Journey overview
CZECH REPUBLIC – AUSTRIA – HUNGARY – SLOVENIA – ITALIA (12 days, optional 10 days)
Day 1: ARRIVAL TO PRAGUE – KARLOVY VARY (dinner)
Arrival to Prague. Transfer from airport to your hotel. Short walk around the city center and gourmet dinner. SPA treatments in your hotel on request.
Day 2: PRAGUE – KARLOVY VARY (breakfast, dinner)
After breakfast, we’ll take you to historical center of Prague, capital city of Chech Republic. You will see the Royal Palace, the St. Vitus Cathedral, the St. George Monastery and the Golden Lane. A pleasant stroll through romantic Nerudova Lane will lead you to Lesser Town with its famous and marvelous palaces and medieval Charles Bridge (Karluv Most). Then, all together, we eill come to the Old Town Square surrounded by Old Town Hall with its famous Astronomical Clock, Tyn and St. Nicholas Churches. From Old Town Square, we will continue our tour to Wenceslas Square with St. Wenceslas statue. From that point, you will have a chance to do some shopping and to have your lunch in one of charming traditional or international restaurants. Time for some shopping. In late afternoon we will head to Karlovy Vary, the largest and most famous spa town in the Czech Republic. SPA treatments on your request. Dinner.
Day 3: KARLOVY VARY – VIENNA (breakfast, dinner)
Breakfast. Drive to Vienna, the capital city of Austria (approx. 7 hours). Check in to your hotel and short orientation walk. Time for shopping and dinner.
Vienna is unquestionably one of Europe's great cities, its subtler charms sometimes go overlooked. Visitors who do visit this Habsburgian playground will discover that Viennese delights come in many forms. The city's cultural treasures, for one, are almost overwhelming in their abundance. Baroque cathedrals mingle with medieval churches, and everywhere is art, music, and more art. Austria's most famous palace, Schönbrunn, was built to rival Versailles, and touring it is like passing through a giant, gilded music box. Vienna's actual music box, the stunning Vienna State Opera, is also unforgettable, and worth visiting even if you can't score tickets for a performance (which can be surprisingly inexpensive). Vienna also has attractions for those with a passion for the outdoors. Boating and water sports take place on the famous Danube, and escape to the verdant pleasures of the Wienerwald is quick and easy. The local cuisine is, fittingly, also rich and delightful. Fine restaurants offer perfectly executed schnitzel, savory goulash, and the decadent Sacher Torte. Or watch dusk melt into evening while devouring a char-grilled sausage at a laid-back wine garden. The fine blend of natural and man-made treasures makes time spent in Vienna both stimulating and uniquely relaxing.
Day 4: VIENNA – BUDAPEST (breakfast, dinner)
Breakfast. We will continue with our sightseeing, drive around Vienna’s Ringstrasse, a leafy boulevard around the heart of the city and the location of many impressive buildings, for example the State Opera House, the Hofburg (Imperial Palace), the Museums of Fine Arts and Natural History, the Parliament, the Burgtheater, the City Hall and the University. Our guide will show you the most interesting and famous places of Vienna. Departure from Vienna in the afternoon to Budapest (approx. 3,5 hours). Upon arrival to the City of Budapest , check-in at the hotel. SPA treatments on your request. Dinner. Night in Budapest.
BUDAPEST - Two amazing cities in one.
The famed Danube River flows seamlessly through Hungary’s capital, which claims a rich and varied history dating back almost 2,000 years. The city got its name as late as 1873, when three separate entities– Pest, Buda, and Obuda (“Old Buda") – merged. Pest is the commercial center of the city and flatter than its hilly counterpart across the river, Buda. There are shops and restaurants offering international and traditional Hungarian fare (think paprika-infused chicken and beef and succulent strudel for dessert) and many historic sites. Stroll down scenic Andrassy Avenue and visit the Hungarian State Opera House, a veritable jewel-box built in the neo-Renaissance and Baroque styles. Budapest is also known for its famous restorative thermal baths, havens for Hungarians and tourists alike. The very affordable Szechenyi Bath is located in the attractive City Park. Buda, on the other side of the Danube River, offers a breathtaking view of the stately Hungarian Parliament, built in the Gothic Revival style. Go there especially at night, when the city is glittering in the background.
Day 5: BUDAPEST (breakfast, dinner)
After breakfast we’ll go on the Budapest Grand City Tour. You will see the impressive neo-gotic house of Parliament, cross the Danube on the Margaret-bridge (Margaret island) and drive to the Royal castle on the Buda side, where you will visit the Fishermens' bastion and the Matthias church. After the Citadel you will cross Elisabet-bridge and driveto the City-park towards Heroes' square. Passing by the Opera and the St Stephen's basilica. In the afternoon time for some shopping and SPA treatments on your request. Optional: typical Hungarian dinner with local music, named Charda.
Day 6: BUDAPEST – PREKMURJE – MORAVSKE TOPLICE (breakfast, dinner)
After breakfast drive to Prekmurje (approx. 4 hours), land in Slovenia famous for their excellent champagne. We will have a degustation and a traditional Slovenian lunch. After seeing this beautiful landscape full of vineyards, we will head to Moravske Therms, where they have source of black thermal mineral water, pumped for about 50 years now. Water has a beneficial effect on well-being especially for rheumatic ailments and problems with the locomoteor system. Black thermal mineral water is the foundation of health and wellness. Dinner. Overnight.
Day 7: MORAVSKE TOPLICE – LJUBLJANA – BLED (breakfast, dinner)
After breakfast drive to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. Visit the attractions known already from the Roman era as the meeting point of Roman, Germanic and Slavic nations. We’ll take a walk through the old part of the town, which lies between the castle hill and the Ljubljanica river, where we can admire the Baroque and Secessionist period buildings. After that we will drive to Bled.
Visit of Bled, its medieval castle, which stands firmly and proudly high on the cliff above the lake. From there one has a beautiful view over the lake and the surrounding mountain peaks. You can try the unique experience of making a boat trip to the island in the middle of the lake. It’s one of the nicest sightseeing places in Slovenia. Gourmet dinner on your request. SPA treatments on your request.
Day 8: BLED – KRANJSKA GORA – VRŠIČ – DOBROVO – PORTOROŽ (breakfast, dinner)
Breakfast. Drive to Kranjska Gora, one of the most prestigious skiing resorts in Slovenia. Short walk around Jasna lake. Lake Jasna is a stunning alpine lake covering a surface area of 2.2ha. A popular tourist destination the views from here towards to surrounding mountains is nothing short of breathtaking. The lake is guarded by a statue of a Zlatorog (golden horn), the legendary chamois of Mt. Triglav. After drive to highest pass in Slovenia, Vršič 1611m. Breathtaking mountain scenery will show you the most unspoiled nature. Time for some photos and hten we will continue to the beautiful Soča valley and Goriška brda, famous for numerous vineyards and excellent wines. We will visit a wine cellar and try the most fine wines in Slovenia. After visiting medieval castle Dobrovo, dating in 17th century. On your trip around Brda region you will encounter a series of monuments and memorial plaques. The most widely known is the bronze monument in Gonjače which is dedicated to the 315 citizens of Brda who gave their lives in WWII. Drive to Portorož, the city of flowers. Dinner. SPA treatments on your request.
Day 9: PORTOROŽ – VENICE (breakfast, dinner)
After breakfast drive to Venice (approx. 2,5 hours). We will enjoy a walk through a labyrinth of streets and narrow passageways in the old artisans quarters of Venice and listen to numerous stories of the illustrious merchants and their acts of cruelty. During this walk, you'll see some of the oldest houses in Venice, quaint picturesque bridges and palaces, an old prison for tax evaders and learn about how life used to be in Venice and how life is today for the modern day Venetians. Enjoy an in-depth tour of St. Marks Basilica, a highlights tour of the Doges Palace which will include crossing the bridge of sites, and as a grand finale cruise along the main street of Venice - The Grand Canal. Time for shopping. Dinner.
VENICE - Floods of Romance
The mere mention of Venice immediately conjures romantic images: quaint scenes of lovers on gondolas, slowly drifting down a tranquil canal. In reality, these fabled waterways are often polluted, flooding, traversed by commuters and tourists on modern waterbuses, and yes, quite lovely and astonishing. Experiencing a city without automobiles will be a new adventure for most visitors -- Venice is the largest car-free zone in Europe! There are plenty of connecting streets or footbridges for those who avoid using boats. Of course, there is more to Venice than just the canals. This city has a rich and remarkably complex history; in the past, it was not only a city, it was the Republic of Venice, an independent state and a pivotal center of international trade, which tended to complicate its relations with other bodies. Now that this remarkable city has joined Italy (more than 200 years ago), it continues to charm visitors with its lovely architecture, music, exuberant Carnival, and world-famous Biennale art exhibition. However, you might have to act fast – after all, the city is sinking, and an alarming number of Venetians have ended up with water in their living rooms.
Day 10: VENICE – VERONA – MILANO (breakfast, dinner)
After breakfast visit of ancient city Verona, with its famous love story of Romeo and Juliet. If you take a walk through the streets of Verona and its marvelous historical center, you are bound to be fascinated by its buildings, powerful and elegant at the same time, as well as by the passionate feeling of the two Shakespearian lovers. Even if the legendary component of the Romeo and Juliet history is unquestionable, walking through the Verona center you will feel the power and elegance of its wonderful houses and squares, as if you were living in the two lovers’ times. After sightseeing Verona we continue towards Milano (approx. 3 hours), the city of high fashion. Dinner.
Day 11: MILANO (breakfast, dinner)
Breakfast. Milan is recognized internationally as one of the world's most important fashion capitals, along with Paris, New York, Rome, London and Tokyo . In 2009, the city was nominated "fashion capital of the world" by the Global Language Monitor even surpassing its relative cities. Milan has been home to numerous fashion designers, such as Giorgio Armani, Valentino, Garavani, Gianni Versace, Donatella Versace, Prada, Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce. You will explore top attractions like the Duomo, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II Brera Museum, La Scala Theater and Leonardo DaVinci's masterpiece, The Last Supper displayed at the Santa Maria delle Grazie Church. After sightseeing, it’s time for some shopping. Dinner.
Day 12: MILANO – AIRPORT (breakfast)
Transfer from your hotel to the airport.
PRICE: On request
PRICE INCLUDE:
- hotel accommodation in twin rooms based on breakfasts and dinners,
- all transfers + tours + entrance fees,
- local guides
- basic SPA treatments
PRICE DOES NOT INCLUDE:
- personal costs,
- tips for local guides and driver
- international plane tickets
- special SPA treatments