Best of Germany & Austria

15 Days
Featuring: Frankfurt, Cologne, Hamburg, Berlin, Wurzburg, Rothenburg, Munich, Salzburg, Vienna, Innsbruck, Oberammergau, Freiburg, Heidelberg

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Day 1  Depart USA Overnight flight to Frankfurt.

Day 2  Arrive Frankfurt You are met at Frankfurt airport and transferred to your hotel. Our afternoon orientation tour explores the dynamic financial centre and the medieval Römerplatz. Tonight, we enjoy a welcome drink with our Tour Director. (Dinner)

Day 3  Frankfurt - Rhine - Cruise - Cologne Today we head to St. Goar to embark on a scenic Rhine cruise past castles and vineyards. We rejoin our coach at Boppard and head via Bonn to Cologne where an orientation includes the gothic Cathedral. The rest of the day is at leisure. (Buffet Breakfast/ Dinner)

Day 4  Cologne - Hamburg We drive via Lower Saxony en route to Hamburg. On arrival, orientation in this Hanseatic port shows us the major points of interest. Later, why not take a cruise on the famous harbour? (Buffet Breakfast/ Dinner)

Day 5  Hamburg - Berlin (2nights) This morning it's a fast run to historic Berlin – once a divided city, now enjoying new freedom and excitement since the infamous Wall came down in 1989. The rest of your day is free. (Buffet Breakfast)

Day 6  Berlin sightseeing and at leisure Today the city's history and momentous events mingle on our interesting sightseeing tour. We will see the Brandenburg Gate, Unter den Linden Boulevard, the Reichstag Building, German State Opera House, Tiergarten and the shopping and entertainment district of Kurfürstendamm. Your evening is at leisure. (Buffet Breakfast)

Day 7  Berlin - Bayreuth - Würzburg Today we head pass Potsdam and across the River Elbe. Then we pass Leipzig into western Germany to the town of Bayreuth, home of the Wagner Festival. Later we arrive in historic Würzburg, where views of the Marienburg fortress and the Prince-Bishops' Residenz are featured on our orientation tour. (Buffet Breakfast/ Dinner)

Day 8  Würzburg - Dachau - Munich Today we drive via the Romantic Road and Rothenburg into the heart of Bavaria and the Dachau village to visit the sinister concentration camp for sobering reminders of the horrors of World War II. Next it's on to Munich where an orientation includes the Olympic Stadium and City Hall with its Glockenspiel clock. Tonight why not discover some of Munich's lively beer halls. (Buffet Breakfast)

Day 9  Munich - Salzburg Off to Salzburg where spires and domes are overlooked by the fortress of Hohensalzburg. On arrival, sightseeing on foot explores the city that featured in "The Sound of Music" and which is best known as Mozart's birthplace. We'll see the family house in the picturesque Getreidegasse and admire the Domplatz, the baroque square dominated by its Cathedral. (Buffet Breakfast/ Dinner)

Day 10  Salzburg - Dürnstein - Vienna (2nights) Enjoy breathtaking scenery on our drive past the Mondsee Lake to the Danube Valley. From the Monastery of Melk, vineyards line the river to Dürnstein where Richard the Lionheart was held prisoner and subsequently found by Blondel, his faithful minstrel. Our afternoon arrival in elegant Vienna leaves the rest of your day at leisure. (Buffet Breakfast)

Day 11  Vienna sightseeing and at leisure Highlights of this Austrian capital are revealed on our sightseeing tour; from the Opera to the Hofburg and Belvedere Palace Gardens, from St. Stephen's Cathedral to the Parliament. Then free time to visit the Prater amusement park. Later, why not take in a concert of Strauss music or a little Opera? (Buffet Breakfast)

Day 12  Vienna - Innsbruck We travel through the Vienna Woods, the Salzkammergut and a small section of German Bavaria as we cross Austria to mountain-ringed Innsbruck. Here an orientation includes the Golden Roof and the Hofburg Palace. This evening after dinner, why not take in a Tyrolean folklore show? (Buffet Breakfast/ Dinner)

Day 13  Innsbruck - Oberammergau Neuschwanstein - Freiburg Today we head into Germany to Oberammergau, home of the famous Passion Play. On to view Neuschwanstein – mad King Ludwig's fairytale castle. Later, we skirt around Western Europe's largest lake, the Bodensee, Lake Constance. Into the green wooded hills of the Black Forest, where cuckoo clocks were first invented, to the University town of Freiburg. Orientation shows us the Cathedral and the many frescoed buildings of this once Austrian city! (Buffet Breakfast/ Dinner)

Day 14  Freiburg - Heidelberg - Frankfurt Our first stop this morning is at Heidelberg where there's time to view the Castle which dominates the University city of 'Student Prince' fame. From here we drive through the Rhineland on our way back to Frankfurt. This evening, why not enjoy a farewell dinner with your fellow companions? (Buffet Breakfast)

Day 15  Frankfurt - USA This morning bid farewell as we transfer you to the airport for your return flight to America. (Buffet Breakfast)