The Experience
Cruise the Danube to Budapest, “the Paris of Eastern Europe,” visit a Benedictine Abbey, explore palaces in Vienna, and privately tour Prague’s Estates Theater, where Mozart conducted Don Giovanni. Day 1: Arrive Budapest, Hungary
Arrive in Budapest, a city occupying both sides of the Danube and founded when right-bank Buda and Obuda joined left-bank Pest in 1873. Transfer to your hotel, where you join your Tour Director and fellow travellers for a welcome dinner. Budapest,™s broad avenues and turn-of-the-century architecture have earned it the name Paris of Eastern Europe,, and like Paris, it is a cultural mecca for writers, artists and musicians.
Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace | Meals: D
Day 2: Budapest | Two Cities in One
On a panoramic tour of Pest, see Heroes,™ Square and stop to view the Great Synagogue and St. Stephen,™s Basilica. Privately explore the beautiful neo-Renaissance State Opera House. After lunch at Gundel, the city,™s most famous restaurant, cross the river to delightful Buda where you visit Matthias Church, the 13th-century coronation cathedral of Hungarian kings, and Fisherman,™s Bastion, offering spectacular views of the city below. Dine at leisure before embarking on a private Danube cruise.
Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace | Meals: B L
Day 3: Pannonhalma/Vienna, Austria | Abbey Visit
Visit the thousand-year-old Benedictine Abbey of Pannonhalma, a center of culture and religious study and today a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Enjoy lunch at a nearby restaurant, then continue to Vienna and check in to your hotel. Dinner is à la carte at the hotel.
Hotel Sacher Wein | Meals: B L D
Day 4: Vienna | Habsburg Summer Palace
Walk to the Hofburg Palace, former seat of emperors, and admire the glittering collection of imperial regalia in the Treasury. Continue to the soaring Gothic St. Stephen,™s Cathedral. This afternoon, explore magnificent Schönbrunn Palace where a six-year-old Mozart played to the court.
Hotel Sacher Wein | Meals: B
Day 5: Bratislava, Slovakia/Vienna | Jewel of an Empire
Drive to Bratislava, Slovakia,™s capital, and join a local guide for a walking tour of its Old Town, once a jewel of the Austro- Hungarian empire. Stop at Albrecht Restaurant where you share lunch with its chef, Mr. Zidek, who shares insights into seasonal dishes and his life as a restaurateur. Return to Vienna and spend the rest of the day at leisure.
Hotel Sacher Wein | Meals: B L
Day 6: Prague, Czech Republic | Travel by Train
Depart by express train for Prague and enjoy a packed lunch on board. Later, join your Tour Director for an introductory tour of the city.
Four Seasons Hotel Prague | Meals: B L D
Day 7: Prague | Synagogues and Remembrance
Listen as a guest speaker discusses the downfall of the Communist regime and the formation of the Czech Republic. Visit Josefov, the city,™s Jewish quarter. Enter the Pinkas Synagogue and visit the adjacent Old Jewish Cemetery. Proceed to the Spanish Synagogue, a last reminder of Sephardic Jews who lived here. After lunch, privately visit the Estates Theater (subject to rehearsal schedules), where Mozart conducted the première of Don Giovanni in 1787.
Four Seasons Hotel Prague | Meals: B L
Day 8: Prague | Private Monastery Library Visit
Privately visit the Baroque library halls of the Strahov Monastery, with its incredible frescoes. Admire the religious artifacts at the Loreto Chapel and see the Gothic St. Vitus Cathedral. Cross the famous Charles Bridge to your farewell dinner in a local restaurant.
Four Seasons Hotel Prague | Meals: B D
Day 9: Depart Prague
Transfer to the airport to board your flight home.
Meals: B
