Tauck
OFFER ID 1553127
Warsaw, Budapest, Vienna & Prague
Speaking of traditions... From castles to concerts to cafés, time-honored traditions from across the centuries are at the heart of cultural life in the historic cities and across the idyllic countryside you'll explore on a two-week trip through the center of "old Europe."
And they're often variations on a theme: Sipping coffee in a café on a sunny square surrounded by medieval buildings in Kraków or Budapest or Vienna or Prague... perhaps enjoying a pastry known to Hungarians as rétes, to Czechs as závin, to Austrians as strüdel... or listening to local musicians play melodies by Chopin in Warsaw, or Mozart in a private palace in Vienna...
13 nights from $8,990 per person
Tauck World Discovery: Warsaw, Budapest, Vienna & Prague
Day 1 Warsaw, Poland
Arrive Warsaw
Tour begins: 6:00 PM, Hotel Bristol, Warsaw. A transfer is included from Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport to your historic hotel on Warsaw's fashionable "Royal Route." Meet your travel companions and your Tauck Director at tonight's welcome reception and dinner in the hotel, a Warsaw landmark for over a century.
Although more than 85% of Warsaw was destroyed or damaged in World War II, the city has been rebuilt into one of Europe's most vibrant capitals, using pre-war paintings and sketches to painstakingly reconstruct many historic buildings, restoring them to their former glory. See the results for yourself on a guided sightseeing tour including the Palace of Culture; Radziwill Palace, where the beloved composer Frederic Chopin gave his first concert; the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier; the Grand Theatre; and Constitution Square. Continue with a walking tour through 13th- and 14th-century Old Town (Stare Miasto), and a visit to the Jewish Ghetto Memorial honoring the victims of the Warsaw Ghetto and the heroes of the 1943 uprising. Chopin's music comes to life at a private piano recital in the early evening, followed by a dinner featuring typical Polish cuisine and authentic local entertainment at a local restaurant.
Start the day with a journey from Warsaw across the Polish countryside to ancient Kraków, the country's medieval capital and considered one of the finest medieval cities in Europe, for a two-night stay. Upon arrival, take a guided walking tour of the city's Old Town, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, including St. Mary's Church, Jagiellonian University, the Franciscan Church and the Archbishop's Palace, where Karol Wojtyla lived for two decades before becoming Pope John Paul II. After your tour, check into your Kraków hotel; enjoy dinner at your hotel at leisure tonight.
You'll have a choice of sightseeing this morning, choosing to explore Kraków's former Jewish Quarter, known as Kazimierz (holidays permitting) - nearly destroyed in World War II but now restored and enjoying a Renaissance - or journeying to Wawel Hill on the banks of the Vistula to see Wawel Castle, the seat of Polish kings from the 11th to 17th centuries, and visit inside iconic Wawel Cathedral, Poland's national sanctuary and historic royal coronation site. In the afternoon, you're free to explore Kraków on your own or join an excursion to the poignant memorial and museum at Auschwitz, 40 miles from the city.
Travel from Poland through the scenic Tatra Mountains, stopping for lunch in Slovakia en route to Hungary. Arrive in Budapest, where you'll have dinner tonight - with wine included - aboard Tauck's private dinner cruise on the Danube River for a unique view of the Hungarian capital's amazing architecture, illuminated at night. Spend the next three nights in the heart of this historic city.
Today, take a close-up look at fascinating Budapest as your Eastern Europe and Poland tour reveals landmarks in the city's Pest section, on the eastern side of the Danube. See the embassy district, City Park, Andrassy Avenue and Heroes' Square; visit the opulent State Opera House, St. Stephen's Basilica and Dohány Synagogue (holidays permitting). This evening, cross the Danube to the Buda side of the city for a demonstration and tasting of Goulash, followed by dinner within walking distance from your hotel.
Start today's Budapest sightseeing with a morning visit to Hungary's Parliament building in Pest, a neo-Gothic masterpiece. Then head over to Buda to admire the frescoes and stained glass windows inside the Gothic Matthias Church, where the final two Hungarian kings were crowned; see Fisherman's Bastion overlooking the Danube, with its neo-Romanesque design; and explore the cobblestone streets of Castle Hill, offering more splendid views of the city. After lunch at a local restaurant in Buda, enjoy a private after-hours visit with a lecture and reception at the Imre Nagy Memorial House in Budapest, a museum in the restored home of Hungarian Prime Minister Imre Nagy, who was secretly tried and executed in 1958, after the Soviets put down the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.
Today, wind your way from Budapest and Hungary through Slovakia en route to Austria. After lunch, stop in Slovakia's capital city of Bratislava this afternoon to explore some 17 centuries worth of history on a walking tour with a local guide of the Old Town. Followed by some time on your own. Then continue on to glorious Vienna, the Austrian capital and former center of the Habsburg empire, for a three-night stay the Hotel Bristol, Vienna - one of Europe's most celebrated hotels. Upon arrival, join us for an orientation walk of the historic Vienna area around your hotel, including the Hofburg Complex and St. Stephen's Square, before enjoying dinner at your leisure tonight.
Enjoy a morning at leisure in Vienna, then join us for a drive along Vienna's famous Ringstrasse and the Danube River. View the vast Habsburg art collections on a guided visit to the Museum of Fine Arts (Kunsthistorisches). The rest of the afternoon is yours to explore as you wish. Tonight, join us for an after-hours visit to Schönbrunn Palace; built by Empress Maria Theresa to rival Versailles, boasting 1,400 rooms, including a Hall of Mirrors, it served as the summer residence for Austria's Habsburg emperors.
Take a walking tour through medieval Vienna and its historic Jewish Quarter including the Seitenstettengasse Temple, the city's only synagogue to survive WWII; return to your landmark hotel and spend the afternoon exploring more of Vienna as you please. This evening, enjoy dinner at the renowned Café Landtmann - the quintessential Viennese coffee house since 1873 - then attend a private concert featuring the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Johann Strauss, held in a historic Viennese palace.
Bid remarkable Vienna goodbye this morning and travel to Prague, the ancient capital of today's Czech Republic, where you'll spend the next three luxurious nights in the heart of the city at Four Seasons Hotel Prague, overlooking the Vltava River, Prague Castle and Charles Bridge. After lunch, enjoy an orientation tour of the city by bus before arriving at Prague Castle for a guided walking tour that includes a visit to St. Vitus Cathedral and the Old Royal Palace; a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Tonight, dinner is at leisure at your hotel.
Explore Prague today on sightseeing excursions to the city's many landmark sites and must-see places including Prague's Hradcany (Castle District), before enjoying a privately guided tour of the opulent Baroque libraries of Strahov Monastery, viewing the treasures not available to the general public, before spending the rest of the afternoon and evening as you please.
Continue your exploration of Prague - which seems to grow more beautiful each day - with a visit to the historic Estates Theatre, followed by a choice - an architectural tour of Prague highlighting its grand blend of styles from the medieval Town Hall to the Art Nouveau Municipal House; or an exploration of the Jewish Quarter (Josefov), including the Old-New Synagogue, founded in the 13th century, and the Pinkus and Maisel synagogues (holidays permitting). Join us for a farewell reception and dinner this evening enhanced by the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Tour ends: Prague, Czech Republic. A transfer is included from Four Seasons Hotel Prague to Prague's Václav Havel International Airport. Please allow a minimum of 3 hours for flight check-in.
Vienna Shore Excursion: Private City Walk Vienna's Old Town, 2,5 hours
This interesting city walk offers you an initial overview of the history, culture and achitecture of Vienna, taking you through the most beautiful and elegant streets and passing by some of the most famous sights of the city.
At the end of this tour, you can continue exploring the city centre on your own.
Highlights:
Vienna Shore Excursion: Private City Walk Mozart in Vienna, 2,5 hours
During this city walk "On the Traces of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart", you discover Vienna's historic old town, passing by some of the most important locations of Mozart's life. This tour also includes a visit of the Mozart House. At the end of this tour, you can continue exploring the city centre on your own.
Highlights:
Vienna Shore Excursion: Private City Walk Imperial Palace, 2,5 hours
This privately guided walking tour through Vienna's historic old town takes you to the Imperial Palace ('Hofburg'), to visit the Imperial Apartments and the fascinating Sisi Museum.
Highlights:
Vienna Shore Excursion: Private City Tour of Vienna & Visit of Schoenbrunn Palace, 4 hours
This privately guided tour shows you the major historical sights along the Ringstrasse, before taking you to the magnificent Schoenbrunn Palace, former summer residence of the Habsburg family.
Highlights:
Vienna Shore Excursion: Private City Tour Art Nouveau and Viennese Architecture, 4 hours
In addition to the familiar Gothic and Baroque buildings, Art Nouveau has a fixed place in Viennese architecture. Naturally, this tour also covers further architecural epoques, such as modernity.
Highlights:
Vienna Shore Excursion: Private City Walk & the Lipizzaner Horses, 5 hours
From Tuesday to Friday (9am-1pm, excl. July), this package covers many interesting aspects of Vienna: Starting with a short Vienna Old Town City Walk, you follow your guide through the old town towards the Spanish Riding School, where you attend the Lippizaner's Morning Exercise, allowing an insight into the training of the Lipizzaner Horses and their riders. At the end of this tour, you can continue exploring the city centre on your own.
Highlights:
Bratislava Shore Excursion: Private Half Day City Tour of Bratislava, 4 hours
Enjoy a lovely guided city walk within the historic centre of Bratislava, followed by an interesting city tour and ride up the city hill to the Bratislava Castle, built in the 9th century - still today one of Bratislava's landmarks.
Highlights:
Bratislava Shore Excursion: Private Full Day Tour Bratislava & Devin Castle, 8 hours
Enjoy a lovely guided Bratislava City Walk and City Tour, including a visit of it's landmark, the Bratislava Castle - and rounded up by an excursion to one of the oldest castles in Slovakia, the Devin Castle (located at the confluence of the Danube and Moravia rivers, close to the Austrian border).
Highlights:
Budapest Shore Excursion: Private Half Day City Tour of Budapest, 4 hours
This privately guided tour shows you the major sights within on the Pest Side (e.g.the Opera House, St. Stephen's Basilica), as well the Buda Side (Castle Hill). One highlight of this tour is an inside visit of the Fishermen's Bastion and the impressive Matthias Church.
Highlights:
Budapest Shore Excursion: Private Full Day City Tour of Budapest, 8 hours
This extended privately guided full day basically covers all major sights and interesting locations within Budapest, also including inside visits of the Fishermen's Bastion, Matthias Church and the Parliament Building.
Highlights:
Budapest Shore Excursion: Private Half Day Tour Budapest Castle District, 4 hours
During this privately guided tour, you visit the Castle Hill of Budapest, with the Royal and Presidential Palaces, fascinating squares and medieval cobblestone streets. Highlights are inside visits of the Fishermen's Bastion and the impressive Matthias Church.
Highlights:
All fares are quoted in US Dollars.
Journeys By Barbara
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