Be prepared for one breathtaking view after another. This journey starts in Frankfurt and travels via medieval Rothenburg and Munich, where you will visit the Marienplatz, to Austria, where you have sightseeing tours with Local Guides in Salzburg and Vienna. Drive over Semmering Pass into the popular mountain resorts of Carinthia and enjoy an overnight stay in pretty Villach. A highlight is a visit to the world-famous Lipizzaner Stallion Stud Farm. The Dolomites, Cortina d’Ampezzo in Italy, and Brenner Pass to Innsbruck in the Austrian Tyrol are scenic highlights. St. Moritz, Lake Como, and Lake Lugano are next. Enjoy a boat cruise across sparkling Lake Lugano and dinner with wine in a traditional “grotto” restaurant. Proceed to Lake Maggiore, Stresa, and then head over Simplon Pass to return to Switzerland, where you board a mountain train to Zermatt at the foot of the world-famous Matterhorn for your two-night stay. Via the Rhône Valley, Lake Geneva, Berne, Interlaken, and Brunig Pass, arrive in Lucerne for a relaxing two-night stay in this picturesque town. Your vacation is topped off by visits to the Rhine Falls, the Black Forest, and Heidelberg, Germany. Back in Frankfurt, a farewell dinner at a local restaurant celebrates the success of your vacation.
Itinerary:
Day #1 Arrive in Frankfurt, Germany. Welcome to Frankfurt! At 6 pm, meet your Tour Director and traveling companions for a welcome dinner at your hotel. (D)
Day #2 Frankfurt–Rothenburg–Munich. Drive along the Romantic Road to medieval Rothenburg—a picturesque, medieval walled town that is famous for Christmas ornaments. Continue to Munich, Bavaria’s proud capital. (B)
Day #3 Munich. Sightseeing with a Local Guide in Germany’s “Secret Capital” includes the Olympic Stadium, 1,000-foot-high Television Tower, Nymphenburg Palace, MARIENPLATZ with the Old and the New Town Halls, and the gothic Frauenkirche. An optional excursion to romantic Linderhof Castle, built by King Ludwig II, and the famous Passion Play village of Oberammergau is available. (B,D)
Day #4 Munich–Salzburg, Austria–Vienna. Arrive in The Sound of Music Salzburg. Your walking tour with a Local Guide features the historic center of Mozart’s hometown, exquisite MIRABELL GARDENS, the Great Festival Hall, ST. PETER’S CHURCHYARD, and the monumental Domplatz. Then, continue through the scenic Salzkammergut Lakeland and along the Danube River to Vienna, once the center of the mighty Habsburg Empire. Tonight, you may wish to try out local specialties and Viennese entertainment. (B)
Day #5 Vienna. Start your guided sightseeing with a visit to magnificent SCHÖNBRUNN PALACE. Next, enjoy vistas of Prater Park with its giant Ferris wheel, then drive along the Ringstrasse, pass the State Opera House, the Jewish quarter, and stop at the Hofburg Palace, winter residence of the Austrian imperial family. Marvel at the impressive courtyards, famous Heldenplatz, and awesome St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Afternoon at leisure and you can choose from our exciting optional excursions. (B)
Day #6 Vienna–Villach. Enter Styria and enjoy a special visit to [LF] the world-famous LIPIZZANER STALLION STUD FARM in Piber, the place where these magnificent horses are bred and raised before they go to the Spanish Riding School in Vienna. Stay overnight in Villach. (B,D)
Day #7 Villach–Italian Dolomites–Innsbruck, Austria. Cross the Italian border and arrive in Cortina d’Ampezzo, the Olympic skiing resort in the Dolomites, the Italian “Rocky Mountains.” Then, via Tre Croci Pass and Lake Misurina to Brunico and across Brenner Pass to Innsbruck in the Tyrolean Alps. Stroll through its medieval lanes to Emperor Maximilian’s GOLDEN ROOF. Why not join an optional Tyrolean song-and-dance show? (B,D)
Day #8 Innsbruck–St. Moritz, Switzerland. Today’s focus is the Swiss Engadine. See deep-blue lakes, airy larch forests, mountain peaks exceeding 12,000 feet, and quaint villages with massive white stone houses in the characteristic Grisons style. Afternoon is free in ritzy St. Moritz. (B,D)
Day #9 St. Moritz–Lugano. Descend towards the Italian Lake Como and continue on to the southern tip of Switzerland to the resort town of Lugano, with time for an espresso on Piazza Riforma and a refreshing walk in the shade of Parco Ciani’s magnificent old trees. Tonight, a special treat: enjoy a [LF] BOAT CRUISE across the sparkling lake and dinner with wine in a traditional “grotto” restaurant. (B,D)
Day #10 Lugano–Lake Maggiore, Italy–Zermatt, Switzerland. From Lake Lugano to Lake Maggiore for a break in elegant Stresa. An optional boat ride to enchanting Isola Bella can be arranged. Across lofty Simplon Pass into the Swiss Valais, an area renowned for its great mountain resorts. In Täsch, board a MOUNTAIN TRAIN to climb the last few miles up to Zermatt, a picturesque cluster of rustic chalets beneath the Matterhorn. (B,D)
Day #11 At Leisure in Zermatt. Today is your chance to enjoy an exciting optional ride on Europe’s highest rack railway to 10,272-foot Gornergrat Mountain for a spectacular view of the Matterhorn and the surrounding Alps. (B)
Day #12 Zermatt–Berne–Interlaken–Lucerne. Through the vineyards and apricot groves of the lower Rhône Valley to Lake Geneva and via the dairy country of Gruyère to the Swiss capital, Berne. See the monumental Federal Palace during your orientation and stop at the BEAR PARK before continuing via Interlaken, a Bernese Oberland resort beneath the towering Jungfrau, and across Brünig Pass to Lucerne. Tonight, an optional Swiss Dinner Party with yodeling and alphorn blowing is available. (B)
Day #13 Lucerne. On your walking tour, admire Thorwaldsen’s impressive LION MONUMENT and ornate patrician houses of the walled Old Town, then cross the famous CHAPEL BRIDGE to the Jesuit church. Afterwards, shop for Swiss watches and choose from our optional activities: climb a mountain by cable car or take a cruise on the fjord-like lake. (B,D)
Day #14 Lucerne–Heidelberg, Germany–Frankfurt. On the way back to Germany, visit the thundering RHINE FALLS at Schaffhausen. Enter the pine-clad hills of the Black Forest, renowned for its cuckoo clocks, and enjoy a WOODCARVING DEMONSTRATION on your way to Heidelberg, well known for its red-walled castle. Tonight, a [LF] special farewell dinner with wine at a local restaurant awaits you to celebrate the success of your vacation. (B,D)
Day #15 Frankfurt. Your vacation ends with breakfast this morning. (B)
Hotels:
FRANKFURT Sheraton Congress (F)
MUNICH Holiday Inn Munich City Centre (F)
VIENNA Mercure Grand Hotel Biedermeier (F)
VILLACH Holiday Inn (F)
INNSBRUCK Maximilian Stadthaus Penz (F)
ST. MORITZ Laudinella (F)
LUGANO Novotel Lugano Paradiso (F)
ZERMATT Pollux (F)
LUCERNE Grand Hotel Europe (F)