Off the Beaten Track: Hidden Gems of Europe 2010 Tour
From Paris to Vienna via the cultural gems of Bruges, Delft, Salzburg, Dresden, Prague and Krakow.
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Brochure & Booking Form
(128KB PDF)
Detailed Tour Itinerary
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SETTING OFF
Day 1, Sat April 10th:
Join your international flight for Europe today.
PARIS [D]
Day 2, Sun April 11th:
On arrival in Paris, transfer to our city centre 4 star hotel, and stretch your legs with a stroll in the nearby Luxembourg Gardens. There is a Welcome Drink tonight for you to meet your fellow travellers, and then dinner. The first night's dinner [D] is included in each new city.
PARIS [B]
Day 3, Mon April 12th:
Every morning on the Great Trains of Europe Tours begins with a full buffet breakfast [B].
We enjoy the sights of Paris this morning - the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame and Champs Elysees. In the afternoon we visit Monet's Garden at Giverney, where the wisteria on the Japanese Bridge should just be coming out.
PARIS Day Trip to Somme[B]
Day 4, Tue April 13th:
The museums of Paris today, or the shops. Alternatively, there is an optional excursion to the Somme Battlefields of World War I.
To BRUGES [B]
Day 5, Wed April 14th: ^ Top ^
Au revoir Paris, as we begin our love affair with the Great Trains of Europe: the high speed Thalys delivers us to Brussels at 300 kilometres an hour, where we change for the mediaeval city of Bruges with its picturesque bridges and canals.
Our luggage awaits our arrival. There is a city sightseeing tour this afternoon.
BRUGES [B]
Day 6, Thur April 15th:
A free day today to explore further this enchanting city, from its mediaeval cobblestone streets and from its canals.
BRUGES [B]
Day 7, Fri April 16th:
Today we visit the hidden gem of Delft - Vermeer's home town. Did you see the film “Girl with a Pearl Earring”? The town is much more beautiful than portrayed there. The canals and buildings hint what Amsterdam might have looked like in its Golden Age.
To SALZBURG [B] [D]
Day 8, Sat April 17th:
Today we cross much of Western Europe on Germany's High Speed Train, the ICE reaching Salzburg, in Austria - Mozart's town - in the evening.
SALZBURG [B]
Day 9, Sun April 18th: ^ Top ^
This morning's sightseeing tour is rich in Mozart associations.
SALZBURG Day Trip to Innsbruck [B]
Day 10, Mon April 19th:
Seats on a tour of 'Sound of Music' sights can be arranged this morning. Alternatively, an optional excursion is offered to Innsbruck, the Winter Capital of the Hapsburgs, in the heart of the Austrian Alps.
To PRAGUE [B] [D]
Day 11, Tue April 20th:
Today we join our EuroCity train for Prague, another cultural gem, largely undamaged by war. The Old Town Square, five minutes from our hotel, has buildings from every century from the twelfth to the twentieth.
PRAGUE [B]
Day 12, Wed April 21th:
This morning's sightseeing includes the Prague Castle, the Charles Bridge, Wenceslas Square and the Jewish Quarter. The afternoon is free for a concert or the shops. The opera tonight?
PRAGUE [B]
Day 13, Thur April 22th: ^ Top ^
Visits are available today to the UNESCO listed historic city of Cesky Krumlov or to the classical spa town of Karlovy Vary. On a more grisly note, the Nazi concentration camp memorial site of Theresienstadt is also close by. These visits can be arranged and paid for on the spot.
To DRESDEN [B] [D]
Day 14, Fri April 23th:
Today we move on - by EuroCity - to another of Europe's cultural gems, the ancient capital of Saxony, Dresden. On this morning's orientation tour we visit the Frauenkirche, now resurrected from the ashes, the Semper Opera House and the Zwinger - formerly a palace and now housing five museums. There is a porcelain museum and the Old Masters Gallery is home to Raphael's ubiquitous cherubs.
DRESDEN Day Trip to Berlin [B]
Day 15, Sat April 24th:
A quiet day in the museums of Dresden or an optional excursion to Berlin, one of the great cities of Europe.
DRESDEN [B]
Day 16, Sun April 25th:
Another quiet morning in Dresden to stroll the Terrassenufer or take in the morning service in the beautifully restored Frauenkirche, soon to become your favourite European church.
In the afternoon there is a visit to nearby Meissen, world famous for its china.
To KRAKOW [B] [D]
Day 17, Mon April 26th: ^ Top ^
Deeper behind the old Iron Curtain today to the historic capital of Poland (until the 18th Century), the UNESCO listed cultural centre of Krakow.
KRAKOW [B]
Day 18, Tue April 27th:
This morning we visit Wawel Hill with its castle and tiny cathedral (the seat of the former Archbishop, Pope John Paul II), and the thirteenth Market Square in the heart of the town. Perhaps we owe it to humanity this afternoon to visit the nearby Auschwitz memorial.
KRAKOW Day Trip to Warsaw [B]
Day 19, Wed April 28th:
A free day in Krakow or an optional excursion to Poland's modern capital Warsaw, completely rebuilt since its destruction in World War II.
To VIENNA [B]
Day 20, Thur April 29th:
All aboard for Europe's - and the world's - musical capital, Vienna. It was home to Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert and Strauss and still boasts some of the world's best orchestras and opera companies. The grandeur of its buildings and gardens and fountains provides evidence of its centuries as the Hapsburg's capital city. Tonight ride the Ring by tramcar to admire the stately buildings under floodlight.
VIENNA [B]
Day 21, Fri April 30th: ^ Top ^
Explore the magnificent city's galleries and palaces today.
VIENNA Day Trip to Budapest [B] [D]
Day 22, Sat May 1st:
A last quiet day in Vienna or join an optional excursion to the Hapsburgs' other capital, Budapest in Hungary, another of Europe's classical cities. Home to Vienna for our Farewell Dinner tonight.
HEADING HOME [B]
Day 23, Sun May 2nd:
Our tour ends after breakfast this morning. Transfer to the airport for your flight home. You may well decide to extend your stay in this beautiful city or elsewhere on this exciting continent.
Costs:
Option 1. $AUD 11,950 per person Twin Share. Land Content only (i.e. join tour in Paris and leave in Vienna)
Or:
Option 2. Contact us for airfares inclusive price. Including return economy class airfares to Europe from Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne or Perth.
Single Room supplement $AUD 2000.
Enquire about Business or First Class airfare upgrades (Remember, if you don't fly First Class, your grandchildren will).
What's included?^ Top ^
All Great Trains of Europe Tours include:
- All stops 3 nights minimum
- Quality, centrally located hotels
- First Class travel on Europe's Great Trains
- Full luggage handling
- Escorted by Australian historian / tour guide
- Guided orientation / sightseeing tours in all cities
Off the Beaten Track: Hidden Gems tour, departing April 10th 2010 also includes:
- Return economy airfare - but NOT taxes - from your Australian international airport to Europe, with airport transfers if arriving and departing on group dates. Inquire about the cost of earlier departure or later return. Not included if you have opted for “land content only”.
- Twin share accommodation with buffet breakfast in centrally located First Class (European 4 star) hotels with private facilities and air-conditioning.
- Sightseeing / orientation tour of each overnight city. Restaurant dinner (3 courses plus wine or beer) on the first night in each new city or village, except Vienna, where the included dinner is our farewell dinner on the last night.
- First Class rail travel in reserved seats on many of Europe's great trains, including the French TGV, the Thalys and the German ICE.
- Luggage handling from each overnight stop to the next.
The TOUR COST does NOT include:^ Top ^
- Hotel incidentals (eg. Mini-bars, telephone calls, laundry), airport and departure taxes, local transport in any city,
- optional excursions listed or meals other than breakfast and the one restaurant dinner in each city - the first night in each new city, except Vienna where it takes the form of a farewell dinner. On other nights, the Tour Leaders are available to accompany group members to local, authentic restaurants.
Hidden Gems Tour Tour Optional Excursions: ^ Top ^
Somme Battlefields Tour add $275
Day 4, April 13th:
Departing our Paris hotel, we are in the province of Picardy, in North Eastern France for morning coffee before beginning our visits to the major battlefields and cemeteries associated with the horror of the first day of the Battle of the Somme. On that one day, July 1st 1916, 60,000 Allied soldiers fell. We visit the Newfoundland Memorial at Beaumont Hamel, the British Memorial at Thiepval and the Australian Memorials at Pozieres and Villiers-Brettoneux. Lunch in an atmospheric French country bistro is included.
Innsbruck And Austrian Alps add $150
Day 10, April 19th:
Our InterCity train has us in Innsbruck mid-morning. As you step out of the Railway station, look up. This Imperial city is literally surrounded by snow-decked Alps. Explore the historic heart - the Hofburg, the Golden Roof and the cobblestone pedestrian quarter dating from the fifteenth century. We then take a rack-railway to the top of the Alps for breathtaking views down to Innsbruck from 7,000 feet. Home to Salzburg this evening.
Berlin add $275
Day 15, April 24th:
Departing our Dresden hotel, we are in Berlin in time morning coffee and a city sightseeing tour. This morning's sightseeing introduces us to the city which divided Europe for 45 years - the Brandenberg Gate, the Reichstag, Unter den Linden. Many of the art treasures of Europe are in Berlin, from the 3,000 year old bust of Egypt's Nefertiti to the moderns. You haven't shopped seriously until you've been to Berlin's KaDeWe (opposite our hotel). People come from New York, Paris, London (and Toowoomba) to shop here. Back to our Dresden hotel tonight.
Warsaw add $200
Day 19, April 28th:
We depart our Krakow hotel and cross to the Station for our journey on Poland's High Speed train - not exactly the French TGV or the German ICE - to the “new” capital Warsaw. Central Warsaw was completely destroyed in World War II, but much has been rebuilt in exact replica of the original city. We are met at the Station for our sightseeing which commences on the historic boulevarde called the Royal Walk. We visit Royal Palace with the King Zygmunt III memorial, Old Town Square and on to the New Town Square. Next we come to the evocative memorial to the heroes of the Warsaw Uprising and then proceed to the area where the grisly Warsaw Ghetto once stood.
Returning to the Old Town Square we choose an open air restaurant for lunch after a thought provoking morning of sightseeing. In the mid afternoon we are transferred back to the Station for our return rail journey to Krakow (home by dinnertime).
Budapest add $175
Day 22, May 1st:
Departing our hotel, we cross to the Westbahnhof Station to join our EuroCity train to Budapest. On arrival, we discover that Budapest is made up of two cities: hilly Buda with its castle on the Western Bank of the Danube, overlooking the stately buildings and broad boulevards of Pest on the Eastern Bank.
We see the magnificent Gothic St Matthew's Church, enjoy views back across the Danube and the Chain Bridge to Pest - St Sebastian's and the High Gothic Parliament House - and then we amble about the narrow cobblestone streets looking for art and craft bargains and taking lunch. The rack railway takes us down to the bank of the Danube, which we cross via the Chain Bridge. There is free time for shopping and a visit to one of Budapest's world famous coffee houses. This is where coffee entered Europe with the Turkish invasions. Our EuroCity train has us home in Vienna by dinnertime.
Optional Excursions offered subject to a minimum of 12 persons.
Brochure & Booking Form (128KB PDF)
Note well: Booking Conditions « Tours index ^ Top ^