Tour Details - THE UPPER RHINE TO THE CITY OF MUSIC - CATEGORY E
THE UPPER RHINE TO THE CITY OF MUSIC - CATEGORY E
DISCOUNTS ON EVERY TOUR, UP TO 10% !!!
Tour Duration: 12 days Tour Code: WZV-E2012 Tour Type: Prices From: A$4118 [Tour Dates]
Tour Itinerary
Day
Description
1
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND. TRANSFER TO BASEL (EMBARKATION) Flights into Zurich must arrive before 3 pm. Your river cruise vessel is docked on the Rhine River in Basel, where France, Switzerland, and Germany meet. Before dinner, meet your crew at a welcome reception. (D)
2
STRASBOURG, FRANCE Situated on the border of France and Germany, Strasbourg is influenced by the culture of both countries, and is the capital of the Alsace region. It is the seat of the Council of Europe and European Parliament. A Local Guide shows you the noteworthy sights: the GOTHIC CATHEDRAL, the lovely LA PETITE FRANCE district, Place Kleber, and Place Gutenberg with its statue of the inventor of the printing press. Strasbourg is also home to the Kronenbourg Brewery. An optional excursion into the Alsace wine region is available. (B,L,D)
3
MANNHEIM-MAINZ, GERMANY After breakfast this morning, choose from an included guided excursion to either Germany's ancient imperial city of SPEYER or to the university city of HEIDELBERG. Speyer, located on the left bank of the Rhine, was a bishopric and boasts a Romanesque CATHEDRAL with six imposing towers and the finest and largest crypt in Germany. Four Holy Roman Emperors and four German kings are buried in the impressive Royal Vault. Heidelberg is Germany's oldest university town of Student Prince fame. Take pictures of the ruins of the imposing Heidelberg Castle, built of red sandstone and towering above the city. Rejoin your ship in Mainz and enjoy free time to explore this city on your own. (B,L,D)
4
MILTENBERG-WERTHEIM Time at leisure this morning in charming Miltenberg, a picturesque Bavarian village that thrived on income from river traffic. Its cultural wealth and affluence are reflected in the beautiful medieval and renaissance houses and the gothic splendor of the Merchant Hall. Wertheim, situated at the confluence of the Tauber and Main Rivers, is known for its medieval town center, its castle, glass blowing, and its wine. (B,L,D)
5
WURZBURG Known as the "Pearl of the Romantic Road," Wurzburg is surrounded by sloping hills covered with vineyards. The magnificent BISHOP'S RESIDENZ is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. (B,L,D)
6
BAMBERG Enjoy a leisurely morning on board as you cruise gently up the Main River. This afternoon, arrive in medieval Bamberg, another beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Site. Your walking tour takes in its breathtaking cathedral, the Old Town Hall straddling the River Regnitz, and serpentine streets with charming houses and 18th-century mansions. (B,L,D)
7
NUREMBERG Although Nuremberg suffered extensive damage during WWII, much of it was restored to its original style. Marvel at this historic city with its fabulous gothic churches and elegant patrician houses-all explained by a local expert. Nuremberg's traditions include famous Lebkuchen, toy making, and metal working. Before dinner we'll introduce you to some of Germany's FAMOUS BEERS! (B,L,D)
8
REGENSBURG Another peaceful morning of cruising as you head through picturesque Altmuhltal to Regensburg, one of Germany's best preserved medieval cities. Architectural highlights on your guided tour this afternoon include the Old Town Hall and Porta Pretoria-gates to an ancient Roman fort built in 179 AD. The city is the capital of Upper Palatinate, a bustling university town, and one of Bavaria's cultural centers. It is here you will find Germany's oldest restaurant, the 12th-century Historische Wurstkuche (Old Sausage Kitchen). (B,L,D)
9
PASSAU-LINZ, AUSTRIA Passau, ideally located at the confluence of the Rivers Inn, Ilz, and Danube, is a city of graceful arcades and cobblestone streets. St. Stephen's Cathedral houses the world's largest church organ with more than 17,000 pipes. An optional full-day excursion to Salzburg takes in the popular Sound of Music sights. (B,L,D)
10
MELK-DURNSTEIN Today is dedicated to the beautiful and romantic Wachau Valley, where so much of the excellent Austrian wines are grown and produced. This morning, visit Melk's impressive BENEDICTINE ABBEY, which towers over the town. Lounge on the Sky Deck with a glass of white wine while enjoying the scenery as you sail to Durnstein, whose baroque blue and white Stiftskirche stands right on the river bank. Explore on your own or choose one of a variety of optional excursions. (B,L,D)
11
VIENNA Also known as the "City of Music," Vienna inspired the creative genius of Mozart, Beethoven, and Strauss. Once the center of the mighty Habsburg Empire, the city has much to offer: lavish Hofburg Palace, the impressive Vienna Opera House, the majestic Ring Boulevard, and awe-inspiring St. Stephen's Cathedral, to name just a few of the sights your Local Guide will show you during your included tour. Shop in the Karntnerstrasse and enjoy Sachertorte or Apfelstrudel in a neighborhood cafe. An optional concert is available during your stay. (B,L,D)
12
VIENNA (DISEMBARKATION) Your vacation ends with breakfast this morning. (B)
CRUISE: Deluxe 11-night cruise from Basel to Vienna in an outside stateroom with hotel-style beds. (Category E) BASEL: Welcome reception STRASBOURG: Guided sightseeing, visit La Petite France district and the gothic cathedral MANNHEIM: Choice of excursion to Speyer or Heidelberg WERTHEIM: Orientation WURZBURG: Guided sightseeing, visit the Bishop's Residenz BAMBERG: Guided sightseeing, see the Old Town Hall MAIN DANUBE CANAL: Cruise in the canal NUREMBERG: Guided sightseeing; beer tasting REGENSBURG: Guided sightseeing PASSAU: Guided sightseeing MELK: Guided visit of the Benedictine Abbey DURNSTEIN: See the Stiftskirche VIENNA: Guided sightseeing MEALS: Superb dining with all meals on board daily featuring full breakfast (B), lunch (L), and dinner (D), including a welcome reception, Captain's reception and farewell dinner; quality wines from Europe's most famous wine regions with every dinner; one sitting with open seating arrangements Inside visits and special features are shown in UPPERCASE in the cruise description.
Meals Breakfast - 11 Lunch - 10 Dinner - 11
Optional Excursions
To help plan your leisure time, as well as your pre-tour budgeting, here is a list of optional excursions that may be offered on this tour.
Availability is subject to sufficient participation, weather conditions, seasonal suitability, group interests, and general feasibility for your tour. Please note prices may be based on the previous year and are subject to change. Full terms and conditions are contained in the important travel documents.
Cost
Description
29
EUR
Name:ZURICH SIGHTSEEING Location:ZURICH Details:While window shopping along the elegant boutiques of Zurich's Bahnhofstrasse, one of the most beautiful shopping areas in Europe, you'll notice that the streets may not be paved with gold, but you can be certain that a couple of meters below the street, unimaginable treasures are lying in underground vaults. Zurich is the world's banking capital. Visitors can spend days exploring Zurich's cobbled streets, wandering through its museums or exploring its flea markets. The quays, with their promenades, are made for walking, especially along the shores of the lake. With an active cafe culture, it's ideal for people-watching, and Zurich has a lively, multi-ethnic population to rival any other major European city.
52
EUR
Name:EXCURSION TO MOUNT PILATUS Location:ZURICH Details:The giant mountain looming above Lucerne to the southwest is Mount Pilatus (2132m / 7000 ft). There are two means of transport to the top, making it easy to do a half- or full-day round trip from Lucerne - simpler than in 1868, when Queen Victoria made the excursion riding on the back of a mule. We start at Kriens; from here a cable-car rises to Frakmuntegg, itself connected to the summit by gondola. The walk to the highest point of the mountain, the Tomlishorn, takes less than thirty minutes from the top station, with breathtakingly expansive views out over the lake the whole way along the clifftop path. We will make our way down with the steepest rack railway in the world running at a gradient touching 48 percent directly to the bottom of the valley the descent takes a careful forty minutes, but time flies when watching the breathtaking scenery.
36
EUR
Name:EXCURSION TO THE ALSACE COUNTRYSIDE Location:STRASBOURG Details:Although modest in size, Alsace's geography is such that it offers an incredible variety of landscapes and climates. With the Vosges mountains and the rest of France to the west, and the Rhine and then Germany to the east, Alsace really is a mini-kingdom in itself, which has absorbed aspects from both French and German cultures. This is not surprising, as the region has changed hands four times in the past few hundred years. Since the Great War, however, Alsace has remained French. The famous Riesling, the Pinot Noir, the Tokay-Pinot Gris, the Gewurztraminer, a Muscat or a Pinot Blanc are the varieties of wine that you find here. But you can discover more. Follow our local expert on a tour of the Alsace with its charming half-timbered houses, the quite villages and the vineyards. Taste some of the wines of the region, as we will visit one of its wine farms.
39
EUR
Name:EXCURSION TO ROTHENBURG OB DER TAUBER Location:ROTHENBURG Details:The best preserved medieval town in Germany, Rothenburg ob der Tauber fits the word romantic perfectly. Walk the wall that encircles Rothenburg to get various perspectives of architecture in the middle ages (as well as a lot of exercise). Climb to the top of the Rothenburg Town Hall Tower (circa 1250-1400) for a wide-angle view of Rothenburg and surrounding, mostly pastoral countryside. The entire walled town of Rothenburg is a museum. The wall connects five medieval gates complete with guard towers that date from the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries. Just walk along Rothenburg's narrow cobblestone streets and admire the gothic, renaissance, and baroque houses and fountains. You may wish that you had lived in these prettier, quieter, slow times. As well as the attraction of the town itself, Rothenburg offers a complete selection historic restaurants, gothic churches, art exhibits, museums, suits of armor, and great Franken wine, to name only a few.
41
EUR
Name:EXCURSION TO WELTENBURG ABBEY AND THE DANUBE GORGE Location:WELTENBURG Details:The Danube Gorge has both a gentle and a strange beauty. In a magnificent show of force, the Danube has carved its way through the Swabian Alb to create a stunning landscape - a wild, romantic stretch of river with sheer cliffs rising over 300 feet out of the water. At its upper end the Weltenburg Abbey is located on a peninsula directly beneath the cliffs of the Gorge. It was founded by Irish or Scottish monks in 620 and is one of the oldest abbeys in Bavaria. The present Benedictine abbey dates back to the 18th century when it was extensively rebuilt in baroque style. Their ceiling frescos of the Heavenly Jerusalem blend seamlessly with the abbey interior and are particularly noteworthy. Important is also that Weltenburg Abbey houses the oldest abbey brewery in the world, as the monks have been brewing beer since 1050. A beer and a "pretzel" are a welcome refreshment.
64
EUR
Name:SALZBURG - MOZART'S SOUND OF MUSIC Location:SALZBURG Details:True, Salzburg is the birth-place of Mozart and you will find the face of the city's most famous son everywhere. Salzburg is also the setting for the Sound of Music movie, which has shaped the city's perception in the minds of generations. But Salzburg is much more. It is a city with history based on the salt trade from the nearby Alpine Mountains, it is a city of beautiful baroque buildings, and a city perched between the mountains and green waters of the Salzach river. It is a city with a long cultural heritage and in the small busy lanes like the "Getreidegasse" with its wrought iron signs you might get a feeling, how busy this city always was. Today we would like to show you Salzburg and its past, we will show you the Austrian Lake district and our local experts will talk about what it takes to be Austrian and to live in this country today.
44
EUR
Name:A VISIT OF SCHONBRUNN IMPERIAL PALACE Location:VIENNA Details:Schonbrunn, the former summer residence of the Imperial family, is considered one of the most beautiful baroque palaces in Europe. The Habsburgs resided here for the better part of the year in numerous rooms to house the large Imperial family in addition to representational rooms. Emperor Franz Joseph, who later married the enchanting Sisi and reigned from 1848 to 1916, was born here in 1830. The monarch spent his last years entirely in the palace, which became the property of the new Republic of Austria only two years after his death. Today, the palace is part of UNESCO's cultural heritage due to its historic importance, its unique grounds and its splendid furnishings. Follow our local expert and visit Empress Sisi's former summer residence, afterwards take your time to stroll through the park or enjoy a demonstration of how the famous Viennese Apple Strudel is made - Samples to taste included.
49
EUR
Name:ROYAL WALTZ CONCERT Location:VIENNA Details:Would a stay in Vienna be the same if you were not able to listen to the tunes of the "Blue Danube Waltz" or the "Radetzky" March? Your Cruise Director will accompany you to one of Vienna's famous Concert Halls. Avalon will make preferred seating arrangements. In order to celebrate this evening in style, have a glass of sparkling wine in the intermission, before you listen to the famous tunes brought to you by opera singers and watch the elegant ballet dancers as they interpret some of the most well known classical tunes from Vienna.
29
EUR
Name:AUSTRIAN CROWN JEWELS Location:VIENNA Details:Fascinating treasures from the possessions of the Habsburgs, among them a "unicorn" almost two and a half meters long, are exhibited here together with the crown of Emperor Rudolf II (1552-1612). The orb and sceptre, the insignia of the imperial house of Austria, were symbols of might and dignity for centuries. These pieces are set with valuable jewels; they and the intricately worked jewellery are not only witnesses of history, they are also worth a fortune. Let yourself be overwhelmed by the magnificent riches of the once so mighty Habsburgs.
Optional Excursions
