CAPITALS OF CENTRAL EUROPE
PRAGUE – VIENNA – BUDAPEST – CRACOW
Combinations at your choice, all of them or just 2 or 3 in different orders, extra days, interesting stops and visits in between cities, overnights in natural reserves as for instance the Bohemian Forrest or the Tatra mountains, many little “extra’s” on top of the usual standard visits…
PRAGUE
day 1
Arrival in the evening of the day before or this morning
introduction to the Old Town (Astronomical Clock, Charles bridge, etc…) including the Jewish area with or without entrances
Dinner and overnight
day 2
Prague castle and in the afternoon the New Town with plenty of free time to do some shopping
Dinner in bufet style on board of a sightseeing boat on the Moldau river, overnight
day 3
checkout
Departure towards Vienna with a lunch stop at Telc or Trebic or Cesky Krumlov or Trebon or Lednice, all of them UNESCO world heritage protected sites.
Telc | Trebic | C. Krumlov | Trebon | Lednice
VIENNA
arrival in the evening and dinner, overnight
day 4
Transfer to Vienna city center over SCHONBRUNN castle with or without entrance.
Continuation for a coffee stop at HUNDERTWASSER HAUS and after that a possible visit at the BELVEDERE palace, arrival at the historical center in time for a free lunch.
In the afternoon guided walk through the Old town with the Hofburg castle, St Stephen cathedral and then by public tram or private bus a drive along the Ringstrasse to see the Town hall, the Parliament, the famous opera, etc…
Dinner and overnight
day 5
With an extra day you could make your visit of Vienna more detailed visits to one or several musea or the interiors of the opera house, also you could have a look at a morning training session of the Lipizzaner riding school, visit the Albertinum art gallery, the Empress Sissi private chambers, etc…
In the afternoon an excursion to Mayerling could be on the programme (the hunting lodge where the crown prince Rudolf committed suicide with also a beautiful old monastery in the vicinity), this can then be combined with a stop at Baden (spa resort), or one could drive along the Danube up towards MELK monastery (one of the largest abbey complexes in Europe)
day 6
Departure towards Budapest over BRATISLAVA, today this is the capital of Slovakia. This smaller capital can easily be visited in half a day and offers many possibilities to have a free lunch.
Another option is to drive over Eisenstadt (The town where composer Haendel lived and worked and where his tomb is situated, visit of the museum and/or the castle)
Melk | Bratislava | Eisenstadt
BUDAPEST
Arrival in the evening and dinner, overnight
First introduction to the city by cruise boat on the Danube river by night.
day 7
Visit of the Buda side with the castle area and the Gellert hill.
Free time for lunch on the Pest side and continuation of the city tour of Pest in the afternoon with the Heroes square, the Parliament, the Basilica, the Great Synagogue, etc… end at the covered market hall for some shopping and free time
Dinner and overnight
day 8
Hopefully you can spend an extra day at Budapest and go on one of the many possible excursions such as Godollo castle (Empress Sissi’s palace and home in Hungary), or to Esztergom – SZENTENDRE – VISEGRAD (in other words the famous Danube Bend), or into the Puszta and see a spectacular horse show,…
You could also just enjoy some leisure time and soak in one of the many public thermal baths and possibly have a look in MEMENTO park.
Dinner and overnight
day 9
Departure towards Cracow over Slovakia. A stop can be made at BRATISLAVA and/or at BANSKA BYSTRICA, a small town midway (for a free lunch) and/or at ZAKOPANE (picturesque mountain town at the feet of the Tatra range)
CRACOW
Arrival in the evening and dinner, overnight
day 10
Visit of the castle area on Wawel hill and walk towards Rynek Glowny or the old town with the main square of Cracow.
In the afternoon SALT MINES of WIELIZSKA
Dinner and overnight
day 11
In the morning the extermination camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau and in the afternoon guided walk through the Jewish town of Cracow, Kazimierz. … free time
Jewish folklore dinner and music called “klezmer”
day 12
Another extra day could be added with one of several possible excursions such as visit of WROCLAW (capital of Silesia with a beautiful historical university), or visit at CZESTOCHOWA (The most sacred place of Poland with the “Black Virgin” painting), or ZAKOPANE (picturesque mountain town at the feet of the Tatra range), etc. ..
Dinner and overnight
Dag 13
departure
