Europe's Springtime Gardens - with the Oberammergau Passion Play
Europe's and England's Gardens in the Springtime

Detailed Tour Itinerary

Tuesday, May 4th:  

Join your flight for Europe this evening.

Wednesday, May 5th:  

On arrival in Amsterdam we are transferred to our city centre hotel, our home for three nights. We rest from the flight and meet our fellow travellers for a Welcome Drink and Dinner. A three course dinner with wine and beer is included on the first night in each new city of the Great Trains of Europe Tours.[D]

Thursday, May 6th:  

Every day on the Great Trains of Europe Tour commences with a hearty buffet breakfast [B]. Amsterdam is a beautiful city of canals and this morning a canal cruise features in our city sightseeing tour. This afternoon we venture into the countryside (who will be first to see a windmill?) to the pretty village of Limmen. This is the home of the small, historic Hortus Bulborum, established in 1928, but with tulips dating from 1595, as a gene pool for the Dutch bulb industry. There are 3,500 different tulip, hyacinth and daffodil species. The preservation of heirloom bulbs is a major project in the Hortus Bulborum. Many of them have no commercial value for modern mass production; the aim, rather, is to keep these cultivars for future generations. Return to our Amsterdam hotel this evening.[B]

Friday, May 7th:  

We spend a full day today absorbing the majestic beauty of one of the world's finest bulbfields, the Keukenhof Garden. Its 80 acres of winding paths, gurgling streams and placid ponds offer an exuberant feast for the eyes. There are tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and other flowering bulbs, flowering shrubs, ancient trees, indoor exhibitions, flower parades, and no fewer than seven themed gardens. Little wonder we need all day to visit the Keukenhof! There are restaurants and tea shops in the garden. Home to our Amsterdam hotel tonight.[B]

Saturday, May 8th:  ^ Top ^

We begin our love affair with the Great Trains of Europe today. Full luggage handling is provided as we take our reserved First Class seats in the sleek Thalys train bound for Paris. After Brussels, on the high speed track we reach speeds in excess of 300 kph. We are in Paris for a late lunch in the Latin Quarter near our Left Bank hotel, our home for four nights. This afternoon there is a city sightseeing tour as we get our bearings in the City of Lights. Dinner overlooking the twinkling Eiffel Tower.[B][D]

Sunday, May 9th:  

A quiet morning to stroll in the Luxembourg Gardens near our hotel, or to visit a museum or two. Like to shake hands with Mona Lisa at the Louvre, or perhaps see Monet's waterlilies? They are finally on view in their original context at l'Orangerie Museum.

After lunch we visit Louis XIV's magnificent Versailles Palace with its sweeping gardens and over 600 water jets. Can garden lovers bring themselves to have snails for dinner?[B]

Monday, May 10th:  

A quiet morning in the shops or the museums. After lunch we visit Giverney, Monet's home for more than 40 years. There are two parts to Monet's garden: a flower garden called Clos Normand in front of the house and a Japanese inspired water garden on the other side of the road. The two parts of Monet's garden contrast and complement one another. Claude Monet did not like organized nor constrained gardens. In the Clos Normand he married flowers according to their colours and left them to grow rather freely. In the water garden is the famous Japanese bridge covered with wisterias, other smaller bridges, weeping willows, a bamboo wood and above all the famous nympheas (water lilies). Back to our Paris hotel tonight.[B]

Tuesday, May 11th:  

A day in the country to visit two of France's grand gardens - Chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte and Fontainbleu. The forerunner of Versailles, the Chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte was laid out in 1661 and includes a parterre, immaculately clipped topiary yew, water features, reflective pools, and a grand canal with grottoes on one side and a cascade on the other.

Once the noblest garden in all France, Fontainbleau was made for a king, Francois I, who wished to rival the great courts of Italy. Though the old knots and statuary have gone, enough of the 1528-1547 layout survives to give one a sense of how gardens were arranged in sixteenth century France. Le Nôtre designed a large parterre, between 1661 and 1664, on the site of the former Grand Jardin. The 1200 metre-long canal also remains. The Jardin Anglais, made between 1811 and 1812 continues to fascinate.[B]

Wednesday, May 12th:  ^ Top ^

We farewell Paris this morning and head east, experiencing Europe's top two trains in the one day - the French TGV and the German ICE. We arrive in the afternoon in the German city of Munich, Bavaria's capital, and beer drinking capital of the world, our home for three nights. Our luggage awaits our arrival.[B][D]

Thursday, May 13th:  

After a morning City Sightseeing Tour, we visit Munich's famous English Gardens - fear not, the Beer festival crowd don't move in until October - and, the Botanical Gardens at Nymphenburg on Munich's outskirts.[B]

Friday May 14th:  

What better way to spend a Sunday than visiting Mozart's city, and home of the Sound of Music, Salzburg? Our EuroCity train has us there in a little over an hour. The Mirabell Gardens are the city's finest, and boast possibly the best views in Europe.[B]

Saturday May 15th:  

We venture into the foothills of the Alps today to the territory rich in the fantastic creations of the mad King Ludwig. His fairy-tale castle of Neuschwannsteinschloss is well known and well visited. Lesser known is the garden he created at Herrenchiemsee, on an island in a lake. We are forced to break our “3 nights minimum stay” rule in Oberammergau. It is mandatory to stay in the village to attend the Passion Play, but we can stay only 2 nights. We are accommodated in quality guest houses or inns in Oberammergau.[B][D]

Sunday May 16th:  

Today's the day. It is only a short walk to the theatre. There is a two hour intermission during the performance to allow everyone a leisurely lunch and stroll about the village. At the end of the inspirational performance we make our way back to our accommodation and dinner in the village.[B][L][D]

Monday, May 17th:  ^ Top ^

We transfer this morning to Munich for our flight to London, England. On arrival we check into our centrally located 4 star hotel. The Oxford Street shops are a short bus ride away (or a brisk walk!) from the hotel. A West End Show tonight? [B][D]

Tuesday, May 18th:  

This morning join a guided bus tour of London or, for those who know and love this great city already, a free morning to explore or shop. This afternoon we make an excursion into Kent, to Sissinghurst, one of the world's most celebrated gardens, the creation of Vita Sackville-West. It is located in an intimate setting in the grounds of an Elizabethan mansion, with romantic little compartments filled with colourful floral displays. [B]

Wednesday, May 19th:  

The Oxford Street shops? Harrods? Morning Tea at Fortnum and Mason? After Tea at the Dorchester? A matinee? “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life,” spake Dr Johnson.[B]

Thursday, May 20th:  

A day to enjoy the Chelsea Flower Show - arguably, the world's greatest and best known.[B]

Friday, May 21st:  

Heading north today on British Rail, we arrive in the Peak District of Derbyshire to visit the gardens of historic Chatsworth House, dating from 1687. A Capability Brown garden, Chatsworth has been famous for its beauty since Jane Austen's Day. Late this afternoon we continue further north to the Lakes District and settle into our hotel magnificently situated on the shores of Ullswater. [B][D]

Saturday, May 22nd:  

We cross the Pennines today to visit the Yorkshire Dales. Our day includes a magical train journey through some of the Dales' and England's finest scenery on the historic Settle to Carlisle Railway. A pub lunch, an afternoon cream tea and visits to some of the Yorkshire Dales' most picturesque villages. Back to our Lakes District hotel tonight. [B]

Sunday, May 23rd:  

Two beautiful lakes District gardens today - we visit Beatrix Potter's garden, Hill Top - watch out for the fierce bad rabbit - and the gardens of Sizergh Castle a significant National Trust property. The castle was originally built in the 14th century, and the garden was created from the 18th century through to the 1920s. Today there are ponds, borders, lawns and an avenue of flowering cherries. The Lakeland scenery which inspired Wordsworth and Coleridge is the backdrop for our leisurely pub lunch.[B]

Monday, May 24th:  

British Rail takes us south again today and we arrive, in the late afternoon in the beautiful Cotswolds where we stay in a village inn in the pretty riverside village of Bourton-on-the Water.[B][D]

Tuesday, May 25th:  

Today's sightseeing includes picturesque Cotswolds villages of honey-golden stone: Lower Slaughter, Stow-on-the-Wold, Moreton-in-Marsh, Burford. This is serious antiques country. Cream teas and pub lunches.[B]

Wednesday, May 26th:  

Two of the Cotswolds' best known gardens are those at Sudeley Castle and the Hidcote Manor Gardens. We enjoy both today. Whether you love the simple beauty of the English country garden, the Cotswold countryside, or places rich in history, Sudeley exhibits them all in fabulous fashion, making her gardens among the very best in England.

One of the most inventive and influential gardens of the 20th century is the National Trust's Hidcote Manor Garden. Its structure of 'outdoor rooms', linked by vistas and furnished with all sorts of topiary, recalls both the English garden style and the European connections of its 1930s creator Major Lawrence Johnston. A quiet afternoon back in our 'home' village of Bourton-on-the-Water, and a Farewell Dinner.[B][D]

Thursday, May 27th:  

The tour ends after breakfast this morning. There is a free transfer to either Heathrow Airport for your flight home today, or to Central London. Should you wish to stay on for a few extra days in the same hotel that we used for our London visit last week, this can be arranged. Given the popularity of this beautiful hotel, and the eternally heavy demand for airline seats, both an extended stay in London and a later flight home will need to be advised at least 6 months before departure. [B]

Saturday, May 29th:   

Arrive home this morning.

Costs:

Option 1. $AUD 12,950 per person Twin Share. Land Content only (i.e. join the tour in Amsterdam and leave the tour in London)

Or:

Option 2. $AUD 14,950 per person Twin Share. Including return economy class airfares (but not taxes) to Europe from Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne or Perth.

Single Room supplement $AUD 2,000.

The balance is due 4 months before departure.

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

The Springtime Gardens Tour with Oberammergau Passion Play, departing May 4th 2010 also includes:

• Best - Category 1 A - seats for Oberammergau Passion Play
• For Option 2 above: 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 the “land content only” Option 1.
• Twin share accommodation with buffet breakfast in centrally located First Class (European 4 star) hotels with private facilities and air-conditioning in Amsterdam, Paris and London, and in quality, traditional, village inns with private facilities in rural England.
• First Class rail travel in reserved seats on many of Europe's and England's great trains - Thalys, French TGV, German ICE, and Britrail 125. Second Class seats on North York Moors Railway and the section travelled on the Settle - Carlisle Railway.
• Economy Class airfare from Munich to London. This is included also for those on 'Land content only' option. Note, this sector is economy class, irrespective of the class you have flown long-haul.
• Entrances to all gardens described in the itinerary, most with expert guides.
• Sightseeing / orientation tour of each overnight city or village.
• Transport by luxury coach on visits to gardens (without rail access) from Amsterdam, Paris and London, and in rural England.
• Restaurant dinner (3 courses plus wine or beer) on the first night in each new city or village, except Bourton-on-the Water, where the included dinner is our farewell dinner on the last night.
• Luggage handling between cities
• 24/7 on the spot services of Tour Leader who is also the company Owner/Manager.

NOTE: There are no Optional Excursions offered on the 2010 Springtime Gardens Tour with Oberammergau Passion Play.

The TOUR COST does NOT include:

• 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 London where it take the form of a farewell dinner. On other nights, the Tour Leaders are available to accompany group members to local, authentic restaurants.

Note well: Booking Conditions « Tours index ^ Top ^