EVENING WALKING TOUR OF VUKOVAR Enjoy a discovery walking tour through Vukovar where you will see the city centre and the historic and important buildings including the new water tower, the church of St. Philip and Jacob, the white marble stone cross memorial, the old water tower, the historical Hotel Grand, the Town Hall, and the birth house of the first Croatian Nobel prize winner Leopold Ružicka. At the end of the tour you will have some free time to explore the city before returning to the ship. Duration: approx. 2 hrs Walking grade: ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ DISCOVER EASTERN CROATIA Start in Vukovar, named after the small river Vuka and home to the largest cargo port in former Yugoslavia. Drive through its streets, once rimmed with elegant baroque mansions and view damaged factory facilities in use before the war in 1991. Learn about the everyday life of Croatians on your way to Kopacki Rit, the largest nature park in Eastern Croatia. Join a boat tour through this beautiful wetland and marshy landscape. Continue to the village of Kopacevo and visit the Rural House for presentation of traditional fishing tools spiced up with humorous fishermen stories. Taste several typical Croatian products: fruit brandy, local wine, smoked pork sausage, ajvar and homemade cakes. Continue to Osijek to stroll through the old town with its baroque military fortress build in the 18th century, now the heart of Osijek’s cultural life. Inside the fortress, the Church of the Raising of the Holy Cross impresses with a richly decorated interior. Take a walking tour to the remaining part of the walls with the so called “Watergate”, the main square containing the largest baroque statue in Croatia, museums, galleries, schools and pubs. Once returned to your coach, continue with a scenic drive back to Vukovar, passing by Croatia‘s first brewery. Duration: approx. 4.5 hrs Walking grade: ✓ ✓
CZECH REPUBLIC CITY TOUR OF PRAGUE (available only on the Prague extension) Situated on the river Vltava in central Bohemia, Prague has been the political, cultural and economic centre of the Czech state for more than 1,100 years. For many decades during the Gothic and Renaissance eras, Prague was the permanent seat of two Holy Roman Emperors and thus also the capital of the Holy Roman Empire. A coach takes you through the famous “Golden City”, the imposing capital of the Czech Republic. Admire Prague’s castle (which is now the official residence of the country’s president) and the Cathedral of St. Vitus. A guided walking tour takes you to the Charles Bridge — the oldest and most beautiful bridge on the river Vltava — and to the Old Town, where you will see the town hall with its famous astronomical clock. Duration: approx. 4 hrs Walking grade: ✓ ✓ ✓
FRANCE: RHINE ALSACE AND WINE EXCURSION Drive through picturesque landscape, romantic wine villages and parts of the famous wine route. Visit a local winery for a tasting of the local wines. Your excursion continues to the beautiful village Obernai. During a stroll through this idyllic Alsatian town, steeped in rich history, you will get to know the charm of its traditional, half-timbered houses, its Belfry and its town centre. Duration: approx. 4 hrs Walking grade: ✓ ✓ CITY TOUR OF STRASBOURG Enjoy a discovery tour through the beautiful city of Strasbourg. After a short coach trip through the city, the tour continues with a walk through
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CROATIA
Discover Prague on our cruise extension for the "Classical Danube" itineraries the lovely, historic old part of the town and includes a visit to the famous cathedral Straßburger Münster (not possible on Sundays and public holidays, sometimes with security check). During a boat cruise on the river, discover the famous quarter “Petite France”. This former mill and tanner district still maintains its medieval charm. Some of the beautiful, half-timbered houses on the banks of the river Ill are up to 500 years old. You will enjoy Strasbourg’s half-timbered houses, the Ponts Couverts, the Palais de Rohan, the Council of Europe and all the other wonders that Strasbourg holds in store for you. Please note: During the winter the boat cruise will be replaced by a visit to the Christmas Market. Duration: approx. 4 hrs Walking grade: ✓✓
FRANCE: RHÔNE · SAÔNE EXCURSION TO MÂCON WITH TOUR OF EUROPE’S FIRST WINE THEME PARK With its pastel buildings and tiled roofs, the town of Mâcon has a Mediterranean charm. The tour crossing the Beaujolais and Mâconnais region will captivate you. While crossing the impressive vineyards, discover the castles and mansions which are the witness of the wealth in this region. The highlight of this excursion is the visit of the Georges Duboeuf’s Wine Theme Park. In an original setting, a reconstruction of a 1900-style train station, discover splendid exhibition halls related to the history and culture of the wine making process. Find out about winegrowing from audiovisual shows: theatre, winery trading house, 3D film, dynamic cinema. Finish the visit with a tasting of Beaujolais wines in a Parisian cabaret-style room housing a barrel organ, also called "Bouteillophone“. Duration: approx. 3.5 hrs Walking grade: ✓✓ GUIDED TOUR OF CLUNY ABBEY The Abbey of Cluny in Burgundy was the centre of a major monastic movement in the Middle Ages. Its church was the largest Christian building in the world until St. Peter’s Basilica was rebuilt in Rome in the 16th century. Although most of the great Abbey of Cluny is in ruins, you can still see remnants showing the size and glory the abbey possessed at its zenith, and imagine it as it once was. Today, one transept of the 12th-century abbey church remains, along with the 15th-century abbots’ residences and 18th-century convent buildings. The site also includes beautiful gardens and a museum with Romanesque artifacts. Your guide will show you around the ancient Benedictine abbey. This church, with its unusual dimensions, was completed under the abbacy of Pierre the Venerable and consecrated in 1130. The principal architect was Hézelon de Liège. The idea for its construction is said to have originated from a monk’s dream. Duration: approx. 3.5 hrs Walking grade: ✓✓
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