, Russia

The Kremlin is a favorite of Moscow tourists. Inside these walls are buildings for the government of Russia, cathedrals, and the wonderful State Armory museum.

Taras Bulba Restaurant in Moscow

We enjoyed a traditional Ukrainian lunch at this cute restaurant in Moscow before checking in at our hotel.

Buses Wait for Passengers Outside Museum

River cruise tour groups are usually divided into groups for the duration of the tour. Each group had their own bus when touring.

Military Airplanes at the Central Museum of Armed Forces in Moscow, Russia

Although much of the military museum was indoors, there was quite a collection of planes, helicopters, missile launchers, and tanks outside.

Foreign Ministry Building, One of Moscow's Seven Stalinist-Gothic Skyscrapers

Seven skyscrapers with layers giving them a "wedding cake" appearance dot the Moscow skyline. The style is considered Stalinist-Gothic.

Russian and American War Veterans at the Central Museum of Armed Forces

Meeting with some World War II Russian War veterans was a highlight of our day at the Central Museum of Armed Forces in Moscow.

Rocket Launchers and Missiles at the Central Museum of Armed Forces in Moscow

The inside of this museum is particularly impressive, but you will need a guide since all of the signage is only in Russian.

Old Arbat Pedestrian Shopping Area in Moscow

We all enjoyed exploring the shops on this mile-long pedestrian shopping area.

Food prices were high in the tourist attraction, with two small pizzas, two small beers, and a bottle of water at an outdoor cafe costing $40. Many of our group ate at the large McDonalds, where prices were more reasonable.

Female Cosmonaut Model at Star City Cosmonaut Training Center near Moscow

Female cosmonauts play an important role in the Russian space program. In 1963, Valentina Tereshkova from Yaroslavl was the first woman in space.

Souvenir Shop in Old Arbat Shopping Area in Moscow

The area of Old Arbat had many English signs to attract the tourist trade.

Centrifuge at Star City Outside Moscow, Russia

This 18 meter centrifuge is the world's largest. The centrifuge weighs over 30000 tons, and the maximum load is 30 G, but most tests are run at 3 or 4 G.

A centrifuge ride is the first test for a cosmonaut, whose entire training school takes from five to eight years. The centrifuge can simulate the extreme force of gravity that cosmonauts (and astronauts) face when going into space. A centrifuge training session lasts about 30 minutes, and the trainee experiences both the centrifugal force as well as the spin of the pod he/she is riding in. Just typing this makes me a little queasy!

Cosmonaut's Bathroom Facilities on First Space Flights at Star City

Just like in the USA, everyone who visits the Star City cosmonaut training center near Moscow wants to know how cosmonauts "go to the bathroom". They have more sophisticated equipment today, but this contraption from the early space flights is fairly self explanatory.

Star City Tank Used for Cosmonaut Weightlessness Training near Moscow

This 12-meter deep pool is used to simulate weightlessness training. The pool is flooded and the cosmonauts perform repair tasks on the model of the International Space Station. SCUBA diving underwater is very similar to the weightless experience the cosmonauts experience when working in outer space.

Mir Space Station Replica at Star City near Moscow

The original Mir disintegrated when it fell to earth in 2001. Mir, which means peace in Russian, was launched in 1986.

Marvel Paull with Statue of Yuri Gagarin at Star City near Moscow

Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space, and the Star City Cosmonaut training center was named after him in 1968.

River Cruise Passengers with Yuri Onufrienko, Russian Cosmonaut at Star City

In case you can't tell, Yuri is the one in the middle. My famous traveling mother, Marvel Paull, is on the left and Dick, a cruise friend is on the right.

A highlight of our day in Star City was a visit with Yuri Onufrienko , a Russian cosmonaut who spent extended time in space at the Mir space station in 1996 and the International Space Station in 2001-2002. Yuri patiently took many questions from our small inquisitive group.

Cosmonaut Space Suit at Star City near Moscow

Cosmonauts sit in this position on take off. Thanks to Jerry G. for the tip about the sign. It says, "Don't touch!"

Stained Glass Window at Star City near Moscow

Program directors at farewell dinner in moscow.

After 16 days of discovery, learning, and fun, we had a farewell dinner with the six Program Directors - Evgeny, Olga, Vladimir, Svetlana, Violetta, and Marina - in Moscow.

The Kremlin is a triangular, walled citadel in the center of Moscow. The Kremlin is considered by most to be the heart of the city. First conceived in the 12th century, the Kremlin (which means fortress) was expanded by Tsar Ivan III (Ivan the Great) during the 15th century. His architects designed the magnificent Cathedral of the Assumption and the Faceted Palace, and the Kremlin was an interesting mix of both Russian and Renaissance styles. During the Soviet time of the 1930s, many of the Kremlin buildings were destroyed or vandalized, and the complex remained closed to the public until 1955.

Today the Kremlin is home to the Russian President and his administration. Many buildings are open to the public, but you may need to be with a guide (check in advance).

I visited the Kremlin when in Moscow on a Russian Waterways cruise tour from St. Petersburg.

The Kremlin was also one of the 21 finalists for the New Seven Wonders of the World.  

Red Square in Moscow, Russia

Red Square's name has nothing to do with Communism or Soviet Russia. The old Russian word for "beautiful" and "red" was the same; the square was supposed to be called "Beautiful Square". Red Square has been the center of Moscow activity since the 16th century when the Tsar cleared the area and allowed vendors, shoppers, and businesses to fill the square. Today this square is surrounded by the Moscow Kremlin, the State Historical Museum, GUM Shopping Mall , and St. Basil's Cathedral .

Many of the important events of the last three hundred years in Russia have been marked by parades or demonstrations in Red Square. Anyone who enters Red Square will have memories from TV or movie reels of this magnificent public square. Those of us who grew up during the Cold War era can remember the parades of soldiers, tanks, and other armaments past Lenin's Tomb just outside the Kremlin Wall. The World War II generation remembers Red Square as the site of a huge victory celebration at the end of the war.

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