CRUISE AND STAY
THE DANUBE AND MAJESTIC MOUNTAINS OF THE ARLBERG PASS
aboard Spirit of the Danube
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– see pages 144-149 for details
11 nights FULL BOARD from £2549 Includes insurance and cancellation cover§ Price reduction available if not required.
SPIRIT OF THE DANUBE THE DANUBE
Cruise the Danube from Belgrade to Vienna and travel through beautiful alpine vistas aboard the Arlberg Railway…
Innsbruck, gateway to the Arlberg Pass
Your river cruise Day 1: UK to Belgrade. Fly to Serbia’s capital and embark Spirit of the Danube. Enjoy a welcome cocktail reception and dinner on board this evening. Day 2: Novi Sad. Spend the morning at leisure in this city where European and Balkan cultures meet. You can’t miss the Petrovaradin Fortress, built between 1692 and 1790, the upper fortress contains a 10-mile network of passages and galleries, with officers’ residences and government buildings below. The old town is home to 18th and 19th-century architecture and you can join an optional walking tour here. Set sail early this afternoon and spend the rest of the day on board Spirit of the Danube as she continues towards Kalocsa. Day 3: Kalocsa. Arrive in Kalocsa this morning and take the opportunity to join an optional tour of Puszta or embark on an optional walking tour of Kalocsa. Spirit of the Danube continues cruising towards Bratislava in the afternoon. Day 4: Bratislava This afternoon you arrive in Slovakia’s capital, Bratislava. Take the opportunity to explore the city’s old quarter, overlooked by the huge rectangular castle, and admire the Habsburg architecture, independently or on an optional city tour. This afternoon perhaps venture up the UFO observation tower to sample locally brewed beer on an optional excursion. Set sail late this evening cruising overnight towards Vienna.
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Day 5: Vienna Arrive in Vienna – steeped in imperial and musical history – before breakfast. This morning choose between an included culinary-themed walking tour from Albertina Square to the Imperial Palace and an included sightseeing tour, which involves a drive around the Ringstrasse, encircling the old city. This afternoon an optional excursion visits grand Schönbrunn Palace. You may wish to spend the final evening of your holiday in Viennese style – after dinner on board, you can attend an optional performance of music by Mozart and Strauss in one of the great formal concert houses of Imperial Vienna.
Your stay Day 6: Vienna. Disembark after breakfast and transfer to the locally rated 4-star Imperial Riding School (4Q), your hotel for the next two nights. The hotel is located within a building which served as a military riding school in the mid-19th century. Dinner is included this evening. Day 7: Vienna. Enjoy breakfast at your hotel, followed by a morning at leisure. This afternoon an included excursion visits Vienna’s Spanish Riding School, which forms part of the Hofburg Palace complex. The school, founded over 450 years ago, is dedicated to the preservation of classical dressage and you will see the stables where the Lipizzaner horses are trained, before taking a tour of the palace itself (there will not be a performance during your visit). Day 8: Vienna to Salzburg. Following breakfast, check out of your hotel and transfer by coach to Salzburg, stopping en
Contact your preferred travel agent
route for an included lunch. In Salzburg you stay at the locally rated 4-star Hotel am Mirabellplatz (3Q) on a breakfast-only board basis. Built in the 17th century by Prince Archbishop Paris Lodron as a city palace, guests have been welcomed into this historic building since 1816. Across the road from the hotel is the Mirabell Palace and gardens, with both the Linzergasse and Getreidegasse of Salzburg’s Old Town just a short walk away. Enjoy dinner at a local restaurant this evening. Day 9: Salzburg. An included excursion this morning reveals sites associated with the musical drama ‘The Sound of Music’, which was released in 1965. You’ll see 17th-century Hellbrunn Palace; the Baroque Frohnburg Palace, which was used as the Trapp Villa in the film; the lakeside town of St Gilgen; and Lake Mondsee. The rest of the day is at leisure. Day 10: Salzburg to Innsbruck to Zurich. Check out of your hotel after breakfast and travel by coach to Innsbruck. Enjoy an included tour of this attractive city, where Imperial and modern architecture sit side-by-side. Lunch is included. From Innsbruck, board the RailJet for the First Class train journey to Zurich, passing through the mountain scenery of the Arlberg Pass and travelling alongside the Walensee and Zurichsee en route. Spend the next two nights on a breakfast-only basis at the locally rated 4-star Glockenhof Hotel (4Q) in the heart of Zurich. Dinner is included at the hotel this evening.
